Deep dish in DC

No really, there is. And I don’t mean Uno’s. As stated in my last post regarding pizza, deep dish pizza is hard to find. The other 2 Dudes were coming down to DC for a Dudes on Foods weekend, so the Dudes were hungry for deep dish pizza. REAL deep dish pizza. They were going to order one from Chicago (Gino’s East, based on my suggestion), and have it delivered to my place, and then feast when they arrived from NYC several hours later. Unfortunately, the soonest it can arrive is Tuesday, which is 4 days too late. I mentioned in my Citron review that I play the host role pretty damn well, so now it’s up to me to see if I can supplement everyone’s craving. Here’s how I did it:

• Google for deep dish pizza in DC.
• Find different websites including other blogs like chowhound.
• Call every damn place that is touted as “the best Chicago deep dish pizza.”
• Conduct deep dish interviews.

The interview questions were basically the same when I called each place. (I am a pizza snob and self-proclaimed pizza connoisseur.) I was getting disappointed in every damn call, even putting me in a bad mood. Someone was even describing a deep dish all wrong (that thick crust thing again!), and we even got into an argument! I finished it off by asking him if he’s ever been to Chicago to which he confirmed that he didn’t. It was not looking good. Until, I called Alberto’s (http://www.albertospizzeria.com/). The conversation went something like this –

I asked them if it's thick crust. The guy tells me "no, it's Chicago style." I ask what he means, and he kinda gets a little testy (which I liked! It shows his pizza passion) and answers "well, there's thin crust, and there's thick crust - this is in a pan. In Chicago, it takes 45 minutes to make a pizza. Like ours." I tell him to go on. He tells me it's stuffed (ding, ding, ding!!!) and tells me it's like a pie (another great sign!!!). All this time, he tells it to me in a kinda "Duh, what's the matter with you???" attitude. Loved it. I told him I wanted to cry cuz I'm from Chi, and he answered everything correctly but hasn't passed the test until I tried it. He started laughing and told me the owner is from Chicago and to come on down. Very cool dude.

So the Dudes arrive, and I tell them about the call. We’re all very excited. I did have to remind them that we shouldn’t hold our expectations too high, but it was just too hard. We head over to DuPont Circle, and we search for the address. Found it! Small, inconspicuous place that’s leads underneath a building. We see only thin crust pizzas on displayed. Okay, don’t worry; just ask the nice person behind the counter. “Do you have deep dish?” “No, we have stuffed pizza.” Another wonderful answer! So I order a large pepperoni, mushroom, onion, and sausage (I believe) pie. “It should be ready in about 40 minutes.” “40? It’s 11PM now.” “That’s okay; we’re open until 5AM.” Could I be sleeping? Dreaming? You mean, if I have another one of my ravenous cravings at pretty much any time of day, I can make a quick drive down here for some delectable deep dish? Wait a minute. Let’s wait for a while, walk around DuPont Circle’s nightlife, come back, and sample it. It’s just too good to be true. So we step outside, and we enjoy the scenery. The weather is perfect, clear sky, people out on the town, and I get my photography on. 11:45 rolls around, and we head back. We still need to wait another 7 minutes, and now the moment of truth. We see them remove this heavy morsel from the oven, I think I saw the cook use two hands, he slices it up, boxes it, and we’re given the warm and heavy bow. We’re also issued paper plates, and we stand in the corner. Yes folks, stand; there are no seats here. It adds to the feel. We open it up, we enjoy the vision as we’re taken aback to those images previously scene only on websites, and now, here it is, right in front of us, in all its glory. We dig in. Was it truly Chicago style deep dish? Was it authentic? Did I feel like Da Cubs were playing down the street? Was an issue of The Trib laying on the counter near me? Well, they were playing some good Chicago House Music. And I don’t believe it was to give a Chicago feel; they just liked the music.

But the taste? Well, my fellow readers, I can truly say yes, this is real Chicago style deep dish pizza. It looked, felt, and tasted just like something I would have at Gino’s East, Giordano’s, Lou Malnati’s, the neighborhood place I used to order from, or any other deep dish joint I’d go to. All of them had their own touch as did this one. I think they went a little heavy on sprinkling parmesan cheese on top, but damnit, this is still wonderful pizza. My hats off to you, Alberto. I will be back. Everyone else reading this, all other places in DC are thick crust, NOT deep dish. Huge difference. Uno’s does dish up Chi style, but it’s just too much of a chain for me. I am Alberto’s friend.