Atino's Pizza

Location: 570 W. Roosevelt Rd., Chicago, IL 60607

A Quick Word:
There are so many "Buy by the Slice" pizza joints in Chicago and so many of them do not do justice to the Chicago reputation of great deep dish pizza.  Atino's Pizza in the south loop contributes to the many horrible pizza places.  It is extremely disappointing when a place turns their typical thin crust pizza into "deep dish" by raising the edges of the crust higher and not changing anything else.  When you walk in, you are greeted by plenty of pizza warmers, run down cardboard signs, and a fridge stocked with cans of pop.  They do have an OK special when you buy two slices of pizza you get a free drink.  It will run you anywhere from $4 to $7 depending on which slices you choose.  Because one of the slices of pizza I ordered had good flavor and the deals they offer, I decided to give it a 2 mile rating, but I will be honest, I was very generous for sure.

What I Ate:

Sausage Deep Dish Pizza

Being in Chicago, I felt like ordering a slice of their deep dish pizza.  On first glance, it didn't look so great with an oily appearance and a crust that looked more like dry bread than pizza crust.  And my first impression was exactly right.  The pizza crust was cardboard-like, dry on the edges, and soggy in the middle probably from sitting for quite some time.  There was minimal tomato sauce, but strangely there was enough oil to not allow the cheese to even stick to the crust.  And for $3.50... I would rather spend my money elsewhere.

Chicken Ranch Thin Crust Pizza

This pizza was promising for the first few bites.  The chicken ranch pizza is I believe $2.50 a slice and is topped with chicken, a few green pepper slices, and some onion.  It is a ranch based pizza so no tomato sauce was present.  I actually enjoyed the overall flavor of the pizza and the price was much better.  The ranch is a nice touch, especially with the chicken, but I did wish they had more vegetables on the pizza. It still had that excessively dry crust with an oily cheese, but I guess that is what happens after sitting in a warmer.

The DOs/DON'Ts:
DO:
- They do have a "Buy any two slices, get a free pop" special.  I suggest doing this.
- 15 min Standing Zone is right in front of the restaurant so this is helpful when doing a quick pick up order.

DON'T:
- Don't even consider getting the deep dish pizza. It is awful.

How far would I walk for this food?