Pizano’s Pizza & Pasta
Sunday? That’s right, this is a Special Edition of Dining with Dad. When we were at Hudson 29, we were brainstorming ideas about this new tradition we were beginning. I thought it would be fun to take a road trip sometime during the summer as part of our Dining with Dad. One of the first thoughts of food and road trip that popped into my mind was Chicago style deep dish pizza. Not only would that be fun as a dining experience, I knew the kids would enjoy all the other activities that Chicago has to offer. Well, the kids NEVER forgot me mentioning that and so we decided to make the trip over.
We wanted to be in the heart of the city so we ended up staying at the Chicago Athletic Association. For those unfamiliar with this hotel, it’s directly across from Millennium Park. There’s a rooftop restaurant there which books out too far in advance for us to get seats for with our rash decision to travel to Chicago. However, we were able to still enjoy the view from the outdoor terrace while sipping on some refreshments from the bar. Being that it was July 4th, there were several mischievous teenagers/ young adults that were illegally setting off bottle rockets and firecrackers who were then being chased by the police. Alex and Chloe loved watching that unfold with the bird’s eye view of it all.
We decided to get the opinion of the hotel concierge on the nearby pizza restaurants and they recommended Pizano’s. After driving for so many hours we were thrilled to find out this was in walking distance, only about a half a block away from the hotel. We were able to beat the dinner rush and only had to wait a few minutes before getting a table. We got seated in the window right up front which was perfect for people watching!
If you visit Pizano’s website, you’ll learn all about their roots and the authenticity of their restaurant. This authenticity was apparent quickly when our Italian born waitress arrived at our table. I would guess that she was easily in her 70’s, but possibly even 80’s. Alex and Chloe are both sausage pizza lovers so we ordered one to split. I was going to snap a quick picture of the entire pie but when they bring it out to your table, it’s customary for them to serve one slice to each person.
How delicious does that look? It tasted just as good as it looks, maybe better actually. The only complaint from Chloe was that it was too cheesy, which you should know by now how she doesn’t like cheese. For the rest of us that love cheese, this pizza was simply amazing. The sauce was simply something you will never taste on a typical chain restaurant. Not to over use the word, but it was so authentic and tasted like what a tomato sauce should taste like. Finally, the crust was all that I was hoping for as well. One of the best components of a deep dish pizza is obviously the crust and this did not disappoint.