Also, my aunt said they got a new pizza place near her house that they've been wanting to try. I drove by it: it's Marco's. We have a Marco's in my town. They moved into the abandoned 7-11. It's somewhere between Little Caeser's and Domino's. My aunt lives 1/2 a mile from Aurelio's. Aurelio's was once voted "best pizza in Chicago" by the Chicago Sun Times. Tell me again why they would try Marco's???

I had both Giordano's and Aurelio's pizza this past week in Chicago. It's been 3 or 4 days and I am still dreaming about it.

I am fucking offended by Tdarcos's choice of pizza places. He should be an expert. He was the chosen one! If you're putting chains on your list of pizzas, you're doing it wrong. It's like having Call of Duty on your "best games" list.

Pizza Bolis is what you ordered if there wasn't a Domino's closer.

Funny, I read that as 'closer', as in a type of baseball pitcher. I think it works both ways.

I've lived where TDR lives, so let me offer a counterpoint to his pizza opinions.

Tdarcos wrote:Jerry's Subs and Pizza makes a really delicious New York-style pizza. With Sausage, Mushrooms and Onions it's basically ambrosia.

Jerry's is "Sbarro" before Sbarro came up with the idea of offering terrible pizza by the slice to giant fat people in airports.

A local chain called Pizza Bolis makes a New York-style that's almost as good as Jerry's.

Pizza Bolis is what you ordered if there wasn't a Domino's closer.

After that, far down the list, comes Pizza Hut's stuffed-crust pizza.

Pizza Hut is the worst pie imagi-- well, you know how bad Pizza Hut is. I mean, the only thing worse than Pizza Hut is...

Then Papa John's.

Aaaaand, there we go.

There are many awesome pizza joints in the metropolitan DC area, where tubbo lives. He has not tried or heard of any of them. So continues the lonely desperate life of The Thing That Should Not Be.

Tdarcos wrote:Jerry's Subs and Pizza makes a really delicious New York-style pizza. With Sausage, Mushrooms and Onions it's basically ambrosia.

A local chain called Pizza Bolis makes a New York-style that's almost as good as Jerry's.

After that, far down the list, comes Pizza Hut's stuffed-crust pizza.

Then Papa John's.

Then Domino's Steak and Cheese pizza, which is probably their only pizza that is edible.

Then Celeste Supreme frozen pizza.

TSUMMARY: In this thread Tdarcos mentions every pizza brand he has ever heard of, beginning with places near his home and ending with frozen pizza.

Jerry's Subs and Pizza makes a really delicious New York-style pizza. With Sausage, Mushrooms and Onions it's basically ambrosia.

A local chain called Pizza Bolis makes a New York-style that's almost as good as Jerry's.

After that, far down the list, comes Pizza Hut's stuffed-crust pizza.

Then Papa John's.

Then Domino's Steak and Cheese pizza, which is probably their only pizza that is edible.

Then Celeste Supreme frozen pizza.

Vark's pic of Giuseppe's pizza looks sooo goood, I don't think I've any pizza that good in many many many years.

Best pizza I ever had was some small local joint in Pittsburgh about 20 years ago. Can't remember the name. That was in the city. In the suburb the closest place was called Mama Lucia's I think and it was pretty good, much better than anything I've ever had here in the south.

We recently got a new pizzaria here in Newport (at the Best Western) that attempts to make New York style pizza, it's a chain called Brooklyn Pizzeria. I've never actually been to NYC so I couldn't compare the two but it's definitely better than the other local places that have been here forever (Pizza Hut, Papa Johns, Little Caesars). You can see the guys hand tossing the dough. Their large makes Pizza Hut's large look like a personal pan pizza. They have a massive flatscreen TV on the wall set to the sports channel. Quite a large dining space. Would be ideal for large groups to go for a birthday party or some other event.

Rochester pizza is more of a hybrid of New York and Chicago style. least I think so.

HMMM, I can't list more than three places in my top ten list so it'll have to be AArdvark's top three list instead.

#2 Giuseppe's.
Here's a picture, worth a thousand words.




#3 Pizzeria Uno's.
I know, it's a chain restaurant but I love it so bad.


#1 Veltre's pizza.

Started in 1932 and went out of business in 2000.

Ice Cream Jonsey wrote:I liked it. OK, I have a memory of liking it. We got the Chicago style one, right?

We did. I remember because I specifically took two guys who live or have lived in New York to a place that sells New York Pizza and they both chose Chicago-style pizza.

Has anyone here had the 'Mexican Pizza' from Taco Bell? I had one yesterday and it's actually pretty good.

Though one of the best pizzas I had was a nice, greasy slice from an Italian place over in College Park, MD, just down the street from the laundromat I was using at the time (I had the pizza while my clothes were in the machine washing.)

Jizaboz wrote:Ah yeah I thought Aurelio's Pizza sounded familiar! I've eaten it too via takeout from one near Hammond and remember it being awesome.

Also from the Chicago area Pizza Due (across the street from original Pizza Uno downtown) was the best deep dish I ever had.

I should have done this when I went to Chicago instead of going to the place that sucked ass that we DID go to.

Don't get pizza that sucks ass. It's not worth it!

Flack wrote:ICJ, how far down the list is the pizza place I took you and 'Vark to?

