pizano's pizza & pasta

decent deep dish.pizano'sdeep dish pie was loaded with delicious toppings--heaping piles of cheese, pepperoni, and big chunks of sausage--but the crust was bland, dry, and hard. all in all, a good, but not great pizza.
service was fine. prices weren't cheap, but weren't outlandish. the small was enough for two at lunch.
grade: b-

pizano's is a chicago based mini-chain of 6 pizzerias offering both deep-dish and thin crust pie. although the thin pie is their biggest seller, i came in to the downtown loop location on madison street at lunch time to try the deep-dish pizza.pizano'soffers the basic deep dish style: a bowl-style crust, where the bottom and high sides are relatively equal in thickness. it differs from the chicago stuffed pizza with a layer of dough on top of the cheese, and from the pan style which features a thicker crust, shorter walls around the edge, and caramelized cheese around the perimeter.

when i visit u.s.
i try food in many restaurants
first one ispizano'spizza & pasta
this place is famous for pizza and pasta.
favourite destination for anytime pizza cravings, they have such amazing spread of various snacky items which makes me visit their again and again for quick hunger bites.
i ordered medium veggie lovers pizza with extra cheese they gave it just in 15-17 mins the base was good and fresh nicely baked with right amount of vegetables on top.

fairly decent pizza but i wasn't super impressed. i came in town from memphis wanting something i haven't had yet andpizano'swas just that: different. the deep dish isn't very deep and is way overpriced for its quality. it was good-tasting, however, but it's pizza in chicago so that's to be expected. i would return to try something different on the menu.

good pizza and good pasta. julie and kelly in the bar did an amazing job. happy birthday kelly!pizano'sis always a good stop in chicago.

pizano's. my goal when visiting chicago was to have an authentic chicago deep dish pizza. my original choice was lou malnati's or giordano's. based upon the local folk, each place the vote was 50/50, with the deciding factor being a single thing that made them go one way or the other (those who chose one restaurant didn't have anything negative to say about the other). i eventually decided to go with lou malnati's. but, according to a few locals, lou malnati's was delivery/carryout only, whilepizano'swas dine-in only (supposedly,pizano'sis owned by lou malnati's). t usually write much when giving reviews, but wanted to help anyone who might face the same predicament as me when going to chicago. s/n...daughter had spaghetti and it looked and tasted great as well! also, the entire atmosphere, crowd, staff, environment was great!

this is another one of chicago's famous deep dish pizza stops.  also, owned by a malnati brother, it appears that there is more friendly family competition with these similar styled pizzas.  there are a few key differences thatpizano'sdoes that makes them stand out, but not for the better.  

'hey hey' jack brickhouse special atpizano'sin chicago a recent trek across the united states brought me to the home of our country's two most famous and notable pizza styles: chicago's deep dish and new york city's large thin crust.  i've had both before.  i've enjoyed them in their hometown confines.  eating these pizzas in their respective cities did not present a new experience for me in and of itself.  however, i had never been blessed with the chance to have each of them just a few days apart.  so when i had a few hours to kill in chicago before catching a flight to new york, the only logical thought that crossed my mind was to jump on the "l" and grab some pie.  brent and i took a train into the loop where we found a touristy and downtown business friendly joint calledpizano's.  eating quickly commenced.   pizano'sactually has several locations around chicago.  the spot in the loop is not the original, but since i needed to hop right back on a train to midway, it just made

best pizza in the loop, best in town, best i've ever had. first and foremost i must disclose i am not a native chicagoan, i'm an out of towner who visits yearly. until a couple years ago i always got deep dish pizza from "the name brand guys". one night a stranger outside the cubby bear swore on his unborn children thatpizano'sthin crust was the way to go. we always stay right around the corner frompizano'sin the loop and i had passed in countless times without stopping in.

my wife greatly prefers thin crust (she's a stl native) and she, too, was blown away with the pie. the crunchy bottom of the crust was an unexpected treat, it really makes it stand out from the competition. i finally introduced it to my best friend last summer (he's nyc guy) and he wound up eating there three times in three days.

the staff has been pleasant and friendly each visit. i couldnt givepizano'sa more enthusiastic thumbs up.

