Daniel Zemans, our man in Chicago, checks in with another piece of intel on the Windy City pizza scene. Daniel also blogs about Chicagoland pizza on the Chicago Pizza Club blog. —The Mgmt.
In my last post I discussed the best-known example of deep dish pizza, the style that put Chicago on the international pizza map more than 60 years ago. There is a second style of Chicago pizza that people inside and outside the city often conflate with deep dish, and that is stuffed pizza. Of the many places that offer it, Giordano’s, which has proclaimed itself as "Chicago's World Famous Stuffed Pizza," is the best known and most popular.
Stuffed pizza entered the American culinary scene in the early '70s when Nancy’s and Giordano’s both opened in Chicago. The Boglio brothers, who founded Giordano’s in 1974, are from a small town near Turin, Italy, and say their stuffed pizza is based on their mother’s Easter pizza, which featured a double crust and was stuffed with ricotta cheese.
This makes sense except for the fact that Nancy’s claims its pizza is based on an Italian pastry. Given that they developed incredibly similar pizzas in Chicago around the same time and were from near each other in Italy, I suspect that there may be more to the story.
In any event, at first glance a whole stuffed pizza looks virtually identical to a deep dish pizza. The outer crust around the edge of the pizza is generally higher (in this case, two inches), but that’s about it.
Upon cutting the pizzas open, however, the difference would become clear. While a deep dish pie features a thick bottom crust, a stuffed pizza has a thinner bottom crust (in Giordano’s case, about 1/4 inch thick). On top of that is between 3/4 and 1 full inch of cheese with the toppings mixed in rather than on top.
The next layer, which most people don’t realize is there, is a paper-thin layer of dough. It is that second layer that makes the pizza “stuffed.” As is the case with a deep dish pizza, the tomato sauce goes on top. The sauce at Giordano’s, while not as chunky as the one at Uno’s and other deep dish pizzerias, is chunkier than the sauces typically found in New York.
I ordered a sausage stuffed pizza on this trip to Giordano’s, and the pizza arrived about 50 minutes later. Right away, I saw a problem: Some of the sauce on top had dried a bit. I’m not sure if they just didn’t put enough sauce on or if they cooked the pizza a little too long, but it was a bit disappointing. That said, the pizza was still excellent.
We cut open the pizza and removed a piece and some cheese from the remaining part oozed out to partially fill the gap. To a cheese lover like me, that is a joyous sight. The crust is much more like a pie crust than deep dish or thin crust pizzas. There is shortening in it, and the outer crust is flaky and actually fairly light. The sausage was good but not great. It has a strong enough flavor to cut through all the cheese, but I prefer a more seasoned sausage. The sauce, which I think is delicious, has a light sweetness to it that balances the salt in the rest of the pizza.
Cold Stuffed Pizza: A Gift from On High
My Giordano’s experience actually ended the next morning when I took a cold slice out of the fridge and ate it right away. While pizza for breakfast is always a good thing, a cold piece of stuffed pizza from Giordano’s is a gift from the gods. At least for those among us who do not know the meaning of too much cheese.
There are 39 locations in the Chicago area (as well as one in Rockford and five in Florida). If you are visiting from out of town, I don’t think it matters which one you go to, as I have never noticed a difference between the locations, so no need to find a particular one. Also, if you are going for lunch and do not want to wait that long, Giordano’s does offer personal stuffed pizzas, but only with limited topping choices. Another option is to check and see if the location you are going to allows you to pre-order.
Giordano’s does offer thin-crust pizza as well, and it’s fine, but the reason to go there is for the stuffed pies. My next installment will introduce you to one of the best thin-crust pizzas in Chicago.
The slice looks large and heavy. If you normally eat 1-2 slices of new york style thin crust, would you (ok, would I) even be able to eat a whole slice of stuffed crust?
'Cuz I'm willing to try. But I'd like to know the specs before I start.
Funny timing - our blog just went into the kitchen at Lou Malnati's (another Chicago pizza institution) and watched them make it. You can see the whole video here.
@Kerosena - one slice of Giordano's can easily fill up a "normal" person! They are huge slices and - as you would imagine - very heavy. I've been known to do 1 1/2 slices on a very hungry day :)
I love Giordano's! It's almost always the first thing I get when I go back to visit family in Chicago.
In terms of slice size, I don't know exactly how it compares but when I took friends from here (nyc) to Chicago they were usually filled by 1 to 1.5 slices and they all generally eat 2-3 ny slices. I usually go for 3 the first time back...
Yes. Cold leftover stuffed pizza is amazing. There's a stuffed pizza place in Boston called Sicilia's Pizzaria. Ordered from there all the time when I was an undergrad. Unfortunately, I think I live outside of their delivery zone now, so I haven't had it in a while.
I usually go for one and a half slices. My favorite thing about stuffed crust though, is pulling apart the two layers of the crust, and eating the thin, tender saucy top layer, and the salty, crisp, flakey bottom layer separately. Yum!
I must confess that I usually eat three slices. I inhale the first one since I'm so excited, I savor the second one, and then I eat the third because I just can't stop.
Seriously though, every time I've had a Chicago-style pizza, what I didn't like was that it was too much crust. I like the idea of the thinner top crust...
I've been doing the Chicago pizza thing since the '50's in my neighborhood, and at Uno/Due since the early 60's, so you'll know my bias. Giordono's lacks flavor in my book. The sausage is bland, the sauce is sweetly bland, and the cheese is just gooey. The crust also lacks character if you ask me and maybe you didn't. I love the crust at Uno/Due because it is crisp and has a bread-like crum I appreciate. It is the king, queen and all the court.