I liked it. OK, I have a memory of liking it. We got the Chicago style one, right?

I mean, most of my list is due to pizza places that I had in the past that are long since closed. There's like one reference to Captain Cook's pizza in Rochester on the Internet. But I have these memories of my dad bringing one home after working "B Trick" at Kodak at 11 at night and it just being the most delicious thing that ever happened to me.

RetroR wrote:This list doesn't count: pizza FROM NY is bound to be the best regardless of where you buy it from.

Christ man, every slice I've had since moving from San Diego and since the last time I visited New York, has been silly and dissatisfying in one way or another.

Understood! I like Rochester pizza even more than NYC pizza. We get a thicker crust that is also crispier in parts. But yes, NYC and Chicago pizza are all pretty good with me.

We got a pizza from Safeway the other day and my girlfriend square cut it. I appreciated that. I appreciate her.

Ah yeah I thought Aurelio's Pizza sounded familiar! I've eaten it too via takeout from one near Hammond and remember it being awesome.

Also from the Chicago area Pizza Due (across the street from original Pizza Uno downtown) was the best deep dish I ever had.

I grew up on Godfathers too. Definitely in my top 5. Hard to find one these days but I always go if I'm near one.

I'm going to have to think about the rest and come back because now all I can think about is Godfathers..

Ok, sure.

10. Ken's Pizza (OKC)
Ken's pizza was owned by the same people that owned Mazzio's. Mazzio's made a better pizza, but Ken's had a lunch buffet which was a staple of my high school years. They specialized in crunchy thin crust pizza, the kind you could eat a hundred slices of and still not be full. Mazzio's proved to be the more popular brand and all the Ken's closed except for a few in remote towns. Mazzio's offer's a "Ken's-Style Pizza" which is nothing like Ken's Pizza. There are rumors that a new Ken's Restaurant will be opening but I hear that rumor every other year or so.

09. Godfather's Pizza
I put Godfather's on the list mostly because I miss it. When I was a kid about once a month my parents would order a large, regular crust combination pizza with all the veggies. I remember picking off all the green peppers, black olives and such. Oh, how I wish I had saved them all and could eat them now! When I lived in Washington there was a Godfather's just down the street from where I worked. They had a lunch buffet and it was horrible so I would call in a pizza and eat it during lunch. There are a few Godfather's left around here and they are all co-located inside gas stations in small towns so I can't imagine the pizza is the same. Godfather's made a great supreme pizza man.

08. Pete's Bar (Chicago)
In Chicago you can go inside bars even if you're a minor. My grandma used to play boccie ball at a place name Pete's and when we were in town we would go pick her up and have pizza at Pete's. This was a large, flat pizza (not Chicago deep dish) and we always got sausage, onions, and mushrooms. I don't know if that's the only way they made them or if my family always ordered them the same way. The pizza was always cut into squares which is a big deal up there, and the sausage was the size of meatballs. We could never finish the pizza so we always got the rest to go and it was one of the few pizzas that was just as good the next day.

07. Hideaway Pizza (OKC)
Not for traditionalists, Hideaway is one of those places that has all kinds of weird pizzas -- stuff with BBQ sauce or Alfredo sauce instead of pizza sauce, for example. They do have more traditional pizzas if that's what you're into. They also have amazing fried mushrooms that come out hot and I have the scars in my mouth to prove it. It's a local chain (4 locations I think) without the chain feel but with good prices.

06. Pete's Pizza -- The Calizone King (Spokane, WA)
No relation to Pete in Chicago, Pete's Pizza in Spokane was the best pizza in town. He was known for his calizones, sure, but the pizza was just as good. He also had a Nintendo vs. cabinet inside with ExciteBike which I used to play while waiting for our pizza.

05. Humble Pie (Edmond, OK) (NY/Chicago)
This is the place I took ICJ and 'Vark to. It's split down the middle, with half of the restaurant decorated in NYC stuff and the other half in Chicago things. As you might expect, they serve two styles of pizza -- New York Style and Chicago Style. They don't have a lot of sides to offer (if I remember correctly they have garlic bread instead of breadsticks or anything like that) but the pizza is really good. It's one of those places where you will keep eating long after you are full simply because it's so damn good.

04. Giordano's (Chicago)
A staple of Chicago. If you want Chicago-style pizza, you could do worse.

03. Gino's (Chicago)
Another great Chicago pizza. We've had both Giordano's and Gino's multiple times. Gino's has better fried mushrooms and salads, which is what got them ranked higher in the list.

02. John's Pizzeria (Times Square, NYC)
I ate pizza here late one night while in NYC. To me, this IS NYC pizza. Big, thin, greasy, soft-crust pizza. The inside of this place looks like a church, which is fitting as eating this pizza is a religious experience.

01. Aurelio's Pizza (Homewood, IL)
One of the best pizzas in Chicago, hands down. If you have the time, pick the brick oven over the regular oven. It takes longer and there's always a wait, but the difference is noticeable. It's also 5 minutes from my family's house up north which guarantees we will have it at least once per trip. I have also paid the $30 delivery fee to have their pizza packed in dry ice and shipped to Oklahoma. So, so good.

It should be in the list! Everyone make a pizza list and post it here!



THE
TOP 15 EASY
AARDVARK

ICJ, how far down the list is the pizza place I took you and 'Vark to?