TRIP REPORT: Indirect Travel Fun – Chicago Classics, Peaquod’s Pizza

Chicago Classics – Peaquod’s Pizza
Indirect Travel Fun

• How much is it this time???
• Early Morning National Express, Mid Moring Terminal 3
• Elegantly Lounging around Terminal 3 (Cathay Pacific and American Airlines Lounges)
• American Airlines AA99 London Heathrow to Chicago (Main Cabin Extra)
• Into the USA, Crowne Plaza O’Hare
• Hyatt Regency O’Hare
• Airplane Art Extra: From the Hyatt Regency O’Hare
• Chicago Classics: Mannys Deli and Cafeteria
• Bench Test and First Impressions: Canon EOS R50
• Rebuilding a Legacy: Central Camera, Chicago
• Chicago Classics: Peaquod’s Pizza
• Back to O’Hare, Swissport Lounge Chicago T5
• Finnair AY10 Chicago O’Hare to Helsinki Vantaa
• A quick ground-side visit, and an even quicker stop at the Finnair Lounge
• Finnair AY1337 to Helsinki Vantaa to London Heathrow
• The Unexpected Coach Home
• Expect the Unexpected

It’s Time for another Chicago Classics segment, looking at Peaquods Pizza in the North West Suburbs.

I looked at this last year, but I was impressed enough to ask the question – can lightning strike twice for a deep-dish pizza joint?

Pequod’s Pizza has a slightly different take on the Chicago-style deep dish pizza (what some might call quiche or others call soup or quiche. Your tastes will vary), with 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 have my Deep Dish Pizza on a Sunday when I travel the Sunday night after I catch up with my friends. 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). If you fancy dicing with life, the Blue Line is an option too.

However, that walk isn’t what I would call “nice”. Although some might say “nice” walks and US Cities don’t go together outside the downtown cores.

Peaquod’s Pizza is easy enough to spot – look for the bright neon signs.

Although they do need to fix the neon, sometime. 

It’s very much a reservations-preferred place, although they can accommodate walk-ins too. It took around 5 minutes for them to find me a seat (a party of one is easier to sit sometimes).

I was expecting to find myself at the bar – but instead, I was seated at a table for once.

That’s new for me.

It is very much a sports bar, with the noise and volume to go with it.

There’s free Wi-Fi, for a good reason. 

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.

There’s no paper menu, so you do need an electronic device to help you along with the ordering process

Time to get creative, as they say. 

I selected a few items that made sense (Sausage, Ground beef, Green pepper and Giardiniera for a little spice and acidity to cut through the meat and cheesefest).  

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

Did I use an EOS R50 to test some photos? Yup. 

I might have played with the camera before I had food 

It is a lively place, to put it mildly.

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

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

Overall:

In my previous review, I said I got this place. I still stand by that the service is friendly, whilst offering a new spin on Chicago Deep-pan style, with its customizability, as well as the way it is served.

And I’ve had a few – from classics of Ginos to Giordano’s to Lou Mattans, to a local delivery joint. Some have been excellent, some have been classic, and others. Well. We don’t talk about that one any more.

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

Although I should have gone with Pepperoni – but that is very much a “me” problem.

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:

Back to O’Hare and the Swissport lounge. How do you like your lounge reviews? Because one word is coming out from the upcoming review.

Roasted.