Vito & Nick's Pizzeria

8433 S Pulaski Rd.
Chicago, IL 60652
(773) 735-2050
Website

Chicago is a town pegged as a deep dish pizza haven. But this is not accurate at all. In fact, most of my Chicago friends prefer thin crust, but will also dabble in the pizza casserole every tourist seeks out when offered. Vito and Nick's is my favorite type of place. Low key, reasonably priced, draped in history, tradition and warmth.

The takeout side is cut from a scene of lost America. I LOVED it.

Oh but wait, the dining room doesn't disappoint either. The lights are a permanent fixture, as are many of the folks sitting at the bar.

The shrine to the founders.

They utilize the crisscut method of slicing that is a staple of Chicago thin crust pizza. The half sausage half plain pizza was a definite feast. There were ALMOST leftovers. The sausage balls are house-made and contain just enough spice and fat. The cheese gets nicely blistered from its stop in the oven.

The cheese and sauce extended all the way to the crust, which is a requirement unless you enjoy eating dry crust like some sort of psycho.

The crust itself was buttery and flaky, and had a nice crackery crunch.

I love when the pizza is cut in this manner, as the slices are somewhat small. This enables me to eat fifteen slices of pizza, and not be too weighed down.

Although it is not in the greatest neighborhood, it is worth the short drive from Midway. And well worth the price of admission.

Subway Cafe

1000 Herr Street
Harrisburg, PA 17103
(717) 412-7128
Website

So, as I was saying, I was in Harrisburg for the day and hit a few local spots for lunch and dinner and in between.

The final stop in my culinary adventure was a little corner spot in the heart of the city, just a few blocks from the capital complex.

It is truly on the wrong side of the tracks, but I did not let that deter me. I mean, just look at those awnings and sweet neon signage! What an awesomely retro building. There was no way I wasn't going inside this time machine.

It's a really small mom-and-pop style Italian joint, with a bar that seats around 6 and a dining room with about 12 tables. There's a tiny window between the kitchen and dining room where you see little hands reaching up and placing plates full of hot, steamy foods. The special drink was the "oral fixation" and I had to skip it, but I couldn't help appreciating the artistic flair (see below).

Instead, I partook in their famous "fishbowl" of beer.

It's an enormous 32 oz. goblet of ice cold domestic for only $4.25 - yes, I said $4.25 - that's not a typo. Amazing.

With that deal, the Subway Cafe could only get better from there.

And it did. The side salad was pretty much your usual mix of iceberg and Romaine, but I want to note that the tomatoes were exceptionally ripe, considering these kinds of salads usually show up with pink-to-white tomatoes that are completely inedible. I could feel the love coming out of the kitchen.

The pepperoni pizza with extra cheese came out moments after and I had to put down my fork. Mouthwatering.

All of the pies are personal size, about 11 inches each, and it looks like they're cooked in something like a 10 inch pie pan. The edges sort of sit up, but it's not even close to a deep dish pie. In fact, it's the opposite.

The crust is cracker-style, thin and crispy. The cheese goes right on the dough, so it melds together in a chewy crunch, and is topped with a swirl of sweet and tangy sauce. I had to add the thin pepperoni slices, at everyone's recommendation. I mean, this stuff is heavenly.

Did I mention they run $6.50 a piece with toppings coming in at $1.40? I mean, it eats like a meal, but I eat for 2. Obviously, I was due for another menu item. The daily special board advertised lasagne with meat sauce or meatballs and I chose the former.

My god, this was some of the best lasagne I've ever had. The noodles were fresh and cooked just al dente. They were stacked together so the heavily-meated sauce actually sandwiched the noodles. There was very little ricotta, if any, and I realized how much I like an abundance of sweet, tangy sauce taking over.

It also came with a couple of slices of fresh baked Italian bread. When buttered, it made the perfect mop for any leftover meat sauce. Now, I have to let you know that the lasagne isn't officially on the menu, so I'll pray that when you go, it's up on the board so you can enjoy your own little pile of heaven.

