Slices of Heaven

Hi, all,

Mr. Food Nut and I planned to attend the Feb. 12 Lyle Lovett, John Hiatt, Joe Ely, and Guy Clark show way back in December. It was great to have a pre-planned event for the V-DAY deal, since neither of us had to take "responsibility" for the planning.

I check metromix frequently for specials and since it was close to the Chicago Theatre we chose Trattoria No. 10's early bird buffet for dinner, $12 with $6 drink purchase. I was looking forward to an antipasto table-like dining experience(anyone know a good one, besides my own?).

Unfortunately, this became a poor choice early on. As we approached the "host/ess" stand the host was on the phone and continued to ignore us for close to 5 minutes. If I was in the front I would have said, "Excuse me, but...". Mr. Food Nut was raised as and is a pacifist. I am NOT. She finally answered our questions regarding the buffet and we sat down at a table in the bar. About 8 minutes later, we had not been acknowledged by the server. In his defence, it looked as though he was the only one for 8 -10 tables. However, when he chose to walk by our table after 10 minutes without stopping to say ANYTHING, I told Mr. Food Nut, "We are leaving." (bad week)

This might have been my second mistake(taking the blue line was the first, even though I usually love the subway, another story) as then we were stuck wandering around the loop around 5pm, dodging quickly moving commuters and searching for another place for a drink and chow. Even though Petterinos was empty, they quoted us a 1 1/2 hour wait. I needed a DRINK NOW.
Not gonna work.

Wandering again, me crabby, feet aching from "work" shoes, and there it was: PIZANO's.

Certainly the Malnati's rip-off it is, I really like Pizano's as a deep/pan contender and this time they did not disappoint. They could seat us right away.

I like a crispy cornmeal buttercrust without a lot of extra dough. It was just delicious, served molten lava hot, right from the black, well-seasoned pan.

We sat at a tiny two-top in front of the door(not great, especially as all those who were waiting stared at us while we finished), but I was a happy camper.

The second slice came later at A Taste of Heaven: Chocolate ganache covered, hazelnut buttercream-filled, chocolate fudge cake. The slice was certainly big enough for two and we just kept saying, "Yum," after each and every bite. The service was fine, though it was busy and had to wait a little bit, but I find it always a wonderful treat to go there.

Pizanos(multiple locations)

http://www.pizanoschicago.com

A Taste of Heaven

http://metromix.chicagotribune.com/dini ... 3813.venue

"Malnati's ripoff" is a little harsh, considering this is (IIRC) Lou Malnati's nephew's (and Pizzaria Uno Rudy Malnati's son's) place, no? Chip off the old block? I agree that it's a very good version, especially the thin.

Correction: it appears that Rudy Sr. (Uno) begat both Rudy Jr. (Pizano's) and Lou (Lou Malnati's).

I'm surprised that each place does it slightly differently. I consider both Malnati places to have improved on Uno, with the (burnt) edge to Pizano's. I order from the Wrigleyville location.

I can't say I know which came first the chicken(Pizano's?) or the egg(Malnati's?). They are quite similar in recipe, obviously. Ripoff, I don't know for sure, just a suspicion.

I choose Pizano's more often over Malnati's out of convenience. It's easier to park near the Clark near Roscoe location of Pizano's than it is near the DePaul area Malnati's on Lincoln. Plus, I hate the room at the Malnati's location on Lincoln.

Malnati's and Uno's were my first delve into the pan medium. I like all of them and have few complaints about each finished product, with the exception of sometimes at Malnati's and Pizanos too little tomato on top of the cheese. Sometimes I order extra tomatoes, but don't feel I should have to.

I have tried to recreate the "buttercrust" at home to no avail.
It's just too doughy when I try, plus I don't have the seasoned pan and the heat distribution in my less than stellar oven which is off 25 degrees.

I suppose siblings, parents and children "rip off" each other all the time, though I've never seen anything indicating hard feelings in the Malnati clan regarding dad's pizza recipe. I just meant to clarify that the person who started Malnatis (est. 1971) and the person who started Pizano's (est. 1991) are both the sons of the person who developed the first deep dish (circa 1943).

BTW, I consider the light saucing of Pizano's pizza, along with the charred edges, to be a virtue.