Gino's East, Chicago

I often get the question of which deep dish pizza is the best in Chicago and I believe that it is Gino's East ... the trick of this pizza is just to order 2 topping's max !!! after that the pizza becomes almost too much to eat !!!! Be warned it takes about 45 minutes for these pizza to be served to you so know that in advance .... One of the must do eating experiences here in Chicago !!!! If your really hunger a normal person can eat 3 slices but usually 2 will do !!!!

Pizza is a very controversial topic to Chicagoans, we all have our favorites and the ones we scratch our heads over why people rave about these places. To be fair, here's a list of some of the places that have won hearts other than mine

Gino's East at 633 N. Wells, River North-I've eaten here twice, the first time over on Superior before they relocated and more recently (April 2006) when Jen (coair13) came to town. Now I'd say between the three of us, me, Jen and my husband, we've eaten more than our fair share of pizza and we all agreed that we just didn't care for this pizza here.

Pequod's at 2207 N. Clybourn-we ate here in June 2006 with Steve (spgood301). Time Out rates it one of it's 5 best pizzas, I see it recommended all the time on Chicago forums and although I thought it was OK, I was a little perplexed by all the accolades. Their speciality is pan pizza, the waitress said pepperoni was their most popular. I thought the crust was too thick and the carmelized crust? Tasted like burnt pizza crust, they can call it carmelized if they want.

Art of Pizza, 3033 N. Ashland (Lakeview)-we ate here in December 2006, maybe we should have ordered a whole pizza but we tried the various slices they had sitting out and we tried each kind-stuffed, pan and thin and didn't care for any of them. Way too much crust on the stuffed, even too much crust on the thin crust. Once again I'm perplexed about it's accolades, the Chicago Tribune rated it the best deep dish back in 2001 (and actually there was no true deep dish on the menu).

Pizano's, multiple locations, we ate at the 61 E. Madison location in June 2011 and it's just not my kind of pizza, some people say it's similar to Lou Malnati's but it's not, a little too bready for my tastes, little to no sauce

Of course coming to Chicago - we had to taste the deep dish Chicago Style Pizza.

Ambience: Has a feel of sitting in a NYC subway with lots of grafatti (so funky). We went to the one on Wells Street. (On Sunday does not open until 12pm)

Also our hotel (Westin) gave us a coupon for free garlic bread appetizers (which normally is $6)

Favorite Dish: We had the cheese deep dish pizza and it was goooood, even better the next day! I was full after one slice. (though I heard if you eat meat - the sausage one is the way to go)

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competing with other pizza joints like lou malnati's, pizzeria uno, giordanos and other lesser known pizza joints for the best chicago deep dish pizza! It may not claim to be the one who invented the deep dish but it claims to have the best tasting deep dish pizza. The original Gino's East was opened in 1966 by two taxi drivers, Sam Levine and Fred Bartoli, and a friend, George Laverde. frustrated with rush hour traffic, decided to open a pizzeria just off Michigan Ave. and Superior St. in Chicago. The Original Gino's East became an instant legend with local Chicagoans, national celebrities and visitors from around the world.

Favorite Dish: what else but their version of the Deep Dish pizza the 12" which costs $ 24 for 8 huge slices and their classic thin crust cheese deep dish pizza at $ 14 for a 12" plus their draft beers that costs $ 5 a pop.

Hours:
Mon-Thu 11 am - 10 pm

Fri-Sat 11 am - 11 pm

Sun 12 pm - 10 pm

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When you come to Chicago, you just can't miss the classic Chicago-style deep-dish pizza. There are many, many pizza places here, and Gino's is one of the most famous. It's very popular with tourists and young people, who like to graffiti their names onto the walls all over the restaurant.

Favorite Dish: When I have guests from out of town, they always want to try the deep dish pizza at this restaurant. I enjoy all kinds of toppings on my pizza, so anything goes! Choose from anchovies, bacon, black olives, chicken, garlic, mushrooms, green olives, green peppers, ground beef, jalepenos, onions, pepperoni, pineapple, red onions, sausage, tomatoes and spinach.

