There are few things Chicagoans feel more passionately about than pizza. It is the most identifiable food of the city, and neighbors argue endlessly about who makes the best pie. Which is better, tavern-style thin or deep-dish? What are the essential ingredients necessary on top of the ideal pizza? Do locals actually eat stuffed and deep-dish as much as the media says they do? With such a broad range of Chicagoland pizzerias, how could anyone ever decide the best of the best, once and for all? Enter Steve Dolinsky, Chicago's eminent food journalist and impartial pizza judge extraordinaire. Dolinsky has embarked on a self-described "Pizza Quest," methodically taste-testing 180 different pizzas all over Chicagoland before coming up with his 101 best. Most surprising of all was the realization that the Windy City offers a stunning ten distinctive categories of pizza. He'll reveal the top five pies in several of them. Expertly written, thoroughly researched, and finely detailed, you will learn more about pizza in Chicago than you ever thought possible. Does Lou Malnati's really have the best deep dish in the city? Where should you go to find the best artisan-style thin crust? Did your favorite pizzeria make the list? Find the answers to all of those questions and more in Pizza City, USA.
STEVE DOLINSKY is a Chicago-based food reporter. He appears regularly on Chicago's WLS-TV as "the Hungry Hound" and is a regular contributor to National Public Radio's daily program The World. He is also a regular feature writer for the Chicago Tribune and Canada's Globe and Mail, has won thirteen James Beard Awards, and cohosts The Feed Podcast with celebrity chef Rick Bayless.
GRANT ACHATZ is one of the best-known chefs in the world. He has been named Best Chef in the United States by the James Beard Foundation, honored by Time magazine as one of the 100 Most Influential People in the World, and has lectured on gastronomy and design at conferences and universities around the world. His three–Michelin star restaurant, Alinea, has been named the Best Restaurant in the World by Elite Traveler magazine.