Saturday, August 11, 2012

Gino's East

Multiple Visits
162 E. Superior St., Chicago, IL 60611 and many locations throughout city of Chicago.
Gino's East on Urbanspoon Original Gino's East on Urbanspoon

A Quick Word:
This restaurant is another one of the "Big Shots" fighting to be the best deep dish places in the city.  After waiting in the long lines and fighting through crowds, you have to decide on one of the many specialty toppings they offer.  It's another long wait for the pizza to cook, but once it is brought to the table, your mouths will water as the server cuts the pizza for you.  Gino's makes an amazing pizza, but  I think they still fall short in a couple of ways.  The crust is the main issue for me... it is a little too thick and too buttery, giving the pizza more of a greasy feel.  In fact, the crust is almost inedible after the first piece you eat.  And the long wait for Gino's, like the other deep dish places in Chicago, is just a little disappointing.

What I Ate:

House Salad

I really enjoy eating salads alongside a greasy deep dish pizza.  It adds a nice refreshing part to the meal and Gino's House salad does the trick.  A simple lettuce blend topped with tomatoes, red onions, black olives, croutons, and my choice of the house vinaigrette dressing.  The vegetables were all fresh, I do wish the onions weren't cut so thick.  The dressing gave the salad a nice tanginess.  It was nothing too special, but if you want to break up eating slice after slice of deep dish pizza, try this salad.

Pasta Salad

This side pasta salad was just AWFUL.  It was honestly the most BLAND dish I have eaten in a while and was just so disappointing I couldn't eat more than a couple of bites.  They make a quick pasta salad out of tri-color pasta blend and a quick chop of red onion, celery, red peppers, and green peppers.  They claim to top it with their house dressing, but I couldn't taste anything besides a little oil.  Do not order this salad please... you will be disappointed if you do.

Deep Dish Cheese Pizza

Now for the pizza.  I ordered the personal deep dish cheese pizza.  This way I didn't have to wait in line or wait for the pizza to cook for the 30-40 minutes.  The size is perfect size for one person and will fill you up just fine.  As you can tell from the picture, the crust on Gino's pizzas are much thicker than some of the other deep dish joints in Chicago.  They do make the crust extremely buttery and honestly it is delicious.  However, it does get a little greasy as the pizza sits for a few minutes.  The tomato sauce is excellent... an ok tanginess with heavy seasoning.  I just wished the sauce was a little chunkier because I really enjoy having chunks of tomatoes in my sauce.  They do use a lot of cheese in their pizzas so maybe ordering a topping will help cut that overwhelming flavor.  I like the spinach and their speciality, the Gino's Supreme.  Try any of their toppings and I am sure you won't be disappointed.

The DOs/DON'Ts:
DOs:
- If it is your first time trying the pizza, definitely eat at the restaurant.  The deep dish experience is not the same if you do not eat at the original establishments.
- Do put your order in while you are standing in line.  I believe they allow you to do so... this way when you get a table, you only have to wait a ten minutes or so before the pizza arrives.

DON'Ts:
- Please DO NOT even think about ordering thin crust pizza.  It is also tasty, but nothing compares to the deep dish pizza of Chicago.
- Don't drive to these places... the wait is unbelievable long somedays and there is no way you will be able to run back and forth to feed the meter.

How far would I walk for this food?






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