Attempt # 73 - Chicago Pizza Tours

Pizano's Venue

The Venues

The Pizza tour visit four of twenty possible pizzerias around Chicago. Because of the variance no two tours are often alike.

Pizano's Pizza & Pasta

61 E Madison St

Chicago, IL 60603

312-236-1777

Flo & Santos

1310 S Wabash Ave

Chicago, IL 60605

312-566-9817

Pequod's Pizza

2207 N Clybourn Ave

Chicago, IL 60614

773-327-1512

Pizano's Thin Sausage Thickness

Coalfire

1321 W Grand Ave

Chicago, IL 60642

312-226-2625

Pizano's – The 11AM pizza tour stated at this res truant. This restaurant is located right next Chicago's to Millennium Park. It is indirectly, one of the original pizzeria's in Chicago which had involvement with the original inventor of the Chicago Style 'Deep Dish' style of pizza. Ike Sewell came up with the idea from a Texas football player who moved to the city around the 1940's. He paired up with an Italian business partner (Uno's original pizza chef Rudy Malnat) to develop the deep dish pizza. Rudy's son, Ruby Malnati Jr. opened up his own pizzeria after he was under-appreciated after years of working over at Pizzeria Uno. The restaurant had lots of seating, and allowed you to mail deliveries of frozen pizza anywhere in the country.

Pizano's Deep Dish Thickness

Flo & Santos – Thin crust tavern style joint in the heart of the South Loop. Features "south side" thin crust pizza with Italian & Polish backgrounds. A south side restaurant, its typical to find a table of Chicago police officers eating inside. Before 'Chicago Style Deep Dish' was invited, the taverns would serve out thin, salty pizza to customers so they would sell more beer. The place has plenty of seating in the front and back (for groups), along with outdoor seating.

Pequod's Pizza – This is the official pizza of the Chicago Black hawks. I saw about 4 banners advertising this while we were there. They have seating on two levels, and offer a thick Sicilian style of pizza with Detroit style crust (Caramelized cheese on the edges). A local legend since 1971 famous for their burnt cheese caramelized crust with the sweet sauce.

Pizano's Slices-
Thin Cheese Sausage
Deep Dish-Cheese

Coalfire – This is new trendy restaurant which specializes in using a coal fired oven to cook their pizzas. Because they use coal, it avoid moisture which leads to a crisp crust on the pizza. In 2015, it was voted as the #1 pizza in town by Chicago Magazine. Chicago's original coal oven pizzeria, this American style of pizza is distinctively different from the Neapolitan style that inspired it.

The Pizza

At each restaurant we tried (usually two different styles of pizza). There were two participants for this pizza attempt.

Pizano's

Cheese - Chicago Deep Dish

Sausage – Thin

Flo & Santos Venue

Flo & Santos

Italian – Thin

Polish Kielbasa - Thin

Pequod's Pizza

Pepperoni – Chicago Deep Dish

Coalfire

Lasagna Pizza

The Verdict

Flo & Santos Menu

Wow. By the time we pulled up to the third place, I was stuffed! Each restaurant had its unique feel and pizza, so I give props to the tour company on the variety of pies they introduced us to. Also, thanks to them, my 4 year old son also got to eat pizza on the side (kids under 6 eat free). The chicago style shocked me as it was great, but not as good as Giodanno or Pizza Uno.

The tour guide and 90% of the people on the bus agreed that Pizano's was the winner of the day. With the tasty whole-milk cheese, and basic pressed tomatoes mixed with olive oil/basil, you could taste the freshness. The guides current favorite was Lou Malnati's. Luckily, on the Metra on the way back, a couple of Cubs fans handed their pizza out to everyone. And guess where it was from? Lou Malnati's! I tried some and found it to be good, like Pizano's (except it wasn't as good cold). As far as great tasting pizza, I personally loved the Flo & Santos Kielbasa pizza. The rich flavor from that Polish sausage was terrific. The Pepperoni form Peqoud's was a let down, because the crust was burnt and it didn't taste great. Not Tomaso's great to say the least!

