Pequod's Pizza

I have been hearing rave reviews of Pequod's Pizza for years, but for whatever reason, I'd never had it. Jenny and I decided to change that the other night and headed out for some deep dish deliciousness.

It feels like a true Chicago pizza place: dimly lit with booths, a big bar, plenty of neon signs and Blackhawks decor... and last but not least, giant plastic cups filled with amazing fountain soda. (You know, the kind with just the right amount of syrup and carbonation? It's all too rare, but when you find it, it's like liquid gold.) The place is very casual. We didn't feel the slightest bit out of place clad in hooded sweatshirts and yoga pants.

Jenny and I both love vegetables on our pizza, but it always takes us forever to decide on a combo. For example, she doesn't like mushrooms and I have this weird thing about how I don't think that spinach should be combined with green peppers if you're doing only two ingredients. Something about the flavor combination just rubs me the wrong way and if there's nothing else in the mix to break it up, I just can't do it. Spinach and red peppers though? I love that, but some pizza places just don't bring the red peppers. I know, it's odd. Finally, after some waffling, we settled on a deep dish pizza with spinach and garlic.

All in all, Pequod's is very tasty. The crust on the bottom of the pizza was the just the right thickness and perfectly crisp -- never soggy. (An unfortunate, but rather common flaw with delivery pizzas ordered from one of my favorites, Lou Malnati's.) The ingredient to cheese ratio was good and the pizza was served piping hot.

However, I have to say that I wasn't a huge fan of Pequod's signature "caramelized crust." When the pizza arrived, Jenny said "Well, it's kind of well done... I think they burnt it." And when it comes down to it, "caramelization" aside, that's how the top half of the crust looked and tasted to me. Burnt. I mean, it's still good pizza. I'd eat here again. But I couldn't help thinking that the pizza would be so much better if they hadn't charred the crust. (You should also know that I am a firm believer that "roasting" marshmallows doesn't mean setting them on fire and blowing them out. By and large, I do not believe "burnt" is ever a desirable flavor.)

So... sorry, Pequod's fans, my pan favorites are still Lou Malnati's, Art of Pizza and Gino's East. (And in case you're curious, my favorite stuffed pizza places are Art of Pizza, Fornello's and Giordano's. Piece takes New Haven-style hands down. And I love Pat's Pizza and D'Agostino's for thin. And of course, Chicago Pizza and Oven Grinder wins out for pizza pot pies.)

Mmmm, pizza. I really do love it all.