This past Saturday I had the opportunity to visit Pizano's Pizza and Pasta, continuing my exploration of pizzerias in the Chicagoland area. As I live in the suburbs, I visited the Glenview location.
The first thing that was very nice about Pizano's, or at least the Glenview location, was that there was no wait. From what I've heard, this is typical, and contrasts greatly with the upwards of two hours I've had to wait to get into other pizzerias, particularly in Chicago. As for pizza, Pizano's serves a highly acclaimed deep dish/pan pizza as well as a thin crust pizza that's been rated the best in Chicago. Both take 30 minutes to prepare.
My friend and I ordered a small pan sausage and a large thin half sausage half pepperoni (leftovers were anticipated). Both were a little pricey, with the pan pizza running a little over $14 and the thin crust running over $20, due to Pizano's policy of charging the full price for each half topping, which my friend and I found ridiculous, but we'd already eaten most of it and couldn't really argue.
Given that I was in the Chicago area, I focused on eating the pan pizza. It was top notch. Of other similar pizzas I've had, I'd say it's most comparable to Uno's pan sausage, making it pretty typical in my book. The crust was buttery and had a nice crunch, the cheese was rich and stringy, and the sauce had a pleasant tang that didn't overwhelm any of the other flavors and wasn't too chunky. The sausage was savory. The exterior crust had a nice body that contrasts it with pizza from Lou Malnati's, for one. I'd put it in the top tier of deep dish pizzas I've had.
As Pizano's totes their number one thin crust rating righ on the menu, I needed to try at least a slice of it. I tried the pepperoni. The square cut pizza didn't disappoint, and was unsurprisingly similar in flavor to the deep dish. The pizza was quite thin, and felt as though it was just on the boundary of folding over on itself when you picked up a slice. The crust didn't have quite the same crunch as the deep dish, but was by no means mushy. Similar to Giordano's thin crust, the pepperoni was layered beneath the cheese. I don't really see the point of this personally, as it can cause the cheese to slide off, but it's by no means a deciding factor. Overall, I though the thin crust was extremely good. However, I wouldn't say it's the best I've had in Chicago - I'm reserving that status for Barnaby's of Northbrook - but if you like a good thin crust, it's worth trying.
I thoroughly enjoyed my experience dining at Pizano's, and hope I have the opportunity to return in the near future.