Flo & Santos Inside

Final Comments/Considerations: This tour is a solid one. Although it is pricey at $60 per adult, its well worth it. You get a bus ride and some historical information on the Second City as well as GREAT pizza. You can book your tours here: https://www.chicagopizzatours.com/

As far as Iowa goes, the pizza in the Cedar Rapids corridor isn't that far off from a lot of Chicago's top pizza joints!

Flo & Santos Italian Thickness

Flo & Santos Italian

Here are our ratings, where 1 = worst and 10 = best.

AVERAGE OF ALL FOUR RESTRAUNTS:
Overall 8.44

Cheese 8.75

Sauce 8.38

Topping 9.25

Crust 6.63

Venue 8.75

Favorite: Chicago Style Deep Dish

Pizano's
Overall 9

Cheese 10

Flo & Santos Kielbasa

Flo & Santos Kielbasa Thickness

Sauce 9.5

Topping 9

Crust 7.5

Venue 9

Favorite: Chicago Style Deep Dish

Flo & Santos
Overall 9.75

Cheese 9.5

Sauce 8.5

Topping 10

Crust 7.5

Venue 9

Favorite: Split

Flo & Santos Slices

Flo & Santos Veggie

Pequod's Pizza
Overall 8

Cheese 8.5

Sauce 9

Topping 10

Crust 6.5

Venue 9

Favorite: Only one Pizza Served

Coalfire
Overall 8

Cheese 7

Sauce 7

Pequod's Pizza Venue

Topping 9

Crust 7

Venue 9.5

Favorite: Only one Pizza Served

Pequod's Pizza Inside

Pequod's Pizza Pepperoni Slice

Pequod's Pizza
Pepperoni Thickness

Coalfire Venue

Coalfire Oven

Coalfire Menu

Coalfire Lasagna Pizza

Coalfire Lasagna Pizza

Attempt #72 - Via Sofia's Italian Kitchen

Venue-Inside

The Venue

1125 1^st Ave. SE
Cedar Rapids, IA 52402(319) 362-9667

This restaurant is located in the downtown Coe College/St. Luke's Hospital neighborhood. Part of the restaurant was once a Zio Johno's, while the back end was once Sip 'n Stir. This new chain (the first and currently only location) is a spin off of Zio Johno's. This counter-service eatery has several types of pasta, pizza, and even ice cream. They have plenty of table and booth seating available, in a clean, well lit atmosphere. I was extremely impressed by the customer service. They clearly tried to put the customer first by the service. They even provided us 2 free baskets of garlic bread on the house. Sounds like an Italian eatery to me!

All Meat, Large 16 Inch, $17.99

The Pizza

Chicago Style: No

Crust Thickness: Average

Menu: https://www.viasofias.com/menu

Participants: 8

Pizza Ordered: 3 Specialty Pizza, 1 Single Topping

Sizes Offered/Ordered: Small (12”), Medium (14”), Large (16”)
Crusts Offered/Ordered: Standard Crust

Pieces Cut: Triangular-Shaped – cut rectangular per request

Pepperoni – Large $14.25.

All Meat – Ham, sausage,beef, and pepperoni, smothered with mozzarella cheese – Large $17.99.

Chicken Gourmet – Seasoned chicken with Alfredo sauce and mozzarella cheese – Large $18.99.

Veggie – Mushrooms, tomatoes, green peppers, onions and black olives, smothered with mozzarella cheese – Large $17.99.

Chicken Gourmet, Large 16 Inch, $

The Verdict

Sauce: The sauce was average.
Cheese: Average.

Crust: This was a little burnt on a few of the pizza. The flavor was average (a little on the sweeter side), nothing to write about.

Toppings: The toppings selection were sparse on the pepperoni. The sausage was tasty, which came from a good butcher.

Final Comments/Considerations: This pizza is worth a shot if you are around Coe/St. Lukes hospital and want to try something else out. I like the counter-service concept. It provides more of a help-yourself American atmosphere. As for the pizza, I would personally order the All Meat as I found the sausage to be unexpectedly tasty! The majority liked the chicken, with its creamy Alfredo sauce base.

