Q's Restaurant & Pizzeria has served the people of Hillside for well over 50 years and exudes old school pizzeria charm. But Q's is an exemplar of how legendary suburban pizzerias can live on in greatness due to nostalgia more than the pizza. More

Trattorria Porretta & Pizza has grown from tiny pizzeria to a full-service Italian restaurant and banquet hall over the years in Portage Park. The family operation maintains the regional status quo in the Chicago thin crust department, but the carry-out only stuffed crust is worth sacrificing the comforts of a sit-down meal. More

Chef Tony Mantuano may be primarily known as the creator of some of the best upscale Italian food in America, but the man is undoubtedly a pizza fan. Four of his restaurants serve pizza, each with a different style. The pies at Cafe Spiaggia have elements of greatness but also some flaws that aren't apparent in at least two of his other ventures. More

Dante's Pizzeria opened with the help of former employees of Piece and Santullo's. Between that pedigree and the positive reviews, I was expecting something at least pretty good. Unfortunately, the high points of my pizzas were just okay and the low points were no fun at all. More

The special came with prosciutto, crimini mushrooms, pesto marinara, fontina cheese and shaved romano, as well as basil. Like all of the 10-inch pizzas, this one was available as a half or a whole. The pizzas are made in advance and spend a couple of minutes in the oven before being served. The crust was really crunchy and the cheese and prosciutto upped the salt level considerably. The pesto marinara had some nice herbal tomato flavor but was a bit dried out. Not a particularly enticing pizza, but given the options in the area, it'll do in a pinch. More

Situated at the outer northwestern edge of the Chicago metropolitan area, Crystal Lake is not exactly conveniently located for city dwellers. But I was willing to make the trek after hearing some very good things about the deep dish pizza at Georgio's. More

I'm not one to make grand pronouncements and declare any pizza the best in America, but if anyone wants to call this mortadella pie the best this country has to offer, there's no way I'm going to tell them they're wrong. More

In last week's edition of The United States of Pizza, we covered Chicagoland. This week, we've got recommendations for slices and pies in the rest of the great state of Illinois. Wondering where the best pizza is in Springfield? Champaign-Urbana? DeKalb? We've got you covered. Got other Illinois favorites not on our list? Let us know in the comments, please! More

You may have caught this link already, but check it. Travel & Leisure magazine has unleashed some magical ranking mojo on U.S. cities, listing them in categories including Cleanliness, Theater and Performance Art, Barbecue, and, yes, Pizza. Chicago, my friends, ranks No. 1 for pizza. More

If you follow pizza, you might know that Great Lake in Chicago is ranked right up there with the best of the best nationwide. The place, though, is small and the wait for a table is notoriously long. This summer, though, the pizzeria will replace its outdoor tables with benches and start serving Sicilian-style pizza to-go to munch on while sitting outside, according to Tasting Table. Grub Street Chicago's Nick Kindelsperger speculates that this may allay some of the grumbling on the part of line-waiters. More