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R.I.P to the great Charlie Kirk!
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Posted by Reggie Essent
- December 12, 2025, 11:41:33 PMQuote from: DKG on December 12, 2025, 10:35:59 PMI had top notch Chicago style pizza at a couple of places in the Windy City.
Next time you're in town seek out the Aurelios.
And I'm not even getting paid for the advert! It's that fucking good.
Posted by Reggie Essent
- December 12, 2025, 11:40:29 PMQuote from: Prof Emeritus at Fawk U on December 12, 2025, 09:37:50 PMThey had a location at 95th near Harlem back in the early 2000s, but that one was the first to shutdown.
We both know why that might have been.
Posted by DKG
- December 12, 2025, 10:35:59 PMQuote from: Reggie Essent on December 12, 2025, 02:13:20 PMDeep dish really isn't that much of a thing here. It gets a lot of press for some reason, but I don't care for it. Too gooey. On the other hand, I'm not really into thin crust and prefer a thicker, risen dough crust.I had top notch Chicago style pizza at a couple of places in the Windy City.
But the bottom line is pizza is all about the sauce, as well as the quality of cheeses and toppings. I'm telling you -- if you ever get the chance to snarf on Aurelios pizza, you'll be hooked. :)
Posted by Prof Emeritus at Fawk U
- December 12, 2025, 09:37:50 PMQuote from: Reggie Essent on December 12, 2025, 09:33:14 PMI don't remember Leona's. Was that up there on the hoity toity north side?
They had a location at 95th near Harlem back in the early 2000s, but that one was the first to shutdown.
Posted by Reggie Essent
- December 12, 2025, 09:33:14 PMQuote from: Prof Emeritus at Fawk U on December 12, 2025, 09:13:30 PMI prefer the mom and pop pizzerias over the national chains. There used to be this great local chain called Leona's that unfortunately tanked due to family infighting after the matriarch that started the chain died. Truly great pizza that was lost.
I don't remember Leona's. Was that up there on the hoity toity north side?
Posted by Prof Emeritus at Fawk U
- December 12, 2025, 09:13:30 PMQuote from: Herman on December 12, 2025, 06:34:32 PMA good pizza to old Herman starts with a good crust. That means it has to be cooked in a wood fired oven.
Those chain pizzerias with processed cheese in the crust are inedible.
I prefer the mom and pop pizzerias over the national chains. There used to be this great local chain called Leona's that unfortunately tanked due to family infighting after the matriarch that started the chain died. Truly great pizza that was lost.
Posted by Herman
- December 12, 2025, 06:34:32 PMA good pizza to old Herman starts with a good crust. That means it has to be cooked in a wood fired oven.
Those chain pizzerias with processed cheese in the crust are inedible.
Those chain pizzerias with processed cheese in the crust are inedible.
Posted by Reggie Essent
- December 12, 2025, 04:59:37 PMQuote from: Lokmar on December 12, 2025, 04:52:40 PMWe used to have an Aurelios in Springfield when I was a kid. Springfield trash ran it into the ground. It was OK. Never had it in the Chicongo but I will next time I go up there again.
You won't be disappointed.
Posted by Lokmar
- December 12, 2025, 04:55:25 PMQuote from: Biggie Smiles on December 12, 2025, 10:04:05 AMwow.. I'm just stunned. The originators are behind the pack.
Dude, I've had a fair share of pizza from quite a few places and I'm not surprised Chicongo is better than Italy. Chicongo is to pizza what Kansas City is to BBQ!
Posted by Lokmar
- December 12, 2025, 04:52:40 PMQuote from: Reggie Essent on December 11, 2025, 05:08:52 PMThe very best pizza in the entire world is right here in Chicagoland at a place called Aurelios. Just ask the fucken Pope! Aurelios is his favorite pizza and mine too.
We used to have an Aurelios in Springfield when I was a kid. Springfield trash ran it into the ground. It was OK. Never had it in the Chicongo but I will next time I go up there again.
Posted by Frood
- December 12, 2025, 02:26:08 PMQuote from: Reggie Essent on December 12, 2025, 02:13:20 PMDeep dish really isn't that much of a thing here. It gets a lot of press for some reason, but I don't care for it. Too gooey. On the other hand, I'm not really into thin crust and prefer a thicker, risen dough crust.
But the bottom line is pizza is all about the sauce, as well as the quality of cheeses and toppings. I'm telling you -- if you ever get the chance to snarf on Aurelios pizza, you'll be hooked. :)
My dad used to get the pilots of his corporate jet to stuff a few deep dish pizzas in the fuselage on his way back north, stopping in Chicago. Papa G's or something... that was in the late 80's or early 90's... they were pleasant... maybe a little too thick/cheesy, but I didn't see what all the fanfare was about...it was still nice that he did that for his kids. We liked it better when he brought back east coast soft pretzels.... but not when he wrapped them in paper serviettes.... (They would steam into the napkins, then freeze on the way, and you'd be eating bits of napkin no matter how much you tried to delicately peel it off).
Wax paper was suggested, but he wouldn't have been caught dead keeping a roll in his briefcase.
Posted by Reggie Essent
- December 12, 2025, 02:13:20 PMQuote from: DKG on December 12, 2025, 07:22:31 AMI generally don't like Chicago style deep dish pizza. But, I like it on Chicago.
