Giordano's pizza: making mondays marvelous

By Ali Elkin

Liza Pincus, 16, a cherub from Larchmont, N.Y., holds high standards for pizza. Having grown up in a suburb of New York City, she was certain that no other pizza could compare with the wide, thin-crusted wedges of her native soil.

“When I came from New York I never expected anything out of the pizza because I know my pizza is superior,” Pincus said.
           
On her first trip to the Chicago area for the National High School Institute program, Pincus was confronted by Giordano’s stuffed pizza. Shortly thereafter she had to  redefine her pizza hierarchy.
           
“New York pizza and Giordano’s pizza fit in two completely different categories of food,” Pincus said. “Giordano’s pizza is not real pizza as I know it.”

The crust, sauce and mozzarella cheese of Giordano’s pizza are familiar to Pincus as the building blocks of the Italian creation she holds so near to her heart. However, the final product is pizza the likes of which were unfamiliar to Pincus before joining the NHSI program.

Giordano’s serves both thin crust and deep dish, or “stuffed,” pizza, as well as a selection of salads and garlic bread. Cherubs flock to the Davis street hot spot on Monday nights for their 30 percent off deal. 

Katherine Driessen, 17, a cherub from Columbia, Md. was impressed by both the pizza and the discount at Giordano’s.

“I’ve never been able to get pizza that mind-blowing for $5,” said Driessen. “Because you blow money so quickly on this trip, it’s nice to have a cheap option that’s delicious.”

Giordano’s says on its menu that stuffed pizzas take 30 minutes to prepare. This inconvenience irritates, but does not put off, its cherub clientele.

“The wait is a challenge,” said Driessen. “You have to find a way to distract yourself. I chew my straw.”
           

Click here to watch an audio slideshow on eats in downtown Evanston.

Cherubs down a true Chicago-style pizza at Giordano's.