Chicago, Day 3, Part 1

Deep Dish Pizza

Pequod’s

One thing I learned when researching the best deep dish pizza in Chicago is that restaurants here are really into being number one.  Everyone seems to have been rated number one on some list and will aggressively promote it.  As I read the reviews and ratings, one place that was high on the lists was Pequod’s Pizza.  That odd name is the name of the ship in Moby Dick, and why they chose to name the restaurant that seems to be unknown.  They also have a mascot of a whale wearing a thong on its head.  More about that later. 

Pequod’s original location is near my hotel so I decide I’ll have a late breakfast/early lunch of deep dish pizza and beer.

It is definitely not a fancy place.  Actually, it looks a little dodgy.

But I decide to go in anyways.

I’m seated near the door by a polite server and order a beer.  There are a lot of people coming in and out having pre-ordered their pizzas to take back to the office or eat quickly at one of he tables.  The lunch special of $4.95 for a 7” pan pizza with cheese, one topping and a soda or Bud Light is an incredible deal in my mind.  The server asks if I pre-ordered my pizza and I reply “no”, to which she lets me know, in a consoling tone, that it’s O.K.  It takes 30 to 40 minutes to cook a pizza, even a 7 inch.

I am more than happy to have beer for breakfast as I watch the groups pile in, eat their pre-ordered pizzas, and pile out. 

After approximately one and three fourths beers the pizza appears already out of its pan.

 The thing that makes Pequod’s pizza unique is a caramelized crust around the outer edge made by spreading cheese on the outside edge of the pizza before it goes in the oven.

The crust looks burnt and I expect it to have a burnt taste, but it doesn’t.  It tastes like an alchemist decided to make a creation with the sole purpose of curling my toes.  This magician accomplished the goal!  The crust is firm with a bit of crunch and has a full rich taste.  If you have ever eaten the cheese that burnt on the pan after making grilled cheese, this is not that.  That is burnt cheese.  This is heaven.  

But this is not just about the crust.  The sausage is a player here and is flattened instead of rolled into balls or plopped in little mounds.  This seems to allow the sausage on top to crisp just a bit. 

The sausage is not as salty as what I’m used to in the Twin Cities and I notice right away that it is not a solo performer.  It seems that the sausage at my favorite pizza place in St. Paul, Savoy Pizza, is a bit of a showoff and dominates the pizza.  At Pequad’s the sausage and sauce have teamed up to be awesome and share their awesomeness with a very reserved, but fresh, mozzarella cheese.  It’s a package deal and the mild, slightly sweet, sauce balances the dynamically spiced sausage perfectly. 

The pizza is great and I’m very glad I came here, but the place is a little odd.  Along the ceiling and back wall are antique radios.  I had to ask what they were.  I also asked why, but the server, who seems like she has worked here for awhile, didn't really know.  All she could offer was that the owner had many, many more in storage.

The name Pequad’s - who knows why they called it that?  No one here.  But the thing I was most curious about was the whale wearing a thong on its head.

 I asked the server why the whale had a thong on its head and she replied that she didn’t know, and she gets that question a lot.  I couldn’t figure it out until I was looking at this picture later. 

First I looked at the middle t-shirt.  It didn’t take me long to see an image that might require a Mohel to create.  O.K. 

But it’s the t-shirt to the left that seals the deal.  It appears that the whale, wearing a thong, is in non-reproductive sexual congress with a fish that looks like a moray eel.  The shirt says, “Eat Out The Pequod.”  That is just weird, even for me, and that is saying a lot!

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Horween Leather Company

Besides my quest for the foods Chicago is known for, I also planned a few sightseeing excursions.  Not necessarily the kind you may find in the brochures.

You may not be familiar with the Horween name, but you are familiar with their products.  Horween Leather Company has been the exclusive supplier of leather for the National Football League footballs since the 1950’s, and its leather is also used to make the National Basketball Association balls.

