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I had my first taste of an Uno's pizza during the summer of 1966. I was visiting a cousin who was a Missouri native and on Saturday night, we waited in the line to get in. Well worth the wait. And that was in the original with all the names carved on the wooden walls and a pizza such as I had never had before. But that's not so hard to do as I am a native of the deep southern part of Illinois and to the best of my memory, the closest we came to pizza was a package product my mother sometimes would make. Later, 10 years later, I moved to Chicago and one of the first places I HAD to go was to Uno's. Winter time, so always happy when we got in the door to wait -- it's not called the "windy city" without justification! So, we give our order to the waitress and we wait, and we wait, finally, name called. Think we had beers and perhaps a salad, but the much awaited pizza arrives, pipping hot at the waitress warns us as she does the bit with the handy tool and looseens the pizza from the pan and put a slice on each of our plates. Oh, did that bring back memories of that first one. We always had to order the same ingredients -- sausage, onion, mushroom and green pepper! OH! the thought of that, my mouth is watering already! We (that is my ex-husband and I) would often meet there for pizza. Then friends introduced us to their favorite place which was further north and west of the Water Tower area. Unfortunately, I don't remember the name -- just that it was a thin crust. And later, someone suggested we try Lou Malnati's -- we only lived a short distance away, so that one became our real favorite. The house salad was great and did not fill us so much that we had no room for that pizza that was always the small -- perfect for 2 people! Then we moved closer to the loop and we tried a few more -- there was one place, name escapes me now, but it was to the east off of Michigan avenue, and it too, was always a wait. Then we got even smarter and started getting forzen cheese & sauage ones which we started keeping in the freezer for those times when we just had to have a slice. And I added the green pepper, onions & mushrooms to those.
One evening while sitting in the bar section at Uno's, we were crowded next to a travelling salesman and since the space is so small, we got to chatting about food. He always made time to go to Uno's when in Chicago, but then some how my home town was mentioned and he said not matter how close he was to the neighboring town, he made a point of going to a Barbeque place -- Ray's in Harrisburg. Well, there is a man after my own heart -- althought my family favored another place, I had often eaten in Rays (and still get his sauce and find his grandson and get sandwiches).
Then there were other places for pizza that suddenly started popping up in various areas close to the loop. One place had a spinach pizza, another was close to where the ex worked and we had some pizza there.
I moved to San Antonio in '86, so no more pizza -- might have checked to see if someone could get a frozen one and overnight it, but that never occured to me and the price would have been silly. Then a move to St. Louis, a trip to Chicago for several reasons, so more pizza from one or the other of my favs. But while in St. Louis, they suddenly opened a "store" not far from us there. Well, was I disappointed!!! I told husband we could split one --- oh, was I wrong, too small and not the same crust.
But because of that we looked at the menu again and ordered a different style which was much better.
Then some years later, we move to the Philly area and discover the first night we are there -- our anniversary, no less, that there was a new Uno's almost in walking distance. So for years we went there for pizza. Fortunately, at some point a second one was opened and we not longer
had to put up with the rude, tired parents and screaming babies who had stopped at the first place they came to after they left Seseame Place. Summers at Uno's at that location were awful. But we did try several other pizza places over the years and I must say, that I have two favorites and they are Uno's and Lou Malnati's.
I did find it interesting one summer when we met my niece and her family at the Field Museum to see King Tut, her husband, who grew up in a Chicago suburb and also went to conventions at the convention center! Had NEVER HAD an Uno's pizza!!! My niece was in 7th heaven because, despite her 20 year + delay of seeing the King Tut exhibit, she also got to have some Unos! And I have a friend in Chicago who used to send me gift certificates from Lou Malnati's and I would order a pizza and a dessert. We also lived in Pittsburgh and I went nuts when we saw a new Uno's --- the franchise stores are not exactly the same -- and one thing missing seems to be the corn meal in the pans!!!

But I say Uno, Due or Lou Malnati's. I never cared for what they ordered at my last job in Pittsburgh when we had overtime -- they were thin crust and just not a Chicago style pizza. Close, but really NOT CIGAR!!!
Mary

@valgalpal: I have forgotten more about pizza/culinary arts than you know.

My treatise is not something I pulled out of my ass I know a large contingent of people who really dislike Lou Mal's it's really not that good!

An article in today's Chicago Tribune details some of the efforts by Tim Samuelson to get the true story behind the invention of deep dish pizza. Samuelson, the Cultural Historian for the City's Department of Cultural Affairs, went on a quest to settle once and for all who should get the credit for inventing deep dish pizza, Ike Sewell or Rudy Malnati. He didn't solve it, but thanks to his research, I learned a few new nuggets of Chicago pizza intel that are worth reporting.

First, I should have given more credit to Richard Novaretti, known as Ric Riccardo, who started Uno's with Ike Sewell. In fact, Uno's was originally known as The Pizzeria, a name soon changed to Riccardo's Pizzeria, which lasted until 1955. That year, the pair opened Due's and renamed their first restaurant Uno's.

