Sunday, Aug. 16, 2009
After a rained out Sunday game between the Cubs and Pittsburgh Pirates, we found out the closest Girodano's Pizza location to Wrigley field was on Belmont, about 8 blocks away. The game was to have started at 1:15 pm but after hours of waiting at Casey Moran's Bar across the street from the field, the game was called at about 5 pm and we were all ready to hit the road. Jackie and Martin enjoyed sipping Ultra's all afternoon while watching the locals and the PGA tournament. Kara and I arrived about 3 pm after a day of outlet shopping in Aurura, Illinois. I was actually looking forward to my second game of the weekend, Kara had her second book to read since she read the first one during the game the day before. Yes, she did read a book at Wrigley Field during a game. She did.
The walk was a lot of fun on the damp streets of Chicago. We passed by many bars that were packed with patrons enjoying hours of drinking. There was one bar that Jackie just loved and wanted to stop in but Kara and I kept on moving this crew down the road. When we got to the restaurant, we were seated immediately. Our waitress quickly came over and got our drink orders. The menu at Girodano's is quite lengthy but I cannot veer off course at a Chicago style pizza restaurant. And I did direct our crew away from Gino's East which I had visited on my birthday weekend. Another good friend recommended this pizza place so I couldn't do a repeat visit. Kara and I ordered a small deep dish pizza stuffed with mushrooms and green olives, yes, green olives. We also split a salad with balsamic vinaigrette and it was darn good and big enough for two thankfully. Martin can't stand Chicago-style pizza (I'm surprised I took him with us on this trip) and ordered a regular Canadian bacon and pineapple. It looked and probably tasted nasty. Kara and I loved our pie, it was divine, full of cheese and that sauce on top. The crust is so unique, flaky, thick and delicious. I loved taking a picture of it. Usually the deep dish pizza takes about 45 minutes but ours took an hour and a half. Kara was tempted to get that book out again but she refrained. We did order a delightful Chianti, see the picture. I made a huge mistake and thought the Chianti wasn't deep enough for me and on our second bottle we got a Cabernet. The Chianti was much better and should really be the only choice at an Italian restaurant in an Italian city, Martin lectured me. My bad, definitely.
Kara had one giant gripe at Girodano's and that was her water. Dang it, if you travel with her you better refill that glass every 10 minutes or leave a pitcher on the table. It almost put her over the edge. Martin did also have to get silverware and that water pitcher, but I liked him working on our needs since he ordered such a wimpy pizza.
Girodano's is a classic stop in Chicagoland and has many locations across the city. We loved it and enjoyed leaving the leftovers for Wendy and Eran the next day on our way to the airport. I am still dreaming of that pie!
Girodano's Pizza, 1040 W. Belmont, Chicago, IL 773-327-1200
No comments:
Post a Comment