At one time there were over 40 tanneries in the city.  Opened in 1905, today Horween is the last. 

In 1911 Horween developed a shoe leather they call Chromoexcel.  This calf leather is chrome tanned first and then vegetable retanned.  This creates a very durable leather that has a pull up quality to it.  This means that if you stretch the leather it will lighten and then return to its original color when you release it.  

Vegetable tanning is more resistant to bacteria and fungus and creates a more durable leather, where chrome tanning creates a flexible kind of leather.  With Chromexcel you get the best of both worlds.  In 1938 Horween becomes one of the official suppliers of the U.S. Marine Corp and Chromoexcel will later be used exclusively in the North African Campaign for the Type III Service Shoe.

It was raining hard when I got near the Horween factory and I noticed a horrible smell about 5 blocks away.  It was truly awful.  I didn’t think it possible that a building this size could put out a smell like that.  That sort of stink is what I could only image the morning after taking Godzilla out for Old Style and White Castle would smell like.

There is no place to park or stop close enough to get a picture of the small, unassuming sign.  I finally decide to park illegally at a 7-11 and trek through the rain to get the picture.  Once I open the door and step outside the horrid smell slaps me in anger and pushes me to the ground holding me down and making me say “I’m a pretty girl” over and over again.  Once I recover I make my way, grab a couple shots and watch a man in an Ivy cap use the top of a garbage can as the plate for the sandwich he’s eating.  The stench is almost starting to smell like leather.

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Italian Beef

Al’s #1 Italian Beef

Another Chicago delicacy I decided I had to have on this trip was an Italian Beef.  An Italian Beef is a thinly sliced seasoned roast beef sandwich with hot and/or sweet peppers on a long Italian style roll covered in optional amounts of roasting juices.

I decided to go to Al’s #1 Italian Beef.  Although the origins of everything seem to be up for debate in Chicago, Al’s appears to have the most convincing argument for being the first to open an Italian Beef stand in 1938.  The genesis of the sandwich allegedly comes from trying to stretch beef for weddings and banquets during the depression by slicing the beef thin and making sandwiches.

Just in case the #1 in Al’s restaurant’s name didn’t get the point across, once inside, Al is more than happy to remind you. 

This Al’s is not the original Al’s.  The original has no place to sit and it is cold and raining outside today.  I would prefer to sit inside, and as you will soon see this is not a sandwich you can eat in your car.

There are options when ordering an Italian Beef sandwich.  Do you want hot peppers or sweet peppers?  Do you want your sandwich wet, which is juice on the inside of the bun; dipped, where the whole sandwich is given a quick dip; or dry, with just the juice from the roast beef.

The idea of soggy bread does not appeal to me, but I suspect these folks know what they are doing.  I asked the person at the counter what I should get to do it right, and after a few questions regarding my hot pepper tolerance he puts in my order.

You order at one end of the counter and then make your way down to pick up your sandwich. 

My sandwich arrives tightly bundled on a cafeteria tray and I make my way to a table.

I start to unwrap the sandwich and quickly realize that the first wrapper is not going to get me to the sandwich.

Finally, I get to the sandwich and it is resting in a little puddle of juice falling out of the soaked bun and stuffed with peppers on top.

The sandwich was a challenge to eat, but once I committed to making a mess I dug in.  The dipped bun was not soggy, but wonderfully “juiced” if that is a term.  The peppers were a little hotter than expected, which is perfect.  The beef itself was a little dry, but I bet some melted cheese would make this truly decadent. 

Those of you familiar with a Philly Cheesesteak sandwich may see a little similarity, but this beef is more heavily spiced and the roasting juices really stand out.  Thankfully, it isn’t infused with garlic which is what I initially expected.

I could see making a whole trip devoted to only Italian Beef sandwiches.  This sandwich and its various permutations will have to be pursued, even if it means doing it back home in Minnesota.

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To be continued…