Veggie, Large 16 Inch, $17.99

All Meat, Large 16 Inch, $17.99

Pepperoni, Large 16 Inch, $14.25 Here are our ratings, where 1 = worst and 10 = best. Overall 7.81 Cheese 8.00 Sauce 7.75 Topping 7.88 Crust 7.25 Venue 8.75 Favorite: Chicken Gourmet

Attempt #71 - Algers Pizza Palace

Venue-Outside

The Venue

106 1^st Street SW

Mount Vernon, IA 52315
(319) 895-6971

This restaurant is located in the downtown strip of Mount Vernon. It has been at this location for 31 years, and is in the hands of its second generation for the past 16 years. This cozy restaurant has a large hand painted mural on one side of the wall and has plenty of booth and table seating. The college staff were friendly and very helpful as was the cook (owner). The ingredients are local - sauerkraut comes from Minnesota, and the cheese is direct from Chicago! The crust is hand tossed.

The Pizza

Venue-Inside

Chicago Style: No

Crust Thickness: Average

Menu: http://www.algerspizzapalace.com/download/i/mark_dl/u/213605/2565188/pizzapalace%20updated.pdf

Participants: 4

Pizza Ordered: 1 Specialty Pizza, 1 Single Topping

Sizes Offered/Ordered: Small, Medium, Large
Crusts Offered/Ordered: Thin and Deep Dish

Pieces Cut: Triangular-Shaped

Pepperoni – Large Deep Dish Crust $15.

The Everything – Canadian bacon, pepperoni, sausage, hamburger, mushrooms, onions, green peppers, black and green olives, sauerkraut, pineapple, mozzarella – Large Deep Dish $19.

Menu

The Verdict

Sauce: The sauce tasted a little sweet for my likings. Maybe it was an ingredient in it that didn't sit well with me.
Cheese: Average.

Crust: Although we only ordered Deep Dish, I was impressed at its crispness and firm texture. Wonderful job!

Toppings: Good selection of local, fresh toppings.

Large, Deep Dish Crust, Pepperoni, $15

Final Comments/Considerations: This pizza is a wonderful pizza to try if you are in the area and need a place to grab a quick bite. The staff is very nice and accommodating, and the food was good to try. I kept thinking that it reminded me a LOT of Happy Joe's pizza! My wife also commented on this as well! Its a local form of Happy Joe's (only slightly less expensive). If you are in the area, I would highly suggest to give them a try!

Here are our ratings, where 1 = worst and 10 = best. Overall 7.25 Cheese 7.25 Sauce 6.25 Topping 7.50 Crust 7.75 Venue 10.00 Favorite: The Every

Slices

Large, Deep Dish Crust, The Works, $19

Attempt #70 - Montana's Family Restraunt

The Venue

433 E Main Street
Central City, IA 52214

(319) 438-6413

Venue-Outside

Menu

This restaurant is located in the downtown strip of Central City, Iowa right off of Highway 13. The seating has booth, table, and bar seating. During the weeknights, its not hard to find a table, and carry-out is common in this community. The parking is as easy as you'd want it to be. The place is decorated with cowboy memorabilia and crosses, which gives it a western feel.

The Pizza

Chicago Style: No

Crust Thickness: Average

Menu: https://www.facebook.com/Montanas-Family-Restaurant-144826802209180/

Venue-Inside

Participants: 8

Pizza Ordered: 4 Specialty Pizzas

Sizes Offered/Ordered: 10” and 14”
Crusts Offered/Ordered: Varies, thin on the 10”, average on the 14”

Pieces Cut: Triangular-Shaped

Pepperoni – 14” $13.49.

Taco – Sauce, Beef, Cheese, Lettuce, Tomatoes, Taco Chips, Black Olives, and Onions - 14” $17.49.

Spicy Dick – (Not on the menu, recommended by owner) Chicken, Jalapenos, Cheese Black Olives, Tomatoes, Onions, Lettuce, Alfredo Sauce - 10” $8.99.

Venue-Inside (Bar)

Chicken Alfredo – Alfredo Sauce, Chicken, and Cheese – 14” $17.49.

Meatlovers – Beef, Sausage, Pepperoni, and Cheese - 14” $17.49.

The Verdict

Sauce: Tasty sauce. They didn't hit it too sweet, which was a good thing.
Cheese: Average.

