Ask ten Chicagoans which restaurant serves the best pizza and you will receive ten different answers. Chicago is a great town for pizza, from deep dish to thin crust or traditional pepperoni to more exotic Hawaiian.

My all-time favorite pizza is made by JJ Twiggs, which has locations in the northwest suburbs (Lake Zurich, Palatine, and Wauconda). They make a fabulous pizza sauce and , a crisp thin crust, then they add right amount of cheese; a perfectly balanced pizza. They also assembly a double-decker pizza that is fabulous! Two slices of the double-decker means you have gorged!

In general, I don't like deep dish pizza or thick crust pizzas, but I love Lou Malnottis' deep dish. It doesn't matter what the toppings are, it is always good. They serve a classic deep dish, with a crispy crust, then a layer of cheese, the toppings, and finally the sauce on top. When I went to college in a different state and only had fast food pizza available, my mother would periodically have a Lou Malnottis pizza delivered to me. Yes, that is correct; they ship pizza across the country. It is packed in dry ice and all I had to do was pop it in the oven. Anyone who is willing to splurge should try this and they will finally know what a real Chicago deep dish pizza tastes like, even if they can't travel to Chicago.

For people who live in the city and want pizza delivered, Pizza Ria is a great delivered pizza. I still prefer the two pizza places above, but they still make a pizza with the correct ratio of sauce to cheese. With several locations throughout the city, most city-dwellers can enjoy this pizza in their own home. (Try the Devine...)

So try the pizzerias mentioned above and then ask another Chicagoan for a recommendation. Chances are, you will discover they are all good, but you will eventually settle on favorite of your own.

Learn more about this author, Monica Wanat.
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