Pizzeria Uno & Pizzeria Due

Location: Uno: 29 E. Ohio St., Chicago, IL 60611
                 Due: 619 N. Wabash Ave., Chicago, IL 60611

A Quick Word:
Pizzeria Uno and Due are the ORIGINAL locations for Chicago's famous deep dish pizza.  These two establishments have survived all the skyscraper constructions and all of the imitators that have come and gone with exception to the "Big Four" deep dish pizza joints.  Personally, this was my first deep dish pizza experience and that may make me a little biased.  I have great memories sitting in the dimly lit, close quarter dining hall with huge deep dish pizzas filling the room.  I still remember waiting the longest time (about an hour) for our deep dish pizza to come.  But, nothing can beat that first piping hot bite after understanding the fork and knife concept behind the pizza.  I am unsure if Pizzeria Uno is the best deep dish in the city, but I do know it is my favorite.  I decided on giving it a 4.5 mile rating.

(Pizzeria Uno and Pizzeria Due... less than a block away from each other!)

What We Ate:

Vegetable Deep Dish Pizza

When I am asked where my favorite deep dish pizza is from, I, without hesitation, say Pizzeria Uno.  For my birthday, my friends bought a large deep dish pizza with onions, green peppers, and mushrooms.  I absolutely love this pizza.  The tomato sauce is extra chunky and has the perfect tanginess to it.  The cheese is just enough... not too much where you feel nauseated and not too little where you forget about it.  The crust has the perfect crunch factor and is just buttery enough where it doesn't need a dipping sauce.  I think it also crumbly enough to not make your jaw hurt.  The vegetables aren't oily and sometime appear to be raw before being put in the oven rather than other places that stir fry them together.  The large comes with 8 slices which is perfect for 4 people.  Each smaller size just reduce the number of slices by 2.  I suggest ordering extra because the pizza tastes just as good cold!

Numero Uno

Another option is the Numero Uno aka "the garbage pizza."  This creation is the big favorite for most diners.  It consists of the same deep dish crust and is topped with sausage, pepperoni, fresh mushrooms, onions, and green peppers.  The pepperoni is laid on thick... honestly it can be four to five pepperonis high.  The sausage is one huge patty so every bite has a little bit of that spicy, italian flavor.  And all the vegetables, these are generously laid on top.  Sometimes they appear sautéed before placing on pizza while other times they appear to be fresh and then cooked just in the oven.  I prefer the fresh option, but regardless... this pizza is incredible.

Spinoccoli

If you are not a big fan of mushrooms, onions, or green peppers and don't want to be lame with just cheese deep dish pizza, definitely check out the Spinoccoli.  This deep dish crust is topped with spinach, chopped fresh broccoli, a three cheese blend, fresh garlic, and that signature chunky tomato sauce.  The broccoli flavor is a great compliment to the already amazing spinach pizza.  A different combination with the same result... DELICIOUS.

The DOs/DON'Ts:
DO:
- Pizzas take minimum 45 minutes to cook.  I suggest heading to a restaurant before you are hungry because there tends to be about an hour wait.  When you arrive, put a pizza order in so it cooks while you wait.  They plan it well so your pizza will be cooked about 10 minutes after seating.
- Check the wait at Pizzeria Due.  It is usually shorter than Uno and they have the same menu, the same pizza, and same service.  It is just the second location literally 1/2 a block down the street.
- During the warmer months, definitely sit on the porch and enjoy the city as you eat deep dish pizza!

DON'T:
- Don't order appetizers.  Keep your appetite for the deep dish.
- Parking is next to impossible.  First of all, the wait is long.  Second, you don't know how long the pizza will take to cook.  And finally, you will be so full, you will want to walk off the food.

How far would I walk for this food?