Slice of Fresca Style Pizza from Famous Famiglia

Item Purchased: Slice of Fresca Style Pizza
Location Purchased: Famous Famiglia / LaGuardia Airport / Flushing, NY
Price: $3.99 + tax
Purchased on: 02/03/07

Review: I'm not quite sure what all the fuss is about regarding Chicago vs. New York style pizza. The thick gooey blocks of buttery dough and layered cheese thicker than a February snow that you get in Chicago is far more preferable to the crisp, tortilla-like thin slices that New York offers up. Don't get me wrong, they are both tasty, but when it comes to rich flavor and substantial filling that doughy Midwesterners like myself enjoy, Chicago wins hands down. We may not do much right, but hot dogs and pizza are the two things that the school of Chicago can teach.

When in New York, however, I have to say that the best choice of thin crust concoctions that I have seen has to be the Pizza Fresca. It is a minimalist slice which begins with the dry and dusty crisp crust that New Yorkers love so well and continues only a few millimeters upward with a thin brushing of tomato sauce and a uniform platform of mozzarella cheese. Atop this is nothing more than a few tomato slices and a dusting of torn or chopped basil. The oddest thing about this style of pizza is the way that the mozzarella is compacted together to make one flat slice-like layer of cheese that is white and resembles a crayon's wax.

Sometimes the simplest flavor combinations are also the best. The minimal tomato-cheese-tomato reminds me of a Caprese on a cracker.

Famous Famiglia does a great job with the minimal. If I've learned anything, it's to not expect much from airport eateries. Sometimes, however, when you aim low, the outcome surprises you. That's exactly what happened here.

Rating: 4 / 5

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Large 16" Pan Style Pizza w/Pepperoni from Ricobene's

Item Purchased: Large 16" Pan Style Pizza w/Pepperoni from Ricobene's
Location Purchased: Ricobene's Pizzeria / 252 W. 26th St. / Chicago, IL
Price: $16.54 + tax & delivery charge

Review: I spent the day recovering from being sick and didn't leave the house much. Low on dry goods and energy, I decided to do what any red-blooded American would do (no, I didn't use a drive-through). I ordered a pizza. After a flu, this is the equivalent of rubbing dirt on an open wound in attempts to heal it, but I figured, if I could handle this, I could handle anything.

Not only could I handle it, but I found my discerning taste (along with my normal physical taste) coming back to me.

While I love Ricobene's and hold them up to be one of the five best pizzerias in Chicago, I almost called them back to complain. At first glance, I was convinced that they forgot to give me my pepperoni. Maybe it is because I grew up eating the delicacies of Tombstone and Jack's frozen pizzas where the pepperoni is a thick circle of spice bologna-like substance, but the paper-thin and sparsely applied sausage lief that came on this pizza isn't worth the extra $1.75.

I was a bit disappointed, though not discouraged completely. Since I barely ate anything yesterday, I inhaled nearly half of this large pizza and have a bit left for tomorrow morning with my cup of coffee (take that, flu!). The flaky buttery crust and slightly sweet tomato sauce I love was still present but I'll be thinking twice the next time I order out for a pepperoni pizza.

Rating: 3.25 / 5

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Slice of Pepperoni Pizza from Massa Cafe

Item Purchased: Slice of Pepperoni Pizza from Massa Cafe
Location Purchased: Massa Italian Cafe / 807 W. Roosevelt Rd. / Chicago, IL
Price: $2.99 + tax

Review: I know what you're thinking. You're thinking: That looks like four pieces of pizza you lying pig!

Well, in a sense, you are right. It is four slices of pizza and sometimes I am a pig. What you don't know is that there are four slices of pizza because the slices that Massa offers up for the low price of $2.99 are so hugantic that they have to cut it into four pieces to make it manageable.

As for the taste... Massa's pizza dough is the perfect medium between thin and thick crust with both crispy and chewy qualities. The tomato sauce used is fresh and slightly sweet and the slathering of cheese atop these American staples is cooked to a pleasant golden brown that will make even the staunchest deep-dish purist squeal with glee. There are several pizza places in Chicago that do pie better, but for something so close to my work location, I'll take it!

$2.99 for fresh baked pizza this good and this big? Helloooo Massa.

Rating: 4.25 / 5

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