And there are at least several thin crust pizza establishments worth discovering. But it's not about thick or thin---it's about great and not. And Giordono's is a not for me.
Correction to the article: I met with Leo Spizzirri today, who's the GM and Executive Chef at Giordano's. I learned a lot of good pizza info, but wanted to correct one thing here: There is no shortening in Giordano's crust. There is no butter in the dough, but a good amount of butter goes in the pan before the dough is added.
A couple of other good nuggets: they use different sauces for the stuffed and thin crust, with the stuffed version being much chunkier; the cheese is whole milk mozzarella; and the dough is prepared 3-4 days in advance of cooking.
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We cut open the pizza and removed a piece and some cheese from the remaining part oozed out to partially fill the gap. To a cheese lover like me, that is a joyous sight. The crust is much more like a pie crust than deep dish or thin crust pizzas. There is shortening in it, and the outer crust is flaky and actually fairly light. The sausage was good but not great. It has a strong enough flavor to cut through all the cheese, but I prefer a more seasoned sausage. The sauce, which I think is delicious, has a light sweetness to it that balances the salt in the rest of the pizza. 
15 Comments:
I'll get it out of the way. I'm a New Yorker and I love New York pizza. I also have to have Giordano's every time I'm in Chicago.
bobbob at 3:18PM on 06/11/08
The slice looks large and heavy. If you normally eat 1-2 slices of new york style thin crust, would you (ok, would I) even be able to eat a whole slice of stuffed crust?
'Cuz I'm willing to try. But I'd like to know the specs before I start.
Kerosena at 3:28PM on 06/11/08
Funny timing - our blog just went into the kitchen at Lou Malnati's (another Chicago pizza institution) and watched them make it. You can see the whole video here.
@Kerosena - one slice of Giordano's can easily fill up a "normal" person! They are huge slices and - as you would imagine - very heavy. I've been known to do 1 1/2 slices on a very hungry day :)
recipegrl at 3:34PM on 06/11/08
I love Giordano's! It's almost always the first thing I get when I go back to visit family in Chicago.
In terms of slice size, I don't know exactly how it compares but when I took friends from here (nyc) to Chicago they were usually filled by 1 to 1.5 slices and they all generally eat 2-3 ny slices. I usually go for 3 the first time back...
branny at 4:14PM on 06/11/08
3 is no problem for me either branny! ugh I disgust myself...but not really.
bobbob at 5:03PM on 06/11/08
Yes. Cold leftover stuffed pizza is amazing. There's a stuffed pizza place in Boston called Sicilia's Pizzaria. Ordered from there all the time when I was an undergrad. Unfortunately, I think I live outside of their delivery zone now, so I haven't had it in a while.
wunami at 5:42PM on 06/11/08
I want a stuffed pizza now. Out of hunger AND to see how many slices I could eat. I'm guessing three, three-point-five if I'm gorging.
Adam Kuban at 6:40PM on 06/11/08
i long for the days of the tuesday night special, stuffed pesto and a pitcher for $15. Fed me for a week. So yes, one slice is enough.
terrence_rennet at 8:30PM on 06/11/08
I usually go for one and a half slices. My favorite thing about stuffed crust though, is pulling apart the two layers of the crust, and eating the thin, tender saucy top layer, and the salty, crisp, flakey bottom layer separately. Yum!
hmlicata at 11:10PM on 06/11/08
I must confess that I usually eat three slices. I inhale the first one since I'm so excited, I savor the second one, and then I eat the third because I just can't stop.
Daniel Zemans at 10:28AM on 06/12/08
Wow... 10 comments into this thread and not a single New Yorker proclaiming "That's NOT pizza!". I am SHOCKED!
I loves me some Chicago pizza!
deeoh1 at 12:11PM on 06/12/08
deeoh1... hahaha, tru dat. cant we all just get along!
hookrilla at 2:45PM on 06/12/08
There's no such thing as too much cheese =)
Seriously though, every time I've had a Chicago-style pizza, what I didn't like was that it was too much crust. I like the idea of the thinner top crust...
akk328 at 2:42PM on 06/16/08
I've been doing the Chicago pizza thing since the '50's in my neighborhood, and at Uno/Due since the early 60's, so you'll know my bias. Giordono's lacks flavor in my book. The sausage is bland, the sauce is sweetly bland, and the cheese is just gooey. The crust also lacks character if you ask me and maybe you didn't. I love the crust at Uno/Due because it is crisp and has a bread-like crum I appreciate. It is the king, queen and all the court.
And there are at least several thin crust pizza establishments worth discovering. But it's not about thick or thin---it's about great and not. And Giordono's is a not for me.
mrbillcoach at 4:31PM on 06/17/08
Correction to the article: I met with Leo Spizzirri today, who's the GM and Executive Chef at Giordano's. I learned a lot of good pizza info, but wanted to correct one thing here: There is no shortening in Giordano's crust. There is no butter in the dough, but a good amount of butter goes in the pan before the dough is added.
A couple of other good nuggets: they use different sauces for the stuffed and thin crust, with the stuffed version being much chunkier; the cheese is whole milk mozzarella; and the dough is prepared 3-4 days in advance of cooking.
Daniel Zemans at 3:06PM on 09/29/08