To pizza or not to pizza…and where?

In my never-ending quest to find Chicago’s best slice, I am constantly shoving my face with pizza. Deep-dish is what I am addicted to, though throughout my search I have to be semi-equal opportunity.

Chicago’s at 3114 N. Lincoln has been a regular haunt of mine because of its proximity to Tim’s place in Chicago. As a matter of fact, Chicago’s was the first slice of real Chicago pizza I had. Open late, the place is very casual you can pop in and get a slice of deep-dish or thin crust for a pretty reasonable price.

Inside, the place is buzzing with pizza delivery guys picking up their next order and rushing out the door, causing a constant draft at the tables near the front. If you decide to eat in and the weather is less than lukewarm, park yourself at a table near the back.

There is a revolving heating box at the counter that displays usually two stuffed pizzas (spinach, sausage or pepperoni) and a thin-crust, but word to the wise: Ask which one was made most recently before choosing. This can mean a world of difference as you do not want to pick a pizza that has been slowly cooking itself to a dehydrated mess.

I have to say, and I may get ripped a new one for this, that Chicago’s is actually pretty damn good. Their crust is not nearly as flaky and delicate as Giordano’s, but the cheese-to-meat/spinach-to-sauce ratio is much better, as they are less heavy-handed with the cheese and more generous with the meat/spinach. I rather enjoy the tangy but less sweet sauce, and this one has a nice sprinkling of oregano and black pepper that gives it that extra kick.

To polish the slice off, I enjoy a Boylan root beer with Yucca extract. Good old Yucca gives the beer a licorice-y wintergreen flavour that is unique from other, plainer rootbeers (think: IBC or Barq’s). Just be careful toting the brown bottle around outside or else the police will stop you like they did me, thinking you were drinking in public. :-)

A delicious slice of spinach-stuffed pizza from Chicago's

After attending the Spaghetti Wrestling Tournament, my stomach was growling at me to fill it with pizza goodness. We were on W. North Ave. making our way back to the L when we came across Bacci Pizzeria.

The only criteria we had for a pizza place after a night of watching Spaghetti Wrestling was that the place be: 1. open and 2. fill us up.

Terrible criteria, I know, but Bacci did the trick, so we went in and ordered two jumbo slices, which is what this place is known for. If you get a jumbo slice, Bacci will give you a free cup of pop (for you East Coasters out there, read: soda). We did not take advantage of this deal, but that is because we were starving and could not be bothered to waste time at the soda fountain.

The jumbo slice did not disappoint size-wise. For $5, this piece could easily fill your empty belly. The question is, do you want it to.

Take my word for it…you don’t.

Never in my life have I ever had pizza so bland and rather disgusting. The crust was as flavourful as cardboard and the sauce was thin and runny. Cheese usually needs to be in perfect balance with the sauce, but this cheese was piled on way to thick and its rubbery texture left a lot to be desired. Forget about the sausage. It was down-right, bloody terrible.

I am not sure what the owners of Bacci were thinking, or if they know how gross their pizza is. Maybe they are open so late because the jumbo slice attracts the drunk crowd which could not care less about taste after knocking back a night of shots and beers.

“Taste the Bacci Difference” is Bacci’s slogan and one thing is for sure: I tasted the Bacci difference and I hopefully will never taste it again.

Negative 2 stars.

Any suggestions for a good slice? Let us know!!

-Dev xx