Crust: The Thin was chosen to be the favorite. This propelled the Spicy Dick to be the crowd favorite pizza.

Toppings: Average, about what you'd expect from a small town diner

Meatlovers 14" $17.49

Slices

Final Comments/Considerations: Montana's isn't known for the gourmet menu. Its a family diner that serves up some pizza. This is the classic kind of pizza anyone can enjoy, a four year old up to a 44 year old. I was a little disappointed with the Taco, there weren't toppings/sauces for it when it was served. The wait time was a little excessive between ordering the second wave of pizzas, which was another incontinence. So if you order, order all at once. The Spicy Dick was a creative, unique pizza which shocked me. In fact, I was the only one at the table who wanted it...willing to pay for it on my own dime just to try it. This time is panned out earning 63% of the votes! So if you're in the Central City area, give the old Spicy Dick a try!

Taco 14" $17.49

Pepperoni 14" $13.49

Here are our ratings, where 1 = worst and 10 = best. Overall 6.06 Cheese 6.25 Sauce 5.63 Topping 6.75 Crust 5.63 Venue 5.88 Favorite: Spicy Dick

Spicy Dick 10" $8.99

Attempt #69 - Lucky Penny

The Venue

Venue-Outside

1705 Boyson Road
Hiawatha, IA 52240

(319) 200-4312

This restaurant is located in the same location as the Brickside Cafe was located. In fact, they use the same pizza oven. The establishment serves a wide variety of beer, wine, and liquor. I noticed they put a lot of money into the granite tabletops, and penny lined bar top. They even had a shuffleboard table. The wait staff were a little tired when we arrived at 6pm on a Tuesday night. The venue appeared to be winding down, which was unsurprising considering it was a week night. The waitress we had served our large group well, covering drinks quickly. The pizzas were brought out together, which was a benefit. They also accommodated us by handling our large group via a reservation within a three hour notice.

Menu

The Pizza

Chicago Style: No

Crust Thickness: Average

Menu: https://www.luckypennypub.com/menu

Participants: 10

Pizza Ordered: 6 (the sixth was the Sweet Tooth Pizza [Dessert])

Sizes Offered/Ordered: One size (12”)
Crusts Offered/Ordered: One style, thin

Pieces Cut: Rectangular-Shaped

Pepperoni – $9.25.

Carnivore – Sausage, Pepperoni, Black Sheep Bacon, with mozzarella on tomato sauce - $10.00.

Chicken Pesto – Chicken, Roasted Red Pepper, Mozzarella, and Goat Cheese on a Basil Pesto Sauce - $10.00.

Margherita – Fresh Mozzarella and Basil on ta tomato base - $10.00.

Sausage, Black Olive – Build-your-own - $10.50.

Venue-Oven

The Verdict

Sauce: This was average, nothing special.
Cheese: It appeared as if it was cooled, so it seemed unappetizing. It tasted good though.

Crust: This was also very average. Considering how Brickside Cafe used that exact same oven, I am aware that it can produce better crust. I was disappointed to find that they did not use semolina flour on the bottoms of their pizzas.

Toppings: Average (lighter side)

Venue-Bar

Final Comments/Considerations: Good news, the Lucky Penny beat out the Brickside Cafe in terms of ratings! Although their toppings aren't unique, their crust and sauces are average-I would think this would be a good place for a first date. There's nothing risky about the venue or the pizza, however, there is not anything surprising by it either. The pricing may need more adjusting given pretty much every pizza is $10, but this place is still new and trying to get on its feet. Check them out for your next date night!

LUCKY PENNY	BRICKSIDE CAFE (was in same location, now out of business)
Here are our ratings, where 1 = worst and 10 = best. Overall 8.10 Cheese 7.70 Sauce 7.30 Topping 8.25 Crust 7.75 Venue 9.00 Favorite: Chicken Pesto	Overall = 8.06 Cheese = 7.89 Toppings = 6.56 Sauce = 6.67 Crust = 9.00 Venue = 7.83 Favorite: The Greek

Chicken Pesto, $10.00

Margherita , $10.00

Sausage, Black Olive, $10.50

Carnivore-$10.00

Pepperoni - $9.25

Slices

Sweet Tooth Pizza, $8.00