Thursday, September 9, 2010

When in Rome...

Pizza is my desert island food. I could happily eat it for more consecutive days than I should publicly admit. I don't indulge as often as the Cathy comic managing my cravings would like (because of the consequences to my badunk) but when I do it's never less than blissful.

Last weekend I was in Chicago visiting my big sister and her husband who recently moved there. My sis rattled off our agenda as soon as I arrived: architectural walking tour, a few museums, Lincoln Park, authentic deep dish pizza... She probably listed at least 5 other exciting Chicago to-dos after that but I wouldn't know. Cathy and I were drooling over visions of fluffy crispy crusts and bubbling cheese.

We skipped lunch Sunday in preparation for dinner at Pequod's Pizza, a 40-year-old pizza joint in Lincoln Park (named after the whaling boat from Moby Dick). My brother-in-law bragged about its "locals only" status. Walking in it looked like I wanted it to- exposed brick walls, neon beer signs, those tall red-tinted plastic tumblers. To cut to the chase, our large half-peperoni/half-sausage looked and smelled nothing less than glorious when it was plopped onto our table 45 minutes after we ordered. I'm pretty sure I clapped when it arrived.


As my slice was carved out of the cast iron skillet and hunked onto my plate the local we were eating with explained that Pequod's is famous for a black "caramelized" crust that comes from decades of baking in pans that they supposedly never really clean. Sure enough this "dirty crust" was my favorite part, adding a toasty hint of nuttiness to the slice. The couple inches of bread weren't too soft, holding up the gobs of cheese and sauce well. To be honest, it didn't really taste like pizza. It was this decadent slab of saucey cheesiness that strangely felt like dessert.

Better than New York City thin crust? They're apples and oranges- both perfect in context, impossible to compare.

Deep dish might just work better on that desert island. More carbs. Cathy agrees.

2 comments:

  1. I'm sure this could go without saying, but I'm gonna say it anyway: I love this. Like mouth-instantly-watered-when-I-read-this and the-mushy-subway-sub-I-had-for-dinner-while-reading-this-suddenly-looked-even-more-unappetizing-than-it-already-was.

    As much of a snob I am about "authentic" pizza, I do loooove deep dish. Mmmm pizza, how I love thee.

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