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It’s a story about Chicago’s much lesser known (and superior) style of pizza.
by cainxinth 4y ago
It’s a story about Chicago’s much lesser known (and superior) style of pizza.
- ChancyChance 4y ago> (and superior) Hey hey hey! waves hands in the air wildly If it doesn't come from New Haven I ain't interested. Besides, who wants to eat a saucy saltine. I like my gluten hydrated. Seriously though, pizza science has such a weird intersection with computer-types. Why don't computer-types get all fired up about lasagna, or ice cream sundaes, or stir fry? Why only things like pizza, cast iron, and espresso?
- tayo42 4y agoI've never seen this intersection of computers and pizza before. There's stir fry enthusiasts though. Or at least wok users. You need wok hei and super hot burners, electric won't cut it etc... I've also seen some intense breakdowns of pad Thai, like it wasn't a recent invention for tourism
- necubi 4y agoIn fact, Kenji just released a book about Wok cooking!
- OJFord 4y agoHas Uncle Roger reviewed it?
- cainxinth 4y agoRice cookers, too. Lots of techie opinions about those, e.g. is induction worth the extra money.
- nemo44x 4y agoI’m in the market - any advice?
- cainxinth 4y agoI have an ancient Panasonic that’s still doing the job for me. I hear all the cool kids get a Zojirushi these days. My friend bought the super expensive induction/ pressure cooker one. He said it’s good, but he’s not sure it was worth spending $400… for rice.
- ChancyChance 4y agoWhat's with all the buttons? My rice maker is about to die, and I've had it since 2007. It has one button: cook. I looked at a Zoji and there are so many settings. Plus every type of rice has different ratios of water, which vary with quantity, so how do those settings do anything useful. I'm not too proud to admit I'm intimidated and don't want an overpriced "jack of all master of none".
- tptacek 4y agoHave you ever tried a Chicago neighborhood-style pizza? Or are you just dismissing it on spec?
- llimllib 4y ago(I think they misinterpreted the parent comment as saying that Chicago thin crust is superior to New Haven, instead of that it's better than the more well-known-outside-of-Chicago pizza style, which is what I think the parent comment was saying. (If they _were_ actually saying that Chicago thin crust is in fact better than New Haven thin crust, well then I don't need to try this pizza either to know that it's not. /s))
- manicennui 4y agoI lived in Chicago for 15 years. Tavern-style pizza in Chicago can be good, but Piece's pizza (New Haven style) is better than most Chicago-style pizza. My go-to before I left the city was Crushed Pizzeria, which is Neapolitan-influenced. The only place I can ever remember eating decent tavern-style pizza is at dive bars. The thin crust from places like Giordano's and Rosati's is a soggy disgusting mess.
- tptacek 4y agoAs you'd expect, since Giordanos and Rosatis are deep-dish spots. Malnatis will sell you a thin-crust pizza, too, and it's cut into squares --- but it's not Chicago neighborhood-style pizza.
- ChancyChance 4y agoYes. I don't like any of it. The texture. The seasoning. The cheese. The bake. Awful IMHO.
- grogenaut 4y agoIs this similar to St Louis 's square beyond compare thin pizza or pretty similar? Mmm imos
- Kon-Peki 4y agoI’ve only had St Louis pizza in St Louis once, and the big difference is the cheese. I didn’t like it, but certainly a lot of people do like it or it wouldn’t survive as a style of pizza. Edit - Wikipedia says that St Louis pizza crust doesn’t have yeast in it. Chicago thin crust definitely uses yeast.
- graupel 4y agoProvel isn't worthy of using the word "cheese" to describe it. (said lovingly as someone who worked in STL and was often handed pies of "office pizza" from Imo's.)
- dole 4y agoEach Imo’s franchise is independently owned, and uses either Provel or cheaper “Zesty Pizza Loaf” depending on location. Now that I think about it, it’s like a white, grainy, Velveeta. One of the biggest problems with a cracker-thin crust is that you need to eat twice as much (or more) to get full, and it’s not any cheaper, but Imo’s does lay strips of bacon across their Deluxe and I’m a basic bitch.
- fbdab103 4y agoI am not even a native Chicagoan, though I lived there for many years, and I am personally offended anyone could have such a stance. I want each slice to be a meal.
- wsatb 4y agoMost Chicagoans I know do not eat deep dish often, nor do they even really like it. But...as someone else said, this isn't really the alternative. The crust is just plain wrong.
- jghn 4y agoYep. Of the several native chicago friends in my extended friend circle, all but one has a strong preference for the tavern square cut style
- rhino369 4y agoTavern pizza is pretty common throughout Chicagoland—most non chains specialize in it. But it’s not always cracker thin.
- pessimizer 4y agoTo be fair, an awful lot of upper-middle class esp. North Side Chicagoans aren't from Chicago. The inner suburbs are far more Chicago than a lot of neighborhoods in the city that are filled with various Midwestern emigrants (who didn't think they were good enough for NY, and didn't think they were good looking enough for California, so ended up in the second city.) The inner suburbs are filled with the descendants of white flight from the 50s-70s, who had been in the city for generations when most of its cultural touchstones were established. I'm from Chicago and I like deep dish, but these big thin slices are also good. It's obvious what the default is: when I was a kid "pizza" meant Giordano's or Eduardo's or Lou Malnati's or The Medici, or Unos or Dues, etc. Thin crust was called "thin crust." This article uses the same convention. edit: I think there was an exception for Reggio's. Maybe we thought of it as "pizza" because it's so dense and advertised as a "butter crust."
- 4y ago
- qbasic_forever 4y agoDetroit style doesn't get enough love. I feel like it's the perfect balance of pillowy thick but not filling you up. Laying stripes of sauce on top gives you a different flavor in every bite too.
- theyak 4y agoAfter trying the delicious Detroit style pizza found in Costco's frozen food section, I've been wanting to go to Detroit to try the real thing. It's my favorite frozen pizza.
- qbasic_forever 4y agoCheck out Kenji's recipe, it is really easy and forgiving to make Detroit style at home. Don't worry about getting the perfect rectangular steel pan either, a cast iron skillet works great. I use regular supermarket cheese too instead of ordering the more authentic brick cheese.
- bluedino 4y agoCurrently my favorite pizza style. If you live near a Jet's, you should be eating it. Their Stromboli's/boats are great too.
- dole 4y agoI’ll second Jet’s for Detroit-style, get the 8-corner or large deep dish. Tall, crispy edges. Little Caesar’s gets a pass on their Detroit-style, but Pizza Hut’s recent take was just disrespectful.
- tptacek 4y agoKenji's Detroit-style is my go-to home pizza: https://www.seriouseats.com/detroit-style-pizza-recipe https://www.seriouseats.com/detroit-style-pizza-recipe (It would be this Chicago recipe, but if you live in Chicago you're never more than 20 minutes out from someone delivering a better version of it than you can make).
- mhb 4y agoLooks like a pretty close facsimile with less effort could be made using a tortilla as the crust.
- tptacek 4y agoKenji agrees. https://www.seriouseats.com/extra-crispy-bar-style-tortilla-pizza-recipe https://www.seriouseats.com/extra-crispy-bar-style-tortilla-...