Second, Uno's is located in a building that was originally a mansion built by lumber baron Nathan Mears. During the 1940s and 1950s, phone books show that Sewell, Riccardo and Malnati all lived in the mansion that also housed the restaurant.

Third, while I mentioned the tie between Gino's East and Uno's in my review of the former, I did not know that Delisi's was started by a former waitress at Uno's. Nor was I aware that Louisa's which I have yet to review for Slice was also started by a former Due's employee.

Timothyrows: I don't know what you know about Chicago pizza, but as I was born and raised on Chicago pizza, I've never heard of Pequod's or Piece. Might as well be Cumquat's. Chicago's pizza? You must be from New York or outerspace. Lou's is the best. Even Bobby Flay couldn't make a better pizza when he challenged them to a throwdown!

Lou's is awesome and if you pick up a frozen one in any of their storefronts they are great at home...so I imagine the ones you get shipped are pretty good too. And their jingle is pretty catchy...1 800 loutogo...

Please don't take this the wrong way, but I believe I speak for a number of people in my following treatise on Lou Mal's: "Home of Flawless Deep Dish" Wow that is a statement. Lou Mal's is more likely the home of a flawless tourist trap. Now its one thing to be a tourist trap and produce a great product and another thing to produce a marginal one. Lou Malnati's definitely falls into the latter category. There is simply much better Chicago pie out there. If you want to keep it close to the above locale head to Pequod's or Piece or even...Chicago's pizza. Yea i went there even Chicago's is better. Lou Mal's crust and bottom of the pie comes out soggy, the sausage is overcooked, and the sauce easily communicates itself as unsubstantial. While Lou Mal's is a great piece of branding with a history so delightfully indigenous to Chicago a native wouldn't be caught dead there.

"Hot Choice" Tombstone Deep Dish Pepperoni Pizza

Submitted by Robert Moor

Visiting my old alma mater last week, I was drawn like a gluttonous moth to a vending machine reading "Tombstone Pizza." Yes, pizza from a vending machine. I stood, perplexed, imagining the birth of warm pizza from this cold mechanical womb. An undergrad strolled by and chuckled, obviously familiar with this pitiable sight. "Have you tried it?" I asked. "It sucks. No one even bothers," she responded. With that, of course, my mind was set. I would do what no one else had the heart to do—I would venture into the future.

After some deliberation, I opted for the pepperoni pizza, choosing it over other, less traditional choices such as chicken fingers, barbecue chicken pizza, or a warm Oreo brownie. I fed it my three dollars (!) and eagerly watched the baking process on a small digital screen.

The result? One minute later, the machine spit out a small cardboard package, which it warned would be "Very Hot." Inside was a hot (not very hot) "pizza" about the size of a video iPod. Approximately 75 percent of this tawdry square was composed of dough, which was thick, salty, and tasted something like baked Silly Putty. The bright-red pepperonis were tiny, faintly reminiscent of Bacos ("MADE WITH PORK, CHICKEN, AND BEEF," the package proudly proclaimed), and actually more numerous than the shreds of cheese by a ratio of 2-to-1. Needless to say, I devoured it in a matter of seconds.

After one bite, I understood the undergrad's grave warning. Never eat pizza from a machine. It's like making love to a Terminator: almost satisfying, but slightly creepy, and there's always the possibility that it will collapse your chest cavity with one fatal blow. Thank you, Tombstone, but I'll take my pizza the way it was meant to be prepared: baked lovingly by burnt-out hippies and their disgruntled, overweight, mustachioed Italian managers. Or underpaid illegal immigrants. Whichever.

(i shamelessly copy-pasted this from http://www.mcsweeneys.net/links/newfood/. internet faux pas?)

My fam from out of town will place an order for a 1/2 cooked pizza which they can pickup, freeze and reheat in a home oven. It's as close to the real deal and better than the pre-packaged ones in store.

Nobody said anything about ranking...except you. So typical.

This will always be an argument based on the definition if the term, but I, for one, think pizza should be able to be lifted from the table with a human hand.

2nd City...2nd Pizza. Get over YOURSELVES.

Beethoven didn't make rock music. Deep dish isn't pizza. Get over it.

I'd be less confused if it is called pie rather than pizza. I'm sure its a great pie, otherwise it wouldn't be that popular. I'm just bewildered as to why it would take 45 minutes to bake?

Daniel--I was wondering--as a child, heaven help me, I really liked the oily Pizza-Hut style pan pizza and when I went to Greece, one of the few things I liked there was a place that sold very sweet-sauced, oily crusted pan pizza--and obscene amounts of cheese.

Two questions:

Did the Chicago style influence the creation of Pizza Hut's pan pizza?

Did the 'Greek' version of pizza influence Chicago-style's evolution given the presence of the Greek community in Chicago--I noticed one of your examples had feta an lots of other kinds of cheese on it (I can practically hear my Greek-born father salivating at the sight of it).

when i go back to visit chicago, where i grew up, i would rather eat at pizzeria due than any other restaurant in the city. it's what i miss the most.