Post-Wrigley FIeld Thurs for pizza-D'Agostino's or Pizano's?

Got a group of 10 from 2 to 75 trying to see the Cubs snap out of the funk they are in tomorrow...but afterwards we all want a good pizza. No heavy drinking, just good food and a family-friendly place. Giordano's, been there. However, looks like Pizano's on Clark or D'Agostino's on Addison are the best bets. Any thoughts or recommendations? Not sure yet if we are doing thin or deep dish, but I know one ofthe pizzas will be sausage. Thanx!

D'Agostino's I seem to be the lone defender of. They have a pretty good old school crispy crust that I like pretty well. Unfortunately, like a lot of old school pizzas, they have a very sweet, unspicy sauce. When I order from them I order pepperoni so the spiciness of the pepperoni will help counteract the sweetness of the sauce. I can't remember ordering sausage there so can't help you with that.

Pizano's I've ordered at least once, I think it's very Lou Malnati's like, as it's owned by some branch of the same family. If you like Malnati's, what the heck.

I haven't actually been inside either one but suspect they're packed after a Cubs game...

I like dags, and the sausage is OK.

I'd still go to pizano's instead, though.

If you're going for deep dish, Pizano's is the choice. I think that it's as good or better than any of the best deep dish pizza places in the city. If you're going for thin crust, I don't think it makes as much of a difference, although I prefer the atmosphere of Pizano's.

i can be pretty low-brow when it comes to pizza. i even voluntarily and happliy (perhaps it was the booze) scarfed down many a grog's pizza while in chambana. that said, d'agostino's pizza is single-handedly the worst pizza i have ever eaten. how they stay in business at their prime location on addison, is absolutely beyond me.

a better choice in the genre of pizza you seem to be looking for might be chicago's pizza. a little more of a walk, but not too far, and good, relatively cheap 'za.

Chicago's Pizza
3006 N. Sheffield Ave.
773-755-4030

I've never eaten at Pizanos, but Dag's isn't bad. I would only get the thin crust pizza there though. I actually like the sweeter sauce on thin crust, but on a deep dish there's just too much of it. The sweetness becomes a bit overwhelming. I also tend to prefer the neighborhood around Dags. It's close to Wrigley, but far enough away to avoid much of the worst of the Wrigleyville mob scene.

Although I haven't stopped by in months, I've always (in the past) enjoyed the thin-crust pizza at Fornello's, three blocks north of Wrigley Field at Sheffield/Sheridan Rd. and Irving Park Rd. It's an Italian restaurant that, also, serves pizza (and in case someone doesn't like pizza, Byron's Hot Dogs is next door!).

Fornello
1011 W. Irving Park Rd.
(773) 404-2210

I don't have much to add, except agreement (though I say both Pizano's and D'Ag's are better than Chicago's). Pizano's is possibly too close to the park to be much fun after a game, but they serve a fine Malnati-style pie. I prefer the thin, which is loaded with too much cheese, which they almost always cook until browned at the edges (that's good). But this is the Chicago deep dish place's version of thin, with the really "short" buttery dough that is like foccacia that has been pressed on a panini press, not the crackery, super thin, tavern-style thin crust often discussed here. For that, D'Agastino's is pretty darn good for the neighborhood. Nothing else on the menu has really done much for me at either place. Cheap Guiness and outdoor seating in the somewhat more sedate Southport area is a plus at D'Ag's. Pretty good apples and oranges choice you have there.

Any thing but D'Augs, on game day. I eat there often, but never when the Cubs are at home. They get slammed, and the food quality and service go right down the chute.

For me, if you want something akin to Chicago style in Wrigleyville, I prefer Giordano's to Pizano's. The sauce at Pizano's reminds of canned stewed tomatos. Giordano's has nice touch of basil and something I can't identify. As for thin, I think D'Agostino's is as good as it gets, since Pat's moved to Lincoln Park.

Dan, I believe that the "sauce" at Pizano's is, in fact, little more than good, canned plum tomatoes with some salt and olive oil. This I prefer to the sweet, paste-based (and thus much cheaper) sauces at some other places. That's why there are a thousand pizza places in Chicago.

Ok, ok, so I made the decision without reading here first...I can honestly blame the western 'burb power outage for that one! Gotta say though, with responses here and on Chowhound both taken into account, there are very few places that get the mixed reviews that D'Ags does.

That being said...11 of us ventured to Pizano's 45 minutes after the game Thurs (Cubs Win! Cubs Win!) Easy walk, but far enough away that you avoid most of the loud bar crowd. With our number that included 5 kids, we were seated in the side dining/party area within 10 minutes. Ordered 3 thin crust pizzas (sausage, cheese and veggie), 2 salads and drinks.

Overall thoughts on the pizze were good, maybe very good, but honestly not as good as what I had hoped for. Crust was very biscuity, almost too thick and firm, and the topping/sauce/cheese ratio seemed too far skewn towards the cheese. Sausage was very good just not enough of it. Sauce had tomato pieces (I prefer just sauce) but was good...just not enough. Overall, I'd go back for the pizza but I'd call ahead after the game ended and order deep dish 'zas.

What made the evening thought was the service. Very attentive, especially towards the kids making sure we had water, bread, drinks, etc. To top it off, after we finished the pizzas he started setting out dessert plates and said the manager was comp'ing us dessert. We got 3 of their large ice cream choc chip cookie sundae thingies and oh man, what a way to not only win us over, but cap a great day. They receieved a well-deserved bigger-than-usual tip.

That being said, next time we go it'll prob be D'ags and then who knows where else. But Pizano's is certainly a keeper.