The chef here is from Sardinia. It is so good! Pizza DOC located at 2251 W. Lawrence. 773-784-8777

I doubt this qualifies as "best" but I've been getting my pizzas lately from Sir Nick's in Elk Grove Village. Their menu says that they have two other locations. I consider it as having the "best value" thin crust pizza in Chicago. On Mondays, they have half-off day. An 18" special pizza (their special is a blend of 10 ingredients) normally costs like $26. I think that's a ripoff, but on Mondays, it's only $13 which I think is an incredible deal. What's even greater, is that it's a Rewards Network place so you get 10 miles/$ In December, I got a pizza every Monday. Since the new year, I haven't been there yet this year because of the new Idine promotion that's actually caused some of us to use Idine less (see Jailer's thread)


White Cottage Pizza in Wood Dale (and a newer location in Carol Stream) is pretty good. I used to work there as a driver ten years ago and the place was crazy. They'd have 10-15 drivers working on a Friday night so I guess people really do like the pizza there.

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.

True Chicago pizza definitely is thin-crust from a neighborhood joint. Deep-dish and/or thick-crust constitutes only a small percentage of the pizza consumed by native Chicagoans in any given year. Heck, most neighborhood joints don't even offer deep-dish. The vast majority of deep-dish is sold by chains.

A few pizza recs . . .
- Chicago-style thin-crust pizza: Vito & Nick's, 8435 S. Pulaski
- Italian-style from a wood-burning oven: Caponie's, 3350 N. Harlem
- Overlooked for deep-dish: Connie's, 2373 S. Archer

I agree that Connie's is overlooked. It's not bad - but its reputation isn't helped by what is served at the ballparks. Its bottom line probably is, however.

I presume it is just your opinion that a "small percentage" of pizza consumed by "native" Chicagoans is thin crust. If not, how did you come up with this? I disagree - although it may very not be the majority of the pizza consumed. Many pizza joints offer both - although usually at least one of the varieties is not very good. Just one of the big deep dish chain parlors probably outsell several local pizza joints combinded several times over each day.

Best Thin Crust Pizza in Chicago is in New York

yes, just like I used to believe that the best bagels were from New York City, which I now know is NOT TRUE IN THE LEAST. NYC bagels don't have a chance against Montreal bagels.

Which leads me to the conslusion that New York City pizza maybe we can't get here but great thin crust pizza certainly exist outside of New York

I don't know about bagels, but maybe we should all go try out the Bialys in Bialystok. (ICAO airport code EPBK- they don't even have an IATA code, must be small, we'd have to fly through WAW).

For those that do not know, Pizza DOC is supposed to be a true Neapolitan pizza place.

I wanted so much to like this place but each time I have been there the pizza has not been cooked through with the center being total mush.
To be fair it has been a couple years since I was last back, so maybe it is time to try it again.

FWIW, it's true that "many" offer both. Yet, more to the point, the vast majority offer thin-crust pizza, while only a minority offer deep-dish pizza. That's not a coincidence. Heck, there are entire neighborhoods in the city where no pizza joint sells any deep-dish pizza. In other neighborhoods, only a single joint sells deep-dish (in addition to thin-crust), and it's extremely unlikely that the deep-dish sales from that single store > its thin-crust sales + the sales from every other store combined.

I understand your point. You are missing mine, which, again, is that Dues, as just one example, sells more pizza in one day than several of the neighborhood parlors combined. Take all the big chains together and you are hardly a "small percentage" of all the pizzas sold in Chicago.

My personal favorite in Chicago for thin crust pizza is Cafe Luigi at 2548 N. Clark. Just south of Clark & Wrightwood. I grew up in NY and it reminds me of the pizza from there. Avoid the thick crust at Cafe Luigi, not that good, but the thin crust is excellent!

....hmmm almost 5:00 and I'm getting hungry...might be time to head to Cafe Luigi tonight.

First of all, this is so on target, it's almost zenlike. It does kind of irritate me, though, that it had to come from a South Sider. My only suggested caveat is that it's probably OK to have the tomatoey red liquid on your Red Hot if you're under the age of six. Thereafter, it's a disgrace. Anyway, I'd still rather eat a smokey link.

And FWIW - I would just like to make a shout-out to Sweet Willie. I'm not nearly the gastronome you clearly are, but I genuinely appreciate your enthusiasm, and your focus on the most wonderful city in the world.

All that said, I will also concede that if I have to eat thin pizza, Barnaby's is the right pizza with the right atmosphere.

I've eaten at the majority of downtown recommendations and GiOio's tops them all! I live a few blocks from D'Agostino's and I wouldn't consider ordering from them.

http://www.gioios.com/menu.htm

Best value is 2 medium pizzas & a 2 liter soda for around $12. For meat eaters, I highly recommend the pepperoni or the Italian sausage.

Located around Clark & Wrightwood