Originally Posted by Gargoyle
I dunno... I just don't get it. Thin crust pizza in Chicago? You don't go to England for the wine or the coffee, you don't go to Italy for the beer or the tea; you don't go to NYC for Chicago style pan pizza, or Dallas for sourdough bread... Chicago is a thick crust, pan pizza town- that's real; thin crust in Chicago is just trying to be something else, somewhere else.
Part if it is that dough rises differently in different cities- the humidity, barometric pressure, water quality- that's why you can't get real sourdough bread outside SFO or real Chicago style pizza outside of Chicagoland, or a real New York cardboard pizza outside the boroughs, even if you duplicate the ingredients.
But what do I know, I grew up on the South Side.
(and ketchup on a hot dog is just disgusting, but that's another thread)
(I know I'm really gonna get flamed for this one!)
no, no flaming, just some of what I believe.
I agree that I will not find New York cardboard pizza outside of New York, but do NOT agree that one can't find EXCELLENT thin crust to in Chicago/Midwest (or elsewhere). An incredible thin crust pizza is located in MKE at a place called Zaffiro's, so I know that excellent thin crust does exist outside of the east coast. Pizzeria Bianco in Phoenix would be another example.
My guess is that there are some wonderful thin crust pizza places in Chicago but they don't get press due to the overwhelming desire for Chicago Pan Pizza.