Deep Dishing at Giordano's (Chicago)

There can be no trip to Chicago without a deep dish pizza, even with Alinea and other great meals on the planner. Granted I put off the deep dish until the very last day, but for lunch before flying out I walked to a spot that is supposed to be classic deep dish pizza: Giordano's.

Decor? Kitschy Italian.

For lunch they have an individual sized pizza so we decided to share two different stuffings.
I have only had deep dish pizza at Little Star in San Francisco before and Giordano's is definitely "deeper". I've never had pizza so thick but this is certainly more fit to be called a pizza "pie" than any other.

The spinach pizza:
As you can see, it's not a topping, it's a stuffing, enclosed in more crust, then topped with tomato sauce. Good thing the buttery, slightly flaky crust is more like a pie crust.

I personally preferred the sausage pizza. I'm a meat eater down to the core.
There are so many ways to play this deep dish pizza, depending on your taste preference. More crust? More sauce? More cheese? More sausage? Depending on what camp you're in, you probably have your own favorite pizza spot. I, on the other hand, still have a lot more exploring to do. Next time ...

You can take a whole pie home with you, frozen. Wrap it up well in a plastic bag and stuff it in your suitcase. They'll never know.


Giordano's Pizza
730 N Rush St
Chicago, IL 60611
(312) 951-0747
www.giordanos.com

Clam Bellies and Lobster Roll at Summer Shack (Boston)

A recent work-related meeting brought me to Boston, but alas I was stuck pretty much next to the Prudential most of the time where I can either spend $100 on lunch or eat mall food. Luckily, there is a Summer Shack right across the street. It's time for Ipswich clam bellies and lobster roll!

Food still isn't cheap here, but since I'm in Boston I might as well try them.

The dinner portion for the Ipswich belly clams come with fries and cole slaw and runs for $23.
The difference between this style of fried clams is that the whole belly, i.e. the whole gastrointestinal tract, of the clam is left intact. This gave a deeper, much earthier flavor to these fried clams. Since I've never had them before I can't tell you how good these are compared to other Ipswich belly clams in Boston, but it is clear that for Bostonians, having fried clams without the belly on will not even be close to the real thing.

The Summer Shack Lobster Roll is made from meat of a 1lb lobster and costs $20.
The bun was the weakest point in this roll but the chunky fresh lobster meat was pretty satisfying. Having tried some lobster rolls in LA with LAist's Sam Kim for his "Roll Call" I'd like to claim I know a little bit more about them than I do about belly clams. Here the mayo wasn't too thick and I enjoyed the chunks of cucumbers in the roll as well, but with that bun I can only consider them comparable to LA's lobster rolls.


Summer Shack
50 Dalton St
Boston, MA 02115
(617) 867-9955
www.summershackrestaurant.com

2nd Mutineer Magazine Red Carpet Tasting

I can easily remember Mutineer Magazine's 2nd Red Carpet Tasting because that was when I took a picture with The Most Interesting Man in the World (y'know the Dos Equis guy, Jonathan Goldsmith). It's also the night I went to talk to the people from Obsello absinthe and they went "oh you're that girl who cut her hand!"

The 2nd annual Red Carpet Tasting also celebrated the 2nd year of the national distribution of Mutineer Magazine, a magazine dedicated to all things (fine) beverage started by sommelier Alan Kropf and JJ Bagley.

Held at The Falcon Hollywood, the party benefited Global Water Relief. We were treated to tastes of various wines including a California-grown Tempranillo, cheese from Barrie Lynn the Cheese Impresario, margarita from Ortega 120, San Diego beers, and Combier "Roi Rene Rouge" Cherry Liqueur that actually tasted like cherries instead of its cloyingly sweet mass-produced counterpart. They also debuted the ARKEG - a video game arcade machine with a built-in keg (I'm 100% serious here!). Caltech needs one for their rec room!

Well, rather than have me go on and on, here's a slideshow for you!