Pizza! Pizza! But Where?

 Louis P. wrote:
 >
 >Can anyone tell me where to find great pizza in Pittsburgh.  I'm used
 >to Chicago style pizza and I think I'm going into withdrawl.  Please
 >help!
 >
 >Lou
 >
 There is a place on Carson Street in the South Side (between 17th and
 18th) called Little Chicago's pizza.
 Having never been to Chicago, I can't verify how authentic their
 Chicago style pizza is, but we love it.

 Terri

 In  [email removed] (Louis J.
 Paller) writes:
 >
 >
 >Can anyone tell me where to find great pizza in Pittsburgh.  I'm used
 >to Chicago style pizza and I think I'm going into withdrawl.  Please
 >help!
 >
 >Lou
 Chicago style...you're out of luck unless Pizzaria Uno counts.  For a
 good thick crusted pizza, try Mineo's in Squirrel Hill...their Sicilian
 is great.

 Joseph M. wrote:
 > The "deep dish" pizzas that people have mentioned may be good in their
 > own right, but are not truly "Chicago" style.  I have yet to see a
 > real Chicago style pizza --- one that has the general look of a big
 > cheesecake (all of the goodies are inside, not on the top) and is
 > about 2.5 inches thick --- outside of the Loop.  (I thought that
 > thickness even waned in the Chicagoland suburbs.)

 Well, after seeing it mentioned in this group, I went to the Little
 Chicago Pizzeria on Carson St. on Saturday.

 I was a tad disappointed; it wasn't quite what I expected.  It was a
 decent imitation of Chicago style, but with a couple of important
 differences.  The pizzas were indeed thick, with the cheese & goodies
 on the inside and sauce on top; at least they got that much right.

 We got 2 pizzas, a spinach and a pepperoni.  The problem was the same
 with both: too much "topping", not enough cheese.  The spinach was
 overpowering; I didn't eat a second slice.  For the pepperoni pizza,
 the ideal pepperoni/cheese ratio should be about 0.7, IMHO.  This was
 about 1.7 -- way too much pepperoni.  (Which made the pizza very
 greasy.)

 The sauce seemed to have been added on top much later in the baking
 process; I would have chopped the tomatoes finer (too chunky) and
 added it right at the start to get it almost dry on top.  The crust
 was a bit too done, also: very hard.

 I guess this sounds like a pretty harsh review, but it wasn't all that
 bad.  If this pizzeria were in the Loop, I wouldn't give it too much
 respect, but since it's 500 miles away I give them some credit for
 trying.  I did enjoy having a reheated slice of the pepperoni on
 Sunday for supper.  :)

 (For reference, my favorite pizza comes from Papa Del's, in Champaign,
 IL, followed closely by the Giordano's at 747 N. Rush St. in Chicago,
 followed by other Chicago Giordano's.)

 As to outside-the-Loop thick pizza, you should try out Papa Del's if
 you find yourself in Champaign.  You will not be disappointed.
 (Unless you order the spinach stuffed pizza.  They seem to have fallen
 victim to the too-much-spinach syndrome as well.)

 __
 Ben Cox                             [email removed]
 ex-Chicagoan