Let’s start off by wishing a very happy 80th birthday not only to Pizzeria Uno, but also to the very concept of deep dish pizza itself.
While there’s no debate that deep dish as a style was born in Pizzeria Uno way back in 1943, there is plenty of debate about who exactly came up with the idea.
Chicago Historian Tim Samuelson will tell you with a doubt that it was a man named Ric Riccardo:
But lots of other folks attribute it to a former football player from Texas named Ike Sewell (who was one of Riccardo’s business partners), or Rudy Malnati Sr. (yes, those Malnatis), or arguably the most influential Chicago pizza maker of all-time, Alice Mae Redmond.
There’s a lot more to the story, and Chicago’s Best did a great series of videos on The Origins of Deep Dish Pizza a few years back:
Kori Rumore, who curates the Vintage Tribune Instagram, recently hopped on the Steve Cochran Show to further discuss the history of Pizzeria Uno and deep dish as well (and you can find that episode right here).
So happy birthday to the style of pizza that, while delicious, most Chicagoans will rush to tell you is actually not the style of pizza we care to be known for.
Speaking of tavern-style, it’s definitely having a national moment right now. I feel like I’m seeing it as the main focus in new pizza restaurants all over the country at a similar frequency that Detroit-style was a few years back when it really started to become a known style.
Esquire Magazine recently dropped a Best New Restaurants in America list and their winner for ‘Best Pizza Joint’ is a shop in Houston called Nonno’s Family Pizza Tavern that specializes in tavern-style pies (there’s some local restaurants on the list as well, including Warlord, which is fantastic).
Tavern-style is everywhere now. You can get it in Portland, Oregon at places like Jerry’s Pizza. In Nashville at Dicey’s. In New York City at Emmett’s on Grove. In Long Beach, California at Speak Cheezy (I used to live in the LBC and they’re in dire need of good pizza). And my little sister’s birthday is coming up (HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ALLY!) - she lives in Colorado and when I asked her what she’s doing to celebrate she sent me a link to a food truck called Chi Guyz that does tavern-style pop-ups in the mountains of suburban Denver:
Staying on tavern for a minute, Block Club did a nice piece documenting Billy Z’s quest to make a single enjoyable thing about this season of Chicago Bears football.
In case you missed it, Billy is designing a different custom pizza every week based around food items from the city of the Bears’ opponent. And he’s putting a lot of thought into it:
“I love to do things that are different. … I don’t want to just do the same thing everybody else does,” Zureikat said. “They’re not just gimmicky, over-the-top pizzas. I mean, yes, some of them are over the top, but purposely. There’s thought that goes into every element.”
On the subject of football I recently watched Amazon’s new Barry Sanders documentary and I was pleasantly surprised by the ratio of his highlighted runs against the Bears. In my 90s kid memory I still feel like they’ve never tackled him.
And while we’re talking Detroit, Chris Tussing (CEO of the only Michigan pizza chain this newsletter recognizes - Buddy’s) hopped on the Pizza Marketplace Podcast to talk about the origins of Detroit-style pizza (which, surprise surprise, is also highly contested).
There’s some new bakers in Chicago running a pop-up (and soon to be shop in Pilsen) called Novel Pizza that are using really interesting Filipino-inspired ingredients to create some unique pizza combinations.
I have no idea what exactly an “Alico Crown Pan Pizza” is (I’m assuming it’s carmelized adjacent), but it looks delicious and I’m going to eat the Hell out of it as soon as I get the chance.
There’s a new shop that just opened in downtown Geneva called Nemec Brothers Pizzeria that’s serving New York-style pies.
The pizzeria is run by Brett and Chad Nemec, who own and operate the popular Lakeview spot Zaza’s Pizzeria along with their parents.
Zaza’s is a favorite of my family and everything I’ve seen of Nemec Brothers so far leads me to believe the pizza will be just as wonderful. Be sure to check them out if you’re ever in Geneva (which even though it’s 40 miles away I guarantee you is still lousy with people telling everyone that they’re “from Chicago”).