I won't pretend to be an expert on the best Chicago style pizza but it is really good here and from the crowds it seems popular. Prepare to be patient--it takes about 45 minutes for them to prepare your pizza but it is so worth it. And order small because it is extremely filling.

If you want the local specialty of Deep Dish pizza, you should go to this restaurant. It was very good and very filling. It is kind of a popular stop. Most people who go there sign their names anywhere they can find, so its rare to see a wall with no writing on it.
That is a Nice Tradition.

Favorite Dish: Deep Dish Pepperoni

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Chicago pies are different. If you've never had a real deep dish, you can't understand this. It doesn't mean you'll like them. Maybe you're a New York style lover, or an Italian, or maybe you can't get enough mayonnaise or ketchup on your Russian-influenced Chinese pizza. But if you've never had Chicago Deep Dish, it's well worth a try.

Chicago pies are big. Deep doesn't mean what you get at most chains. Deep could mean an inch thick. Bring hunger. Leave happy.

Gino's East is a standard among tourist hot-spot restaurants. Write your name on the wall, if you want. They have other food as well, but don't bother if you're only visitin once.

There are just a few locations around the Chicago area. I recommend the one on Wells.

Downtown - Chicago, IL
633 N. Wells St. (Ontario and Wells)
Chicago, IL 60610
(312) 943-1124
Fax: (312) 943-9589

Downtown - Chicago
162 E. Superior St
Chicago, IL 60611
Phone: 312-266 DEEP (3337)
Fax: 312-266-6770

O'Hare Plaza (Chicago), IL
8725 West Higgins Road
Chicago, IL 60631
(773) 444-2244
Fax:(773) 444-0470

300 Wrigley Dr
Lake Geneva, WI 53147
Tel: 262-248-2525
Fax: 262-248-1101

1445 Lake Cook Rd
Deerfield, IL 60015
Tel: 847/945-4300

Lakeview (Chicago), IL
2801 N. Lincoln Ave.
Chicago, IL 60657
(773) 327-3737
Fax: (773) 327-6710

Orland Park, IL
15840 South Harlem
Orland Park, IL 60462
(708) 633-1300
Fax: (708) 633-1376

Rolling Meadows, IL
1321 W. Golf Rd.
Rolling Meadows, IL 60008
(847) 364-6644
Fax: (847) 364-6680

St. Charles, IL
1590 E. Main St.
St. Charles, IL 60174
(630) 513-1311
Fax: (630) 513-1558

Naperville, IL
1807 S. Washington St.
Naperville, IL 60565
(630) 548-9555
Fax: (630) 548-9550

Lake Zurich, IL
561 W. Main Street
Lake Zurich, IL 60047
847-438-4800

Wheaton, IL
315 W. Front St.
Wheaton, IL 60187
(630) 588-1010
Fax: (630) 588-8521

Libertyville, IL
820 S. Milwaukee Ave.
Libertyville, IL 60048
(847) 362-1300
Fax: (847) 362-1365

Favorite Dish: The cheeseburger pizza is pretty good, but there are better items on the menu. Here's a link:

http://featuredfoods.com/a-store/gino_p3a.pdf

We enjoyed this restaurant. We only wished we brought our white marker to write on the wall to distract ourselves from the long wait. When our pizza arrived, they had forgot my sausage, so our waitress cut the bill in half and gave us free dessert! Now that's service!

Favorite Dish: Pizza was great! It's my second favorite in the world, and pizza is my favorite food. Gino's is a definate place we have to stop when we visit the Chicago area.

Chicago isn't just a meat city, it's also a pizza city, and you can't leave the place without at least trying one of its original pizza inventions once: the Deep Dish Pizza. And if you are going to go for it, you may as well drop in at one of the originals, like Gino's East. Their very first pizza place is just off Michigan, on Superior Street. It's all there with the graffiti on the wall and everything.

For me the deep dish pizza wasn't all that inspiring. It was a soup of rich, meaty tomato sauce in a soggy pie-like dough casing. Everyone else loved it though!

Come with a big appetite, or a friend to share with, as nothing here is small.

Favorite Dish: Hmmm... Deep Dish Pizza. Don't bother with anything else.