D'Agostinos' Pizza and Pub Shop in Chicago

Deep dish Chicago style pizza is a true knife and fork pizza with generous portions of cheese, meats, and a chunky tomato sauce. As a pizza lover, the minute I found out I was going to Chicago, I knew this had to be one of my experiences.

Several coworkers, including a Chicago native, gave me advice on where I should go for my first authentic deep dish and names like Giordano's and Edwardo's came up, but I decided to take a chance on a corner pizza and pub shop in the Southport neighborhood of Wrigleyville.

D'Agostinos's Pizza and Pub had just the look I'd imagined for a great Chicago deep dish pizza place. It was older, mostly bar, and the crowd was loud and having a good time, no doubt helped by the Friday night happy hour drink prices. I sat by the door, and watched families with young kids and groups out for fun stream in and out the door.

Having been a long time connoisseur of pizza, I reviewed the menu carefully. The choices were numerous, but well within solid pizza building guidelines. There were eight different cheeses ranging from American to goat cheese, thirteen different meats, and seventeen different vegetable toppings to choose from including artichoke hearts and broccoli, two that were new to me.

I went for the classic mozzarella cheese, pepperoni, and then added mushrooms and green olives for my first deep dish experience. It was a standard pizza order for me, and I wanted to see what Chicago style would do to my favorite I-don't-want-to-cook-dinner standby.

The appearance of the pizza was different than I expected, with a thin layer of crust on the top, covered in a layer of tomato sauce. After putting a hefty piece on my plate, I dug in, with knife and fork, and it was love at first bite.

The bottom layer of crust was chewy, but not undercooked, and a moderate thickness that did not take away from the interior. The top layer of crust was thin and light, and I actually pulled it off and ate it separately on my second piece, as it was nicely flavored, and lightly covered in tomato sauce.

Though the crusts were great, it turned out that what was on the inside did matter most. I had not ordered extra cheese, but there was plenty in every bite, and it was definitely not shredded cheese from the grocery store. It was thick and gooey, and well flavored. There were ample mushrooms and green olives, and enough tomato sauce to keep it from becoming a chewing marathon.

The only disappointment in the whole pizza was the tomato sauce. My personal feeling is that a good tomato sauce should be able to make its own mark, and the one used by D'Agostinos's did not. It was forgettable, used only to help the other superb ingredients slide down easily.

Not every pizza is a "first", so I lingered over mine, and ate too much of it, even going back later that night for the leftover pieces I'd taken with me. I may not have picked the biggest name in Chicago style deep dish pizza, but I was thoroughly satisfied that I had eaten something worthy of that name.