TRIP REPORT: Fall Fun in the Windy City – A different take on the Chicago Deep Dish Pizza – Pequod’s Pizza

A different take on the Chicago Deep dish Pizza – Pequod’s Pizza
Fall fun in the Windy City

In this adventure:

• Still trying to keep it different
• Great. A Broken Down Coach…
• Cathay Pacific Lounge, Heathrow Terminal 3
• AA99 London Heathrow to Chicago O’Hare (Main Cabin Extra)
• Avid Hotel, Chicago O’Hare
• Hyatt Regency O’Hare
• Airplane Art from the Hyatt Regency O’Hare
• Table for One – Time for Food
• Trying a different Deep Dish Pizza (Pequods)
• Night-Time fun with the iPhone 14 Pro
• Return to much busier Chicago O’Hare Terminal 5
• BA296 Chicago O’Hare to London Heathrow (World Traveller) 
• A Coach, A Coach. My Kingdom for a Coach
• Not the end, for 2022… maybe…

A different take on the Chicago Deep dish Pizza – Pequods Pizza

I’ve given this a section of its own – as this is one hell of a highlight.

Firstly, we need to go back to the abomination that was called a pizza on the last trip. 

I still declare this thing was “a disaster” on multiple levels. 

Readers may find it interesting that this pizza mostly ended up going in the trash. And I hate throwing food away. 

So I resorted to other information sources, as well as other methods of staying awake. Food Insider’ran a series called “Best of the Best”, and I remembered they had a Chicago Deep-Dish Pizza episode.

Here is the video: 

Checking through the list, there was one I hadn’t tried – Pequods.

Colour me interested in them baking the mozzarella cheese cooked along the edge of a cast-iron pan creating a crust that’s a bit chewy and different. I could get into that.

Deep Dish Sunday is… as the name suggests – the Sunday night after I catch up with my friends. This is true “Kevin” time as opposed to anything else. It gives me time to decompress and work out what was good in life and what could be optimised. 

Getting there is a little complex if you are walking – Uber and Lyft are your friends here (although it is walkable from Armitage station if you have got Google maps and a data supply to keep you occupied and are happy walking around the area).

Arriving at the restaurant, it was a matter of getting a spot to eat pizza. For me, a bar spot is always welcome (least of all, a table by yourself looks ridiculous – the joy of the single traveller).

It is very much a sports bar, with the noise and volume to go with it. In most cases, if you are going in groups of two or more expect a wait, or make reservations.

From there, it is a matter of working out the menu, And the menu is a build-up menu, as opposed to a set menu.

Time to get creative, as they say. 

I selected a few items that made sense (Sausage, Pepperoni and Green pepper and asked the barkeep for advice based on what I ordered. They suggested giardiniera, adding acidity. 

Firstly, there was cola to keep me topped up and awake, given it would be a good 40 minutes for pizza.

The plastic cup is on point.

It is a lively place – even if the toilets are a little… sticker-bombed.

So, how did it turn out?

There’s nothing like a cast iron pan for anything to be served in and kept steaming hot. How this pizza, therefore, is a welcome sight.

Ok. Wow.

So, the caramelised crust. Is it there? You bet it is.

The crust gives a nice chew, whilst the bread wasn’t that deep – allowing for lots of hot filling, with almost an “over the top” amount of pepperoni and peepers on top, whilst the sausage and giardiniera gave nice textures. 

It wasn’t overly spicy, but it did deliver a reasonable kick, to put it mildly.

As you can see, there was a lot of it. Unsurprisingly, the majority of this was boxed and taken away leaving only the bill to settle

Unlike last time, I had no issues with the bill for this pizza- as the food was high quality and the service was excellent. Even when tipped, I still felt like I had got that strange thing that I sometimes struggle to find – value for money. 

And trust me – this pizza did not last that long after I got home – it provided more than a few meals after.

Overall: Looking at the reviews and comparing the real thing, I get it. It is a little different than the usual Chicago Deep-pan style (which can be compared to many things – I am not going into the classic Jon Stewart commentary and his thoughts here.

But differences can be awful, as you can see from the first image in this article. This difference is a very well-crafted pizza, that exceeded my expectations.

As for the best deep-dish pizza in Chicago? I might be dumb, but I’m not going near that argument.

But it is a mighty fine pizza, that I would recommend both locals and out-of-towners to try. Just try plan to ahead, as it does take a while to cook…

… like any good deep-dish pizza.

Next: Nighttime Photography with the Apple iPhone 14 Pro