Giordano's, Chicago

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On our way to New York, we had a 4 hour layover in Chicago. So instead of sitting around the airport, we asked the flight attendants for some recommendations and they said head to Giordano's. Oh my, Chicago Deep Dish Pizza...gotta have it!!! We hailed a taxi and 5 minutes later we were at the nearest Giordano's.

Favorite Dish: Been a very long time since I've been to Giordano's but the food hasn't changed...so damn delicious. We ordered a 10 inch Small Deep Dish Pizza (1/2 Veggie and 1/2 Shrimp) as well as a pitcher of Blue Moon Beer.

Last visit to Lake Street location with Ed (kaspian) June, 2011

Giordano's comes up a lot as one of people's favorite pizzas, I hadn't been to one in many years, not because I don't like their pizza, just because I always seem to be taking people to Lou Malnati's for deep dish or because Edwardo's is more convenient for us for stuffed. But when Peter (loisl) came to town, his hotel was just a couple of blocks away and it was raining cats and dogs so it seemed like a good time to try it again.

Giordano's has many locations in the city and suburbs and also a few locations in Florida, we ate at the one on Rush Street which is the closest to the hotels on the Magnificent Mile (Michigan Avenue). The interior is very nice and it's a large restaurant. We were seated immediately but as we were finishing up, I noticed that they were packed. In July 2009 we tried to eat at the Rush Street location but there was an 1 1/4 hour wait as it was Friday night a bit after 6pm. So we headed off to the Lake Street location which had a more reasonable 15-20 minute wait, put in your pizza order and you don't have to wait as long once you're seated.

Favorite Dish: We ordered a large stuffed pepperoni/green pepper pizza for the three of us, the boys made good work of the pizza and one lonely piece ended up as leftovers. Stuffed pizza is different than deep dish, the pizza served at Uno's, Due's, Gino's East and Lou Malnati's. The main difference is where the ingredients hang out, on a deep dish they are on top, on a stuffed they are under a thin crust with a thin layer of tomato sauce. Stuffed pizza is heavier than deep dish, many people will find that 1 slice is enough. Expect to wait about 35-40 minutes if you order a stuffed pizza, sometimes they will take orders over the phone for dine in if you want to try calling ahead.

It's a similar setting to Pizzeria Uno in the US, very busy (so either order ahead or eat a little before going). Remember the pizza takes about 35-40 minutes to make.

Favorite Dish: We had their deep dish stuffed pizza - spinach with mozarella and parmesean and it was just delicious. Super filling though, so if you want to truly taste it, don't recommend appetizers before hand.

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Essentially, a Chicago style pizza is a deep dish pizza usually with a thick crust layered with a larger than normal amount of cheese topped with sauce. I've been to the chain restaurant Pizzaria Uno before and thought it was okay, so I figured I would love it at lesser known establishments native to Chicago. I had planned on going to Lou Malnatti's but a friend who lived in Chicago that I grew up with in Philly suggested Giordano's. Bad move. I was seriously disappointed. We went to the one at 135 E. Lake. The server was rude, if he had ignored us it would have been better service. When the pizza came it smelled wonderful, but tasted like it had been frozen and reheated.

Note that anywhere you go for deep dish pizza you have to wait 30-45mins in order for the pizza to cook so don't think that's bad service...it takes a long time to cook all that dough!

Favorite Dish: The only thing I liked was the local Goose Island beer on tap!

When you come to Chicago, you have several options for the "world famous Chicago-style pizza." Giordano's happens to be my favorite of the bunch. Word of warning - only one piece is an entire meal!

Favorite Dish: Love the sausage pizza. And even though it's not what they're known for, their calamari appetizer is out of this world.

I know everyone has heard of this restaurant if you have been to Chicago. But i can't help to still recommend it. The best pizza ever! It is at least 30-40 min. wait for it to bake. But it is worth it! So Darn good!

Favorite Dish: Deep Dish Pizza!

Giordano's is one of many places where you can try the famous Chicago deep dish pizza. Also called a stuffed pizza, the toppings (along with tons of cheese) are placed inside the pizza instead on top of the pizza. On the other hand, the tomato sauce is placed on top of the pizza. The pizza is best eaten with a fork and knife, and after a couple slices you will probably get very full. This is no ordinary pizza, and a trip to Chicago is not complete if you do not try the deep dish pizza.

Favorite Dish: There are personal sized deep dish pizzas as well as small, medium, and large sizes for more than one person. Note that these pizzas take 30-40 minutes to cook, so if you're in a hurry, please plan ahead.

The first day that Rosie and I spent in Chicago, we went non-stop. It was nine at night, and we still had not eaten dinner. We were too tired to get dressed up and go for a long distance away; thus, we chose a place within a short walk of our hotel. One item that I wanted Rosie to try was a Chicago favorite, Deep Dish Pizza. Although Giordano's Pizza would not be my first choice in Chicago, it was convenient and good.

We walked to the restaurant, which was crowded for this late on a Wednesday night. It was typical Giordano's with the checkered table clothes. We were seated and attended to immediately.

Besides a pizza, we decided to have house salads as well. The salads were good, but not special. At least they were fresh, crisp, and cold.

Then we had to decide what kind of Deep Dish Pizza we wanted to share. We knew that we did not want left overs since we were staying in a hotel. Thus, we ordered the SMALL size. We both like olives so we chose a cheese and olive pizza. It was a very good choice, and we ate all of it but one piece, which we left behind [I must admit that this was the first time I've ever left pizza].

Rosie was impressed; she was amazed at the amount of cheese that the deep dish pizza has on it...that's the part that makes it so good. All-in-all, it was a successful meal, but not the excellent one that I had in mind to introduce Rosie to a Chicago favorite, Deep Dish Pizza

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I was so hungry when I got off the plane in Chicago, my first thought was "let's get some pizza"! Just down the street from my hotel I spotted Giordano's and decided to give it a try. I saw that what they were most famous for was their stuffed pizza but since I was on my own I figured there was no way I could get through that 2-inch thick pizza (although it did look delicious) so I went for a thin crust pizza instead. Actually, I ordered a peperoni and cheese pizza, which I guess you're not supposed to do - my super nice waiter sort of made a face and kindly informed me that cheese was part of the pizza. From that moment on, I think he thought I was eating my very first pizza - when he brought it over, he even informed me that I would find the peperoni underneath the cheese! He also came over quite a few times to make sure I was enjoying my pizza and seemed very happy to see me eat a good chunk of it.

I was really hungry so I could have eaten anything, but I think Giordano's makes really good pizza. Another thing I learned during my trip is that Chicagoans really do know their pizza: tell them where you've eaten, they'll tell you what the crust and the sauce taste like. According to various opinions, it seems like I Giordano's was a good pick, but they all told me I had to go back to try the stuffed pizza. Perhaps next time I'm in town??

Great food at a great value. The deep dish pizza is something else. However, if you order this give yourself plenty of time, as it takes at least 30 minutes for the pie to cook.

Favorite Dish: Deep dish pizza. Fresh ingredients, zesty sauce.