Jon Stewart on NY vs Chicago Pizza

[Robin Garr]

KNEEL and WORSHIP HERE INFIDELS !

http://www.mypiepizza.com/

My eyes! My eyes! Make it stop!

Every time I visit Champaign, Ill., I bring a few of these Papa Del's pizzas home for the kids. They sell take-n-bake versions that are pretty close to the restaurant version. It may not be pizza as Jon Stewart defines them but we like 'em.

[Robin Garr]

Every time I visit Champaign, Ill., I bring a few of these Papa Del's pizzas home for the kids. They sell take-n-bake versions that are pretty close to the restaurant version. It may not be pizza as Jon Stewart defines them but we like 'em.

I think I'm finally beginning to grasp something here: That looks delicious. I could definitely eat it. Both of those statements are true, AND it doesn't say "pizza" to me. I guess that's okay. I could still eat it.

Mi Pi is college and beer and good times for me, lots of pleasureable memories of that place.

\Now I'm gonna go eat some pizza.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, but what style?

Probably Coal's. I am an unrepentant bread addict, so the crust is always paramount for me.

[Robin Garr]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, but what style?

Probably Coal's. I am an unrepentant bread addict, so the crust is always paramount for me. [/quote]
Coal's is pretty much my No. 1 when I want serious pizza, with props to Caffe Classico, which is not your traditional pizzeria yet fashions a true Italian-style pizza (via Bosnia, but that's only a footnote), and to Boombozz, which remains my go-to when I want a pizza delivered, or Impellizzeri's because Impellizzeri's.

For a long time I counted Papalino's in this mix because they have potential for greatness, but I've had real problems with consistent quality.

For a long time I counted Papalino's in this mix because they have potential for greatness, but I've had real problems with consistent quality.

S'what happens when you put hipsters in the kitchen

I'm with Rob on this. I don't like a pan full of hot dough. It's all about the toppings- good sauce, good sausage, good cheese and fresh veggies.

True Chicago Pizza (the top places - the Uno's, Due's, Malnoti's, et al) have significantly more toppings than crust. Part of what makes it "deep dish" is that a medium pizza might have 3/4 inch of crust, but 1.5 inches of ingredients! I have a recipe from the Chicago Tribune from maybe 40 years ago for an authentic deep dish pizza, and in a 12" crust there is over a pound of Italian sausage.

Yes, the dough is thick, but that's really to support the amount of ingredients rather than because people like thick dough . . . and yes, tho it hasn't been mentioned here, there is cornmeal in the dough, but that helps it release from the pan.

My personal favorite is Giordano's stuffed crust special. It has a thin "NY Style" crust topped with maybe an inch of spinach, mushrooms, and cheese, topped with a second thin crust, topped with sauce and more cheese. The total is almost two inches high, but the amount of crust is minimal.

Several of these pies have been franchised, and I think the universal result is that the "chain" versions are bread pies with some ingredients, while the "true" Chicago versions are ingredient pies with just enough bread to allow one to eat it!

Pequod's (haven't been to Burt's, who started the Pequod's pizza style) wins HANDS DOWN for me when it comes to the Chicago Pizza Wars.

That carmelized crust is

Jon Stewart calls pizza truce after Malnati visits 'The Daily Show'

http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertain ... .htmlstory

How do you classify the pie at Clifton's? (My local pizza of choice)

We were poor and rural, so I grew up on Pizza Hut who had a thin crust and a pan pizza (I guess the homogenized best of both worlds?). I always preferred the thin. But the real magic would be trips to my father's hometown of Middletown OH, where we would get 4 or 5 extra large pizzas from Vic Cassano's. That cracker thin salty crust is still the very best pizza I know of.

[Robin Garr]

How do you classify the pie at Clifton's? (My local pizza of choice).

I like it, Ronnie. I tend to place Clifton into the same category as Impellizzeri's and Wick's in that it's a Louisville-style pizza (fairly thin but bready crust with generous ingredients, sauce and cheese in layers, with one "name" pie that's piled particularly high. I think Impel came first with that model but couldn't swear it ... it seems they all perfected similar pies in the '70s, maybe?

Every time I visit Champaign, Ill., I bring a few of these Papa Del's pizzas home for the kids. They sell take-n-bake versions that are pretty close to the restaurant version. It may not be pizza as Jon Stewart defines them but we like '

Oh man, Papa Dels!! I went to U of I, Champaign, and the original "Papa's " was a serious favorite- though a special treat on broke college student budget. You are literally making my tummy rumble thinking about it!
Deb