I don't want complicated pizza choices when it comes to thin crust. Topping and size and get it here in 30 minutes.

I grew up on the Northwest side and there was a local place on Montrose near Austin (no longer there) called "Double ZZ's". That's where we always got pizza and where I learned to love Chicago thin crust (we never knew that deep dish existed).

To me, traditional Chicago thin crust is cut into squares, not pie slices. It does tend to be a soft crust and the crust edge (which needs to be crunchy) is no more than a quarter inch wide. Sausage has to be chunks (from bulk Italian Sausage), liberally applied. The sauce is a little spicy and thin enough to drip out if you're not careful. The cheese is thick and has to be cooked to a dark brown.

I go a little out of my way to Ledo's in Countryside for that type of pizza (they changed something in the last ten years or so and it isn't quite as good as when I was a kid). John's in Brookfield is my usual delivery, although they are missing something in theirs -- but it isn't bad.

The problem with the places that have become chains (Malnatti's, Home Run Inn, Giordano's) is that they are chains. The old man running the store isn't there to keep an eye on things and the cash register is taking precedent over the pizza. That, and they have tended to expand the menu too much and lost focus on what got them there. It's like a good hot dog and beef place -- once the menu expands beyond reason, the hot dogs and beef tend to suffer (mainly because the dogs and beef are tending to sit longer in the cookers while people order other things).