I love Chicago pizza. There’s something about the several inches of molten cheese, sauce, and toppings that makes Chicago style pizza a true wonder to behold. Hot take, I’ve always thought Giordano’s as my favorite because of all the great memories of late night Chicago jaunts ending in a cornmeal crusted food coma called happiness. However, that doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy a great competitor. At the behest of a friend, this past October, I had to try his favorite Chicago Pizza: Due Pizzeria.
Arriving at the store, the entrance was a downstair hallway that lead into a cozy reception area that reminded me of a good ol’ midwestern basement. After checking in with reception, we were quickly seated. (This was probably because we visited on a Friday afternoon at 2pm.) Looking at the menu, we can tell that there is some history here.
The birthplace of deep dish pizza is a huge claim.
Due’s menu circa fall 2023
We knew already before we sat down that we had to try the Numero Uno. We knew from hearsay that there is something special about this sausage pizza. Looking through the menu however, the shrimp and crab dip also begged for attention. After ordering, we were told that the pizza would be ready in 40 minutes. This restaurant was our first stop after a red eye to Chicago, so we were practically starving by this point.
Shrimp and Crab Dip
Shrimp and Crab Dip – Enhanced
The dip was the first to come out. It was both creamy and cheesy and featured fresh tomato on top. We quickly devoured it in a matter of minutes.
The small Numero Uno
After a wait that felt like a hours (I’m sure that the fact that we haven’t slept the night before didn’t have any effect on this) the star of the show finally arrived. This was it! The server helped serve the first 2 pieces. Immediately from the first bite I could tell what was so unique about it.
Can you see why kids love Due’s pizza?
There was an entire layer of sausage!
Unlike the other Chicago pizza I was familiar with, Due’s composition has starting from the bottom: Pie Crust, Cheese, Sausage Layer, Pizza Sauce. This composition keeps the bottom layer crisp by utilizing the full layer of cheese and sausage. I enjoy lots of pan pizza and deep dish pizza and one weakness has always been that the crust can get soggy from the sauce; it seems that Due has found a way to circumvent this issue.
Also surprisingly, it took me quite some time to get through this single slice. It was tasty, but also extremely hearty. I recall years ago I would be able to destroy a large Giordano’s together with a friend, but today, my partner and I were only able to eat half of a small deep dish pizza.
All and all at the end of the day, this pizza was indeed very tasty. I still miss the cornmeal crust of Giordano’s, but given how rare I am in Chicago these days, it’ll be a few more trips (Where I try a few more competitors) before I can return and make a full comparison.