windy city pizza club visits pizano's. when it comes to deep dish chicago pizza,pizano'sisn't what you need to satisfy your palette. their pizzas are big, they're average tasting, but their service is lacking and the cheese and sauce combined were much too heavy. most recently, the windy city pizza club met there for their monthly meeting, and to many it was disappointing.

according to the oprah winfrey show,pizano'shas the best thin crust pizzas in the city and one of the top in the nation, and while the deep dish was just okay, their thin crust wasn't much better as it has a very "warmed up in a microwave" taste. after hearing so many great reviews from a-list celebrities, and friends, i came to the conclusion that this pizza was not for me. their location in the loop was roomy and warm on a snowy and frigid chicago winter's night, but their presence of service for a group of 15 people was lacking and unacceptable for a place that prides itself of spectacular chicago pizza.

pizano's was opened in 1991 rudy malnati, junior and features three locations: state street, loop, and glenview, each with it's own unique look and feel. the loop location where the pizza club met was 2 stories with a private room and bar in the roomy basement. if you were a true chicago pizza fan, you would know the family that owns this establishment. rudy's father, rudy, sr. is the founder of pizzeria uno & due. rudy jr.'s, brother is lou malnati, founder of lou malnati's pizzeria.

according to thepizano'swebsite, a good raised bread dough tones the crust. in our experience with the crust, it was extremely hard. they use high-grade canned tomatoes and of mozzarella cheese, topped with a sprinkling of grated parmesan and oregano to complete the basic pizza. it sounded good, but the biggest issue was that they use too much of each item. the actual wait time for pizza was no longer than 20 minutes, so if you are in a rush and want an average pizza with a lot of history, this is a good place. anchovies, onions or green pepper are other optional additions.

i did enjoy a tossed salad, which was fairly large and nicely priced. all of the prices thatpizano'soffers, are out-of-date and expensive for what the quality, but items are large so you could technically say you are getting your money's worth.

i would possibly go back, but not with a group.

pizano's = good grub!. chicago... just when i thought you were totally dominated by the good grub's california love, zachary's chicago pizza, you go and pull a stunt like this... and totally redeem yourself! finally, we know what the godfather was talking about when he kept calling everyone paisano... literal translation... that dude freaking loves pizano's. and why shouldn't they... thepizano'sroots dates back over sixty years, and like a fine wine... she's a-getting better with age. at pizano's, they definitely have the art of chicago pizza down cold... with that classic, rich, chunky-yet-smooth tomato-top-layer... the wrap-around, crispy, flakey, i-think-i've-just-figured-out-what-true-love-is, hand-tossed crust... and the best part... the ooey, gooey, cheesy, stuffed-like-a-thanksgiving-turkey, deep-dish filling with the good grub's personal favorite... spinach and mushroom battling it out in a pizza royal rumble. i've said it before, and i'll say it again... i don't know what it is about spinach and mushroom, but those toppings... scratch that... this is chicago style... stuffings... go together with chicago pizza as one of the all time great food pairings... along side peanut butter and chocolate... french fries and milk shakes... flaming hot cheetos and dr. pepper... and that's just science. adding to the food,pizano'sdefinitely has a pretty classy flare to bring to the mix... for sure a great place to bring a grub date. but be warned, because when the server lays down that pizano's-inspired happiness... and starts to dish out the first piping-hot slices... it's just a natural reaction to start singing love songs and whispering sweet nothings... to the pizza. luckily we were on no-such grub date and could immediately... and ferociously might we add... devour the now-i-know-why-they-call-it-pizza-pie amazingness. on a side note, what is it about chicago that makes the pizza so mind-blowing? sometimes we hear that it's the water... nah. definitely the mob. only organized crime could have coordinated such a masterpiece. and man, canpizano'sgo to war with any of the great crime families. if this place were a crime family... and we're not saying they are a crime family... please don't hurt us mr. pizano... their caporegime would make sonny corleone look like sonny & cher. leave the gun... take the deep dish. and if you tell me, "oh, i've had chicago pizza"... and you follow it up with "at bj's"... well, it might as well have been domino's... and that ain't puffery. seriously, grub nation, while writing this post i've checked flights to chicago not once, not twice, but thrice. because, when you get down to it... i don't really care what it is that makes their pizza so good ... just as long aspizano'sis around... dishing out that deep dish grub.