Ricobene’s

Checked out Ricobene’s on 252 W. 26th Street off a tip from Maggie AKA the Crapper a couple weekends ago. Being a thorough by the slice spot, I got to try their deep dish, pan and thin, as well as my girlfriend’s lasagna pizza. All were great, deep dish being best and thin next in line. Pan was good too but not different enough from thin to really be noticeable. The real winner though was their lasagna pizza. Hard to describe beyond it’s name. It’s deep dish with lasagna stuff in the middle. Quite different and very good!

Little Betsie’s Bistro

I spent the holidays in Michigan pretty close to this spot and while picking up some groceries from there spied them making some mozzarella bread. Had to pick up a pizza from them the next day and turned out pretty decent. Saucy and good cheese. Toppings were OK, crust was best part with multiple flavor choices. We got butter Parmesan and garlic, both of which were good.

Pompei

Ate at Pompei pizza at 2955 North Sheffield Avenue a couple nights back. They sell pizza by the rectangle and are pretty speedy with the order. Despite the pizzas being pre-made, they’re fresh. Well cooked cheese with plenty of flavor on top of a flaky crispy crust. Not quite thin crust, not quite pan, but gets the best from both. I liked.

Ranalli’s of Andersonville

Had a very late start to the day Saturday after Thanksgiving and felt pizza would be the only way to get me ready for the afternoon. I ordered delivery from Ranalli’s, a spot nearby at 1512 W Berwyn in Andersonville and got their pan pizza. Pizza came quick and though it looked a little plain, turned out quite great. The crust was actually pretty thin and tasty cheese took up most of the space with slightly overcooked pepperoni topping it off. While the flavors were pretty standard, the crispy crust and pepperoni made it stand out. Definitely wanna try it again.

Village Inn Pizza

I work around Skokie so have checked out a few food spots in the area. I first ate at the Village Inn Pizza at 8050 N Lincoln during a company get together. I tried their pan pizza which was very gooey-cheesy, thick and great. I went there again recently and got to try their thinner slices which were also good. Dough kind of has a pretzel-y taste to it which I liked a lot and the cheese was plentiful.

Rosati’s Pizza

I first tried Rosati’s when I was in Champaign, IL for college and one opened up as an alternative to Papa Del’s for deep dish. I really liked their buttery crust that was a little crispy and very tasty cheese. There was a little much grease but it must have helped the flavor a bit too. Got to re-try it at a spot near my place at 4863 N Broadway and though it was different, still really liked it. The dough wasn’t as crispy on this one, but it maintained the buttery flavor. Cheese and toppings were just as good as I remembered it. While it doesn’t rank up to my favorite deep dish spots, it’s a great choice when wanting some straight deep dish and not between 11PM and 5AM (when Chicago’s is still open…review coming soon after a late night fourth meal).

My kinda pizza cutter…Now to find some mini spinners and a whistle to make it go woooooo

???

I was at a dub-step night at the Myour house, someone took this out of the fridge and microwaved it. A hoard of hands went for it right after I snapped the shot and I only got a little crust + cheese. It was really good though. Where was this pizza from?!! Jessica, Cat, anyone know?

Chuck E Cheese

So while blogging about pizza I get many suggestions for places to try out. I’ve still gotta hit up a lot of those, but one of the (prolly joke) suggestions was to try Chuck E Cheese for old time’s sake. Now I remember this place (when it was Showbiz PIzza) to have the best pizza and so-so games. 1st grade birthday parties going apeshit on these then-huge slices is still a vivid image to me. Too bad it’s really just that ‘cause their pizza is hardly what my childhood memory makes it out to be. The best thing they had going for them is the bread/crust. It’s really soft, on some melt in your mouth with a thin crispiness making for great dipping bread. Everything else is pretty bland and the cheese is oddly thin making it seem like it was spread on the pizza with a knife. I could barely taste the pepperoni on top of the other cardboard ingredients. Well, on top of feeling weird being in a place where a giant mouse sings about toppings AND getting carded when entering, I had to eat some mediocre pizza. Not the best experience, and it really shouldn’t be cause it’s a friggin’ kids place. Don’t go there unless you’re a seven year old or are accompanied by one.