Chicago Pies & Dogs

A highlight of our Chicago trip was the food. I am sure some people would think I would say the architecture. Nah, these days I have my priorites straight.

Chicago deep dish Pizza: If you ask anyone in Chicago where can you find the greatest deep dish pizza, you will hear Giordano's, Lou Malnati's, Pizzeria Uno, Gino's East, and maybe a few others. Everyone has their own opinion as to who has the best pie.

Giordano's was our first meal in Chicago (how convenient it was block from our hotel). We ordered a small which serves 1-2 people (more like 2-4 people). After the first bite, we agreed with others, this had to be the best deep dish. I have never in my life seen so much cheese on a pizza, without ordering extra cheese. Our bellies were full after two pieces and we were happy. Really, our bellies were full after the first piece.

Then . . . Bryan asked our boat tour guide who had the best

pizza. He said by far - Lou Malnati's (as seen on "Man vs. Food"). The next day before we took the "L" back to the airport, we went for a "little" walk - to Lou's. (Little meaning over a m

ile). When they pizza arrived, we were not impressed by it's appearance. Not enough cheese, nor was it as deep as Giordano's. However, when we tasted the pie . . . it was a little piece of heaven. Light crust, spicy sausage, and chunky tomato sauce. Much to our surprise, it tasted much better than Giordano's. Along with our left over pizza, we took 3 frozen pies home. Yum! (Sorry we forgot our camera so no photos)

Chicago-style hot dogs: Before our trip, we were Chicago-style hot dog virgins: vienna beef dog, mustard, relish, onion, sport peppers, tomatoes, pickles, celery salt on a poppy seed bun. Ketchup is frowned upon on these dogs. I thought this would be a challenge, as I am a huge ketchup fan and typically drown my food in it. Nope, no need for ketchup. The dog was very spicy, fresh tasting, and filling.

We hope to visit Chicago again, as we have a long list of things we didn't have time to fit in. On that list, is of course, more food joints. We learned the day before we left, Chicago is also famous for it's Italian beef sandwich. We had no clue about that one. Guess we gotta go back.