Lou Malnati's Tastes of Chicago

Warning: Do not continue reading this if you are hungry. Pictures may induce stomach growling.


For Greg's birthday, the parents shipped four 9" pizzas from Lou Malnati's Tastes of Chicago which were incredible! The package included 2 pepperoni and 2 sausage pizzas. Greg's birthday is not until August 5th, but we had to make sure things tasted OK. We sampled the pepperoni pizzas the day after they arrived and are saving the sausage ones until his actual birthday.

Being a California girl, I often wonder if I'd prefer a Chicago deep dish over a NYC thin crust. I realize it may seem trivial and not as important as pondering ways of stopping world hunger, but I contemplate it almost every time I eat pizza which is about twice a month. So in that perspective, it is important to think about a food one consumes on a regular basis. :-)

I am accustomed to my pizza being a certain way: crust on the bottom, sauce on the crust, cheese on top of the sauce, toppings on top of the cheese, which may then be sprinkled with more cheese.

While this pizza had things a little backwards (with the order of crust, cheese, toppings and then sauce) I absolutely loved it! Maybe it was the chunky tomato sauce or the thick layer of cheese that won me over, but this pizza definitely won points for the deep dish side. Chicago has some valid points for making their pizza the way they do. Why put sauce on the crust which may cause it to become soggy? Why not have sides on a pizza in order to put in as much cheese and toppings and sacue as possible?

My lactose intolerance did not stop me from enjoying this delectable treat.

Isn't it a thing of beauty?

Along with the package of pizzas came a mouthwatering catalog containing other goodies from ribs to cannolis to a Chicago style hot dog kit. Afraid you won't like it? Let the evidence speak for itself.