Well, second pile of heaven, because any of the pizza pies will be your first. Buon appetito!

EDITOR'S NOTE: Two days after Philly Phoodie's visit, Subway Cafe was named PennLive's Pizza Party winner for 2013. The idea was to "crown a champion pizza that was a cut above those perfectly fine pies found at neighborhood pizzerias." Couldn't be happier about their title. READ MORE ABOUT IT HERE!

Tony's Place

6300 Frankford Avenue
Philadelphia, PA 19134-3619
(215) 739-5660
Website

In the never-ending hunt for great pizza, the great Northeast is usually underrepresented, yet they offer pies in many venues that are significantly better than their Southern counterparts. I heard Tony's Place offered a tomato pie, and I was anxious to see if it would save me a trip to Trenton.

Tony's place is not a fancy "gourmet pizza" type place. It's a bar/family restaurant that serves a pretty decent, comparably inexpensive thin crust tomato pie. Now don't get it twisted, this is not tomato pie, but rather, tomato pie. (The following pictures are a bit dull because the lighting here hasn't changed since 1951)

The drink special was $2.25 Woodchuck ciders. Although I usually don't drink the cider, I had to do it here, on monetary principle alone. The side salad is pretty large and quite a steal at around $3.50. Nothing crazy, but more variety and size than I expected for the price.

On to the pizza. I went with the traditional tomato pie with hot cherry peppers and sausage first. The sauce goes on top, and the cheese underneath. Upon ordering I asked for it well done, and she asked if I wanted it crispy, so I was a bit flummoxed. However, I decided to just hedge my bets and go with crispy. Crispy it was. The crust was the best part (followed by the sausage). Very thin, and very crisp, it was a nice change from the thick, greasy "medium" thickness that many places around the city serve and often call "Greek style." I am looking at YOU Central Pizza. Anyway, the pizza was good, the sausage had a nice kick of fennel, and was in perfect proportion. The problem arose with the sauce, however. It just lacked flavor. I may be spoiled, but is it too much to ask for the sauce to have some salt and garlic? This was under sweetened, under salted, and just made my two other favorite sauces (Franco's and Tacconelli's) shine.

The red and white pizza was hard to pass up, as it had a tinge of patriotism to it (even though it was missing some bleu). It was a white pie, with olive oil and garlic, swirled with sauce. Now we were getting closer to home. This had a bit more of the flavor I was looking for. Garlic, oregano, olive oil, a bit of tomato, and a satisfyingly crunchy crust.

I would certainly eat at Tony's Place again, and the fact that a pie is less than $11 is another major plus. Although the sauce is a bit lacking, the crust is definitely light and crunchy, however I am still a Tacconelli's guy for thin crust in our fair city.

Lazaro's Pizza

1743 South Street
Philadelphia, PA 19146-1528
(215) 253-3863

If you haven't been to Lazaro's, you need to get over there. That is, if you enjoy thin crust pizza, and I mean, who doesn't? Lazaro's rolls them out SUPER thin, and they use a delicious sweet tomato sauce. This is no frills, relatively cheap pizza, and it's my favorite traditional thin-crust plain-pizza in the city. I have some other favorites in the gourmet category, but for $12, a large cheese will really do the trick. I used to live on this side of Broad Street, and I ate here frequently, but now I pick some up when I have a hankering and I can really appreciate it (I also had a whole slice in my gut by the time my pizza eating partner got one out of the box).




Beware, they are cash only, and there is normally a line.


You should know what you want to order before you get to the counter, and for a pie, it's worth it to call ahead. The guys in here talk and work fast, just how a pizza shop should be. They also have an awesome selection of single slice pies, my personal favorite is the bbq chicken pie. Much like their tomato sauce, the bbq sauce is really sweet, and I love it.


The tangy, sweet sauce is in perfect proportion with the cheese and crust, literally about one third of each. Throw some garlic powder and hot pepper flakes on there and enjoy some of the best pizza in the city of Philadelphia.


Look at the beautiful pizza grease glistening in the light. Yum.