Well I'll tell you, things are just not the same as the old days
anywhere you go. As far as Chicago's little Italy (Taylor St. as I
know it) It just isn't the same like it was 30-35 years ago.
Back then, all of these Italian restaurants were run by strictly
family. Doubtful if you'll see more than 2 family members running a
Chicago Italian restaurant now days.
Italians have gotten too cheap it appears to hire thier own family
members, (Or 1/2 of them are dead) Now they hire folks who are lucky
if they have a green card. It's the truth.
Getting back to Pizza, Chicago had many darn good Pizza joints in the
50's-through early 70's. Place like Mama Shiavone's, Gennaros,
Blackies Pizza, Home Run Inn. Gennaros is still on Taylor, but no
longer make pizza.
Home run Inn back in the old days was just a small hole in the wall
place with fantastic Pizza. In fact, they still do a very dam good
job with thin crust pizza. Another dynamite place for thin crust
Pizza I used to frequent years ago, was Armands in Elmwood Park (Grand
Ave west of Harlem Ave) They're still there. Salernos used to be good
way back, haven't been there in years.
A good place for thick Pan Pizza Is Lou Malnatis. Unos was good, and
we used to go there a lot when we were kids. They're probably still
pretty good.
Ginos East is Horrible. They should be ashamed of the Pizza they sell.
As one poster said, "the sauce is what makes it". Well, truthfully,
that's a part of it, but really everything needs to be just right to
make a great pizza.
The dough can't taste like a saltine cracker, and cheese, and sausage
needs to be a bit better than what they put on those nasty Tombstone
frozen jobs.
Being Italian, I know what good Pizza is. You just can't designate
pizza as being "New York=Good-Chicago=Bad or vice versa.
Now living in NM, there's only one good Pizza here, and that's the one
I make!
Mark D.