Gino’s East
9” Deep Dish Pizza – Tomato Sauce, Mozzarella Cheese, Sausage Patty
Originally opened by Sam Levine and Fred Bartoli in 1966, Gino’s East is considered to be one of Chicago’s “Big Four” for Deep Dish, and differentiating themselves from Uno’s, Lou’s or Giordano’s by laying Cheese directly atop the Crust their Pies are now offered both by mail-order and at a dozen locations across the United States.
Having since abandoned 160 East Superior Street in favor of fancier digs, the Magnificent Mile location ever popular despite prices nearly double Windy City institutions such as Pat’s, it was amidst COVID-19 precautions that Gino’s South Loop spot was visited, the outdoor patio not exactly scenic but also uncrowded.
Having shuttered several branches long before the pandemic, and garnering luke-warm praise from Pizza aficionados, it was after twenty-minutes wait that a 9” with Sausage was presented, nearly $26 after tax and tip plus $4.50 parking for something barely tepid with Cheese that did not stretch beneath a fair-to-middling Sauce.
www.ginoseast.com/south-loop
