Restaurant Review – Pizzeria Due

Slowly but surely, I am making my way through Chicago’s deep dish pizza restaurants. This week took me to Pizzeria Due, which touts itself as the “birthplace of the original deep dish pizza”. Ike Sewell created deep dish pizza back in 1943, combining Italy’s old and authentic recipes with large quantities of meats, spices, vegetables and cheeses to create a hearty and filling meal. He opened Pizzeria Uno, a restaurant specializing in this new deep dish pizza, and customers couldn’t get enough of it. With Uno’s popularity, Ike knew he needed to expand and so he opened Pizzeria Due on the opposite street corner. We came in on a Saturday night, around 5:30, and it was packed. With 5 of us, the wait time was around an hour. Pizzeria Due does allow you to order your pizza while you wait, since it takes about 45 minutes to cook. We started with the Family Salad Bowl: lettuce, tomato, red onion, olives, croutons; all dressed with a house wine vinegar and olive oil blend. It was delicious! The dressing wasn’t too heavy and all the veggies were fresh and crisp. We ordered their Numero Uno pizza: fresh sausage, pepperoni, onions, and green peppers. Normally this pizza comes with mushrooms, but not everyone in our group likes mushrooms, so we asked them to take them off. I’ve gotta say, this is one of my favorite deep dish pizzas I’ve had in Chicago. The crust was crunchy, but not too hard, and the ratio of toppings to sauce was perfect. The sausage was nice and spicy without being overpowering as well. I will definitely be coming back to try another one of their pies!

Pizzeria Due is located at 619 N Wabash Ave.  Their hours are Mondays through Thursdays from 11 am to 1 am, Fridays and Saturdays from 11 am to 2 am, and Sundays from 11 am to 1 am.

RACHEL HOOVLER & DEAN’S TEAM CHICAGO