vito & nick's pizzeria

they sayvitoand nick's is the king of thin crust pizza done chicago-style. that certainly sounds intriguing. so, when i found myself on the south side with some friends this week, we decided to hit it up. the bar has been around for years, and that they

with roots in sicily, the story ofvito& nick’s pizzeria starts around 1923, first a tavern and then another fromvitobarraco before the addition of pizza when son nick joined the business after being discharged from the us air force.

starting as thick squares, but eventually developing the thin dough that typifies chicago’s signature “tavern style,” it is currently at 84th and pulaski that guests can experience what many consider to be one of chi-town’s best pies – a rumor undoubtedly benefited from guy fieri’s diners, drive-ins, & dives.

at this point a south side institution, and still operating at limited capacity amidst covid-19, guests visitingvito& nick’s can expect brusque greetings and cash-only sales, nick barraco’s 1965 quote that "we will never deliver, if they want a truly great pizza, they will come in for it" still standing today.

known for using housemade italian sausage and giardiniera, the latter with italian beef something of a signature, it was instead from a middle-age waitress who smelled of cigarettes that an $18.25 “half sausage/half cheese” was served, a slightly charred edge and plenty of herbs enjoyable though the crust was neither as thin or crackling as that of pat’s on north lincoln.

arguably the oldest pizzeria in chicago,vitoand nicks started as a tavern only in the 30s, before adding pizza a few years later. while most people in america associate “deep dish” pizza with chicago, it didn’t really come along til a decade or more later. til then, and even today, what we all “tavern style” pizza is the city’s favorite.

after taking an hour and a half trying to figure out which pizzeria tyjo, his girl, and i could conveniently meet at, we decided to just go with our original first pick from the hat and drive tovitoand nick"s. one of the further pizzerias on our list,vitoand nick's is known for being one of the best pizzas on the south-side. we're still new to chicago, but apparently south-side can mean "a little south and way west of downtown" side.. but hey, it didn't disappoint.vitoand nick's sorta looked like an 80s bar combined with a diner. and the fact that it was cash only really helped make that seem like a reality.

tyjo: this was almost a new genre of pizza for us. for a while it had been either the fancy fluffy flat breads or deep dish and this was one of our first genuine flat

great thin crust. i have gone tovitoand nicks all my life being a life time member of the south side irish in chicago and always enjoy the pizza. i do not even bother with appetizers, or their other dinners and for heaven's sake forget the salad at this joint. save precious room in your stomach just for the pizza and beer. don't get me wrong i love my salads, but don't get them here...pizza is the name of the game here...and although i love stuffed pizza, and thicker crust pizza, this is my ultimate favorite thin crust pizza. you also can't beat the indoor 50's style decorations. from the tan carpeted walls, to the huge bars where hard working men and women sit, to the waitresses who probably came with the building....its all worth it. the waitresses are older and efficient...and very busy. forget about the chit chat and get your order in and start enjoying!! yummy....ill see you there!

vito and nick's is really something else. it's a pain to get to from the north side, but it's worth every second of the drive. for square cut pizza i've always loved barnaby's, but this really takes it up a notch. i can't wait to go back and try some of the roast beef pizza or breakfast pizza. i'm givingvitoand nick's 5 out of 5, the pearl necklace.

the pizza is consistently better when they aren't as busy. as i said, this is world-class pizza. if you truly love pizza and you're ever in the chicago area, i cannot recommendvitoand nick's strongly enough.

a neighborhood gem. had i driven byvito& nick's i would've never guessed that it was a chicago must have. its facade borders dive bar, replete with its old style sign hanging over the sidewalk. this is a blue collar neighborhood eatery, where everyone at the bar knew everyone at the bar. i bellied up, ordered my old style and a small sausage pizza. the atmosphere couldn't have been more chicago. not chick chicago but thirty year-ago chicago neighborhood. if you're looking for snap of the finger french service head towards uptown. if you want friendly, will probably drink a beer service, pull up a stool.

the pizza came out; cracker-thin but traditional soft, buried under just the right amounts of sauce and cheese, and a generous amount of italian sausage, cut into one by two inch squares. my first few i thought to myself, good enough pizza. my third it clicked and i wondered if everyone in here knew how special this place was. in chicago pizza is art and this was a great example. i devoured one delicious square after the other driven on by my taste buds until, nearly through the whole pizza and my second old style, my stomach tapped out.

stop in just after five, wear something comfortable, experience chicago and what pizza can taste like.

all native chicagoans remember that cracker or thin crust pizza from the old neighborhood. for most of us they're gone. the west lawn neighborhood still has theirs and it's excellent. my coworkers and i try to make our way tovitoand nicks at least once every two weeks. there's four in our group and we order our usual (3) large pizzas well done and don't trim the edges. best thin crust on the southside!!!