Lou Malnati's

I went back to Chicago for a long weekend and ate a ton of good food. Since I was taking Gabe around, we had to go for some real Chicago deep dish pizza. First of all, the Uno's Chicago Grill chain around the U.S. is really awful compared to the real family-owned Pizzeria Uno and Pizzeria Due's. I mean really awful. Basically, you can't find real deep dish pizza in NY.

In Chicago, a lot of people like to debate who has the best deep dish pizza. Pizzeria Uno/Due, Lou Malnati's, Gino's East, Pizano, and Giordano's are some of the big names. Lou Malnati's is my personal favorite, though I have to admit that I've never had Gino's, Pizano, or Giordano's before. I just prefer the crust/dough at Lou Malnati's, and that's why it's my favorite deep dish pizza. Since it's my favorite, we took Gabe to the original Lou Malnati's in Lincolnwood which is a suburb right outside Chicago proper.


We started off with the Calamari Fritta as an appetizer. This was surprisingly very good, perhaps one of the better calamari appetizers I've ever had. It was ridiculously tender - definitely the least chewy calamari ever. This is very surprising for a pizza joint in the midwest. So if you happen to go to Lou Malnati's in Chicago, this is what I recommend if you want an appetizer.


We got a large (14") deep dish pizza with sausage and mushrooms. Between the 3 of us, we only ate half the pizza. I was full after only one slice. Like I mentioned earlier, Malnati's crust is what stands out to me, and that's why I like it more than other places. It's buttery and flaky, but at the perfect level. It's not to the point where it's greasy. Overall, it just has a really great flavor. It stays crispy and crunchy even with all the sauce, cheese, and toppings on top of it. This is important because a really soggy deep dish pizza is disgusting. They also have actual chunks of tomato in their sauce. This made the pizza a little watery on top, but it wasn't to the point of it being gross or soggy at all.

I'll be honest and say that I don't even really love deep dish pizza, but I have to admit that Lou Malnati's is really good. If anyone is visiting Chicago and wants to try real deep dish pizza (and I do think it's worth it to try at least once even if you don't think you'll like the heaviness of it), this is the place I would recommend.

Lou Malnati's

6649 North Lincoln Ave

Lincolnwood, IL 60712