Went to East of Chicago (EoC) Pizza Monday and got their version of the authentic chicago style pizza aka Malnatis/Giordano (M/G) style.
Around $13 dollars for a 1 topping (pepperoni) 12" - only came in one size.
Unboxing showed a pie very similar in looks to what I recall two weeks ago from Chicago. Crust looked almost identical.
Sauce was a bright chunky red and there were a few diced onions in there (don't recall the M/Gs having onions but I could be wrong).
Pulling a slice out, it was about the same thickness with slightly stringy cheese - so far pretty close to M/Gs...
But I noticed the crust was a bit on the thick side - maybe 1/2 in the bottom. NOTE: I seem to recall the M/Gs being two thin crusts with toppings in the middle. There seem to be two very similar types of Chicago styles - the regular deep dish Chicago and the stuffed crust deep dish Chicago. The version at EoC Pizza is the former - not a stuffed crust.
I believe the way they assembled at EoC was a single crust, thicker on the bottom, followed by a dusting of seasoning (different from M/Gs) then pepperoni, cheese and finally sauce. Another NOTE: Malnati's had a shaker of seasonings on the table so seasonings are not uncommon - it just isn't added during assembly. The EoC pie was baked at this point because the cheese had developed a nice browning in places (another difference from M/Gs I believe) and then sauced after it came out of the oven.
Now all component and assembly differences aside - how was it?
Well, it wasn't a M/G's Pie, thats for sure. But I thought it was quite tasty once I let myself understand that it wasn't an M/Gs pie! The crust had a very good flavor and was quite reminiscent of the M/G crusts, despite the seasoning. The sauce was good, but definitely had a heavier seasoned salty flavor whereas the M/Gs both tasted very fresh and light with unadulterated tomato flavor being the star.
The wife on the other hand was underwhelmed. She dearly loves the Giordano Pie but pretty much doesn't care to have this particular pie again. She would say it is a doppelganger pizza - looks virtually identical but is pretty far from it.
So, if you crave an authentic chicago deep dish, this may be the closest offering available on this side of the Ohio - but for the real deal - head a few hours north! That being said, I'll venture to NABC sometime in the future and give their version a try. Besides, they have more than a few good beers to make the short drive worthwhile - at least until we begin paying tolls...