Pizza at Pequod's

Last Sunday, my family was in the mood for some good ole 'za. While I have spent my whole life in the Chicagoland area and have tried numerous deep dish pizzas, I have never been to Pequod's (2207 N. Clybourn Ave). However, I have seen it referenced on several lists as the best deep dish in Chicago, including Serious Eats. One thing you should know about me: while I am a DIEHARD White Sox fan (the Cubs suck) and often play into many of the Chicago "rivalries," I have never really landed on a favorite deep dish pizza that I am super passionate about. I love deep dish - and I've never really had any BAD deep dish. I love Giordano's, I love Lou Malnati's, I love Connie's, you name it. However, multiple sources have said that Pequod's is the hidden gem of Chicago. Everyone seems to rave about the caramelized crush on their pan deep dish, so I decided it was finally time to check it out. 

Slice of medium deep dish sausage

My dad and I shared a medium deep dish sausage pizza, while my mom and sister shared a medium thin crust cheese. All in all, I was not that impressed with this pizza. It wasn't bad by any means, but best deep dish I've had in Chicago? Definitely not. The sauce was good and plentiful, but no better than any sauce I've had from Giordano's. My dad didn't care for the large chunks of sausage (as opposed to the traditional, smaller pieces of sausage in pizza), but I thought the sausage was tasty. My biggest problem with the pizza is exactly what it seems to be so famous for - the crust. While I appreciate the caramelization, I would not really call the crust on Pequod's pizza a crust. I prefer my crust to be substantial. I like it to be something that I can hold on to while I devour the rest of the pizza, and then dip in extra sauce when I'm left with just the crust. This crust is not substantial at all. It is merely a burnt, caramelized version of the rest of the pizza and is not very "handheld" friendly. Maybe I just have weird taste in crust, especially since so many people seem to think that Pequod's crust is revolutionary, but this was just not my cup of tea. The crust on the bottom was also very bread-y. I did not mind this at all, but my dad did not care for it as much. I tried a bite of my mom's thin crust which had what I would definitely consider a "substantial" crust. This crust was rolled and easy to hold onto, as well as dip into leftover sauce. The thin crust was nothing amazing, but I at leaf appreciated the crust over the deep dish. All-in-all, this was certainly not bad pizza but it was not my favorite. I generally don't like to get involved in the Chicago deep dish wars, but I would take Giordano's or Connie's (especially on the South Side before a Sox game) over this pizza any day. I guess I'll just have to categorize this one under Unpopular Opinions!