Speaking of true Chicagoans, looking for some pizza recs in the Northwest ‘Burbs? Chicago Parent has got you.
And guess who made the list?!?
Looking for New York-style in actual Chicago? Axios just posted a list of their six favorite slices (which includes Zaza’s).
They don’t have either of my two favorite New York-style shops on there (one of which I never see mentioned), and I’ll talk about them both in more detail soon.
Also, to Jonathan C. from the honorable mentions section; you can do a lot better than Whole Foods, my man. And I would argue it’s probably a lot more difficult to get to a Whole Foods in Chicago than whatever awesome local pizza place is hanging out in your neighborhood.
If you’re ordering pizza anywhere near Skokie anytime soon maybe check out EJ’s Pizzeria and give them some business. They recently had something very disgusting and unfortunate happen to their business and I’m sure that they’d appreciate it.
I was just notified about a YouTube Channel called Policy Pizza, where the host takes a guest out for pizza and they talk through the issues facing whichever city they’re in.
They just posted a Chicago episode, and here’s the blurb:
With escalating violence, dirty cops, failing schools, population decline, mounting debt... It seems if anyone ranks cities on anything, Chicago is at the bottom. Policy expert Austin Berg joins us in the Windy City to talk corruption, city governance, and his book, The New Chicago Way: Lessons from Other Big Cities.
Do you make pizza at home? A Food Scientist (which is probably the second best kind of scientist after the ghost busting kind) named Kevin Ryan recommends you replace the water in your dough with club soda in order to get fluffier dough with huge air pockets.
The major issue I’m seeing is that the carbon dioxide in the soda water dissipates over time, so it probably won’t work too well with any dough that calls for a long fermentation (ie, you’re leaving it in the fridge for a few days to build the carbon dioxide in order to improve the flavor and gluten structure).
A 57-year-old shop in Franklin Park called Jake’s Pizza just closed its’ doors.
It’s been a bummer of a few weeks in Chicago as word has come down that longtime West Town staple Duk’s Red Hots (which has been around for 70 years!) is closing and being rebranded as of Jan. 01, Metropolitan Brewing lost their long battle with their landlord and will be closing their taproom on Sunday, December 17, and the sale of the property where The Freeze is located has been finalized and former owner Tony Zarcone has no idea what the new owner is going to do with it (he held out hope he could find a buyer that would promise to keep the longtime ice cream spot open).
If you have a couple extra bucks you’d like to put to good pizza related use this holiday season Slice Out Hunger is asking for funds to fuel their hunger relief efforts for next year.
They also provide a lot of volunteering opportunities to get involved in your local community should you be interested in learning more about that as well.
When pizza and hockey collide I’m contractually obligated to talk about it. The Toronto Maple Leafs reached a deal with Canadian pizza chain Pizza Pizza to be official team sponsors and in return the Leafs will wear Pizza Pizza logos emblazoned on their helmets for every home game during the remainder of the season.
I spent some time in Detroit as a 19-year-old, which means I spent way too much time in Windsor, Ontario as a 19-year-old, and Pizza Pizza was one of the frequent stops before our return across the border. It remains some of the worst pizza I’ve ever had.
I also feel obligated to talk about this list of Christmas movies that are set in Illinois as it’s almost Christmas and I’m very much in Illinois. We all know what the best one is, and I’ll actually be eating a lovely cheese pizza with my kids right before seeing it on the big screen at The Tivoli in Downers Grove this coming Sunday.
Speaking of Chicago and Christmas, did you know that Rudolph is actually from Chicago?!? I definitely did not, and now it will be impossible for me to see him and not get mad that he doesn’t have a mustache like Dennis Farina.
And finally, want to try some Flamin’ Hot Cheetos made by Michel-starred Chef Jenner Tomaska?
Apologies for the lack of newsletter last week. I had a couple things set up to write about that had to be rescheduled and I have a feeling it’s not going to be any easier the next few weeks with the holidays coming up. I’ll have at least one more newsletter go out in 2023 though and I’ve got some big plans for next year. As always, I sincerely appreciate the support!