Chicago's Favorite Pizzas

Midwesterners tend to be traditionalists, particularly about courtship rituals. We always have been. If you live in the Midwest United States, you simply cannot become betrothed without first sharing a Chicago-style pizza.

Pre-pizza nuptuals are nearly as naughty as . . . well, you know. Basically, you cannot become engaged in the Big Windy until you have shared your fondest hopes and deepest dreams over a giant deep-dish delight.

How can you plan to share your life together before you have shared a grand pizza pie?

Personally, I adore pizza. There was no way I was ever going to accept a marriage proposal before we dined at the city's Top Four pizza parlors.

Of course, Chicago has countless competitive pizza spots and even several out-of-the-way dives with amazing offerings.

Here are the traditional and perennial favorites, and they've all been around for decades. Don't miss them, if you hit that toddlin' town!

Gino's East

(633 North Wells Street).

This used to sit in Streeterville, right in the shadow of the John Hancock building and Water Tower Place. Now they have moved west, where the action is. They have more room and less atmosphere, although they did bring the old booths. (Try to find the spot where we added our names to all that graffiti.) The proof is in the pizza, with its cornbready crust. With all that cheese, I'm stuffed after one piece. Still, it's too good to leave behind, so they always bring a box. Umm! Breakfast!

Pizzeria Uno

(619 North Wabash Avenue).

This age-old spot still serves pricey, but amazing, stuffed-crust pizza. As kids, we would ride our bikes along the lakeshore, all the way from the suburbs, just to grab a slice. Uno's counterpart, Pizzeria Due, is located at 619 N Wabash Ave., with all the same recipes. (Now they have suburban restaurants too.)

Giordano's

(730 North Rush Street).

For stuffed spinach pizza, this is the place. Actually, Giordano's is all over town: Downtown, Greektown, Evanston, suburbs, and more. Gooey, cheesy, stuffed pizza with too many trimmings to count. (Shrimp, anyone?) Giordano's has the tangiest pepperoni in Chi-town, although the sauce can be iffy, depending on which site you visit.

We actually became somewhat ill a couple of hours after sharing a deep-dish sausage pizza from one of the Northern restaurants. Hey, it was a hot summer night. Who knows?

Lou Malnati's

(439 North Wells Street).

One of the newer offering (opened in the 1970s), Malnati's boasts bountiful pizzas and even a children's menu. (It's a family business. Nice people, great 'za. )

Each pizza is made to order, so you may have to wait for a table, but you will not be disappointed. If you don't like lines, pick up the phone. (They deliver.) Several of their suburban spots offer pickup windows as well.

Note to Besotted Men

If you have fallen hard for that special girl, you may be trying to work up the nerve to ask for her hand in marriage. However, the first prerequisite is pizza. Besides, a hearty helping of gooey mozzarella can work wonders for your boldness!