12" wafer-thin crust. Baked to the point where the cheese caramelizes into the other ingredients. The original Fricanos were immigrants from Palermo.
From their web site:
Gus Fricano and his good friend Ray Harz traveled to Chicago to watch the Cubs play baseball. Across the street from Wrigley Field Gus noticed a sign promoting pizza, and there the light went on in Gus’ head and on the way home he told Ray that he was going to try to buy some pizza ovens and Ray had no clue what Gus was talking about. After a long discussion Ray finally decided Gus was crazy but that didn’t dampen Gus’ enthusiasm for his newfound idea. Next, he had to approach his mother and request her expertise in preparing his pizza recipe and she and Gus’ dad said "Cosimo, you must be crazy. Americans don’t want a pizza, that is food for paupers. They are rich, they want steak, not a pizza pie." Gus persisted further and eventually got his mother to agree to help him in his quest for the perfect tasting pizza.
"Gus, what the hell is that smell," was a common remark when the ovens fired up for the first few pizzas Gus ever baked. "Just try it and tell me what you think," he’d politely ask his patrons. NO ONE knew what pizza was back then. People didn’t even know how to say it; they had to spell it out to Gus so he knew what they were talking about. Gus said he gave more pizzas away the first year than he sold because nobody knew what it was they were buying. But that all started to change as word spread about this new thing called pizza served over at the Fricano's Tavern as the pizza sales went from a couple of dozen a week to the current figures of 3000 per week during the peak months of the summer. The record night at Fricano's® was July 3, 1994 when that little old boarding house turned tavern pumped out 1200 pizzas in one night. It’s normal to average 750-850 pizzas on any given night between Memorial Day to Labor Day. But this is not just a summer phenomenon. People craving this pizza delicacy line up at the door at Fricano's® just about every weekend of the year, regardless of weather conditions. Freezing temperatures or rain does not prevent the Fricano faithful from standing at the doors at both ends of this 100+ year-old building waiting for the next available table to clear so that they may be the next group to be seated. Can it really be all worth it? Ask anyone who has ever indulged into one of these legendary thin crust beauties and the answer will be filled with nothing but the highest praise and adoration, they are that good.