Deep dish really isn't that much of a thing here. It gets a lot of press for some reason, but I don't care for it. Too gooey. On the other hand, I'm not really into thin crust and prefer a thicker, risen dough crust.
But the bottom line is pizza is all about the sauce, as well as the quality of cheeses and toppings. I'm telling you -- if you ever get the chance to snarf on Aurelios pizza, you'll be hooked. :)
Posted by Frood
- December 12, 2025, 02:03:01 PMI am a bit of a pizza connoisseur having grown up state and nation hopping. I've never been to Italy, however, I've worked with enough expats over the decades to know that pizza in Italy was traditionally impoverished food and it sucks balls. I'm sure that it's improved slightly at some Italian dining establishments, though. Time brings improvement... just look at British food.
I grew up on the East Coast, Midwest, and West in the US, so I believe I can speak authentically on this topic.
Deep dish is fine... Philly/NY/NJ is better... West Coast pizzas are often an abomination.
The one rule all should abide by though is never buy a pizza in Wheeling, WV... especially if it's from the "cafeteria" of a really Gothic Holiday Inn building with crimson velvet drapes. They will (and did) use cheddar cheese, unflavoured tomato paste, and sliced hotdogs... on a scale of 1-10, if you think Hot Pockets are a 10, Wheeling Gothic Holiday Inn room service pizzas are a -3....
South and Central American pizzas are often surprisingly tasty and decadent... plenty of nicer cheeses and ingredients but not too many to crowd a pie (in a nod to NY, PA, and Chicago). Thicker yet precise. Even the international pizza chain offerings are better there, probably because people still cook and won't pay a small fortune for an Italian themed version of shit on toast.
NZ pizzas are pretty average but the slices they sell in the Auckland airport are probably their best, because travelers would start a riot otherwise. As an aside, last I knew Aucklund Airport still had a chained fence accessible from the terminal building for smokers. Or was it the plexiglass basement smoking room? It always changed, but it's a great feature to be able to have a smoke without going through customs and bag check lines. Makes sense if you've been in flight for up to 20 hours and really really need a durrie instead of two nicotine patches and three pieces of nicotine gum at once.
Australian pizzas are average. They were worse 30 years ago,so it's a vast improvement. I often get into heated arguments with people who claim to make fantastic pizzas or say they do because of their Italian heritage...
...and if they insist that a great pizza has to have diced spam and tinned pineapple on it, I glass them and use their face blood as a flavour upgrade.
I grew up on the East Coast, Midwest, and West in the US, so I believe I can speak authentically on this topic.
Deep dish is fine... Philly/NY/NJ is better... West Coast pizzas are often an abomination.
The one rule all should abide by though is never buy a pizza in Wheeling, WV... especially if it's from the "cafeteria" of a really Gothic Holiday Inn building with crimson velvet drapes. They will (and did) use cheddar cheese, unflavoured tomato paste, and sliced hotdogs... on a scale of 1-10, if you think Hot Pockets are a 10, Wheeling Gothic Holiday Inn room service pizzas are a -3....
South and Central American pizzas are often surprisingly tasty and decadent... plenty of nicer cheeses and ingredients but not too many to crowd a pie (in a nod to NY, PA, and Chicago). Thicker yet precise. Even the international pizza chain offerings are better there, probably because people still cook and won't pay a small fortune for an Italian themed version of shit on toast.
NZ pizzas are pretty average but the slices they sell in the Auckland airport are probably their best, because travelers would start a riot otherwise. As an aside, last I knew Aucklund Airport still had a chained fence accessible from the terminal building for smokers. Or was it the plexiglass basement smoking room? It always changed, but it's a great feature to be able to have a smoke without going through customs and bag check lines. Makes sense if you've been in flight for up to 20 hours and really really need a durrie instead of two nicotine patches and three pieces of nicotine gum at once.
Australian pizzas are average. They were worse 30 years ago,so it's a vast improvement. I often get into heated arguments with people who claim to make fantastic pizzas or say they do because of their Italian heritage...
...and if they insist that a great pizza has to have diced spam and tinned pineapple on it, I glass them and use their face blood as a flavour upgrade.
Posted by Brent
- December 12, 2025, 11:53:06 AMQuote from: wizer on December 11, 2025, 03:18:21 PMThat's ironic.Whatever. In Canada if you want the best pizza go to a restaurant owned by Greek immigrants.
Given that pizza in Greece doesn't deserve to even be called pizza.
Interestingly, a recent trip to Italy revealed that the pizza there isn't good either.
Posted by Biggie Smiles
- December 12, 2025, 10:04:05 AMQuote from: wizer on December 12, 2025, 05:38:51 AMAmerican pizza is nothing like in Italy (I was surprised too). Pizza in Italy is generally thin, floppy slices, although I was able to find one pizza place where it was close to what I'm used to in the US. That particular place was in a really old picturesque town called Orvieto which has underground caverns, a castle and lots of ruins to check out. It was one of the trip highlights, but I digress. It was a constant chain of people were walking in and out carrying boxes of pizza almost nonstop.wow.. I'm just stunned. The originators are behind the pack.