Sweet Home Chicago!

That picture pretty much says it all, doesn't it!?!? Last night I drove out to the west side of town in search of yet another great pizza place in Vegas, and I was NOT disappointed! A couple nights ago in the T2V chatroom, Ken was talking up this place that served authentic Chicago-style deep dish pizza. He pretty much had everyone in the room drooling, including me. So since the seed was planted, I got myself cleaned up yesterday, hopped in the car to fight rush hour traffic on the 215, and finally pulled into Amore's Pizza and Pasta on Durango Drive (between Flamingo and Twain).

As with another great pizza place in town, New York Pizza and Pasta on Sahara/Jones, this place seems at first like any other non-descript joint in the obligatory strip mall. But upon entering, it seemed like a pretty special place, with a TON of Chicago related sports memorabilia on the walls and a friendly greeting from, what I think I can solidly guess, was a family member of the owners (or possibly the owner herself). There were only a few customers there at that time of the day, so I was quickly seated and got the low-down from the waitress. Like NY P&P, the menu is quite extensive, but of course I decided on a deep dish pie with homemade sausage.

As you can see from the picture above, the pizza is created a little differently in Chicago. First you have the crust, then you have the cheese and ingredients, then you get the sauce on top. I went an extra yard and ordered the "stuffed" pizza, which simply includes an extra thin layer of dough, somewhere between the ingredients and sauce. Since these masterpieces take a while to make (at least 45 minutes), I tided myself over with the breaded zuchini, which was very good.

I thought I did VERY good to finish half the pizza, leaving the other half for probably two more meals at home! The crust was very flaky, and I tasted somewhat of a sweetness that I did not expect to find. The sauce was also top notch, also with a lighter sweetness that you don't get from the corner Papa Johns! Finally, the homemade sausage was an EXCELLENT choice.

So now the question begs to be answered, which is my favorite pizza joint in Vegas? Well, for starters, I had not even heard of Amore's until just a couple nights ago, so I'm secretly hoping that there are even more excellent pizza places hidden somewhere in town to try out at some point. I know my roommate's new favorite is Grimaldi's, on Eastern Ave not far from my apartment. I will agree that the pizza there is out of this world, one of the best I've ever eaten! There are just two very small drawbacks to that place though. The first is that there are other Grimaldi's around the country. I really wouldn't put it in the "chain store" category, but the simple fact that it isn't a stand alone, single family operation takes the specialness away for me. The second drawback is that no matter how spectacular the pizza is (and trust me, it's awesome), I can put away an entire 16" pie and still have room left for dessert! The price of a 16" Grimaldi's is about equivalent to the large pizza at NY P&P and the smallest size, which is 10", at Amore's. However, at both NY and Amore's, you can fill yourself up on grade A pizza pie, and still bring home a couple more meals to boot!

So it comes down to Amore's and NY P&P, and guess what, I'm neutral. Don't be too hard on me. First, I'm from Ohio, which is located between New York and Illinois. So I'm allowed to ride the fence on this one. Secondly, comparing the two is basically comparing apples and oranges. The two stores are extemely similar is that they are both family owned and operated, they are both hidden gems amongst a sea of strip malls, and they both make an oustanding pie! But New York thin crust and Chicago deep dish are so different that I just choose to put them both up on the top pedestal, so DEAL WITH IT!

Here's a link to a few more pictures of Amore's. If you happen to be reading this before lunch at work, my apologies!

http://s239.photobucket.com/albums/ff24/recsports_rob/Amore/

On a side note, I work both Saturday and Sunday (unfortunately having to miss the OSU/Wisconsin game), so I may be MIA 'till early next week. Have a great weekend everyone!