Here were our thoughts:

The Classics: Lou’s vs Giordano’s

Lou Malnati’s

Jennifer: This was our last stop of the night and to me, it’s classic deep dish pizza. The crust was firm, a little sweet. Trevor called this pizza confident, which I thought was really funny, but also true. It’s simple, but done really well.

Trevor: Jennifer made fun of my confident comment 😉 but it’s TRUE! Feels like they know what good deep dish pizza is and they don’t try to do anything crazy… just make good pizza. (take that Jennifer!)

Giordano’s

Jennifer: THIS is classic Chicago deep dish. A dry, thick, almost crumbly crust, and holy CHEESE-iness. I love loved LOVE how much cheese they can pack onto a pizza. If I HAD to pick between the two classics, I’d go with Giordano’s. I can’t get over the cheese and it’s just overall so well done.

Trevor: This was where we started and definitely one of the best. I agree with Jennifer, this would be my choice BUT I can definitely see some people preferring Lou Malnati’s if they aren’t a fan of the Giordano’s crust (which I loved).

Everyone we asked on Instagram had VERY strong opinions between Lou’s vs. Giordano’s. Which one do YOU think is better?

The Modern Twists: Oven Grinder vs Pequod’s

Oven Grinder*

Jennifer: Wellllll. Before the Chicagoans freak out… we know… this isn’t really deep dish pizza (we’re giving it an asterisk). It’s actually a deep dish pizza meets pot pie, but fit in our more modern matchup and OMG it’s delish.

The crust is thick and doughy and the filling is like a bolognese. We also cheated a little and when I was reading Yelp reviews, everyone kept talking about the Mediterranean bread, so I couldn’t resist and ordered some. I gotta say, THIS was the show stopper. It’s like 14” (so WAY bigger than the pot pie) and so well seasoned.

Trevor: I LOVED the super doughy bread that made up this pizza…err… pot pie. It was delicious and it’s one of those pizzas that you won’t find anywhere else, so you should definitely try once. Definitely do that Mediterranean bread… YUM!

Pequod’s

We waited for about an hour and it was WELL worth the wait.

Jennifer: They’re best known for their amazing, caramelized crust and it was perfectly chewy and delicious. The sauce was sweet and it had the perfect amount of cheese. PLUS, Pequod’s probably had the best vibe of all of them. To be fair, we didn’t actually eat AT Oven Grinder – we got it to go, and that also seemed to have a really cool vibe.

If I HAD to pick between the two modern twists, I’d say Pequod’s hands down. While I really did love Oven Grinder – I could literally just eat their bolognese-esque sauce with a spoon, Pequod’s was unforgettable and was the only pizza where I actually couldn’t stop myself from going back for more.

Trevor: This was a pretty awesome crust. Love the way it’s caramelized and packs a ton of flavor. Pequod’s had the best vibe/ambiance of the four but Jennifer and I split on this one. If I had to pick, I’d have gone with Oven Grinder (with the asterisk because… not really deep dish), because it’s so unique.

And the Winner is…

Jennifer: Overall, if you’re ever in Chicago and looking for some great deep dish pizza, you really can’t go wrong with any of the above, but if you’re looking for MY opinion? I’d say Giordano’s or Pequod’s is where it’s at!

Trevor: Exactly! You won’t leave any of these places disappointed. I’d go to two and split it between Giordano’s and Oven Grinder to give you two polar opposite pizza experiences. If you’re not a a really thick crust fan then substitute Lou Malnati’s for Giordano’s.

– Jennifer

Where do YOU think is the best deep dish pizza in Chicago? Do you agree or disagree with us? Let me know in the comments below and Show Me the Yummy!