 Pappi's Pizza
Unlike most people, I suppose, my favorite pizza places are almost always the tiny places that serve straightforward thin-crust "classic" pizza rather than the flamboyant thick-crust "Chicago style" pizza so many places dish out around here. (Unintentional pun on "dish" … still, knock off 50 points for keeping it in.) Don't get me wrong, there is definitely something to be said for a grandiose stuffed spinach pizza or a deep pan pizza with mushrooms – incidentally, the specialty of Pequod's Pizza (Morton Grove), the Chicago area's best pizza place hands down. Yet when it comes to day-to-day, journeyman pizza, you can't beat the little places that serve up big taste for small prices. Pappi's is just this sort of place.
Probably a little too greasy, or unsophisticated, or cliche for some, I find Pappi's pizza to be absolutely addictive. Perhaps it's that I find the place "cute" (it's family owned and operated, and they always call me "buddy"), but whenever I'm in the mood to order pizza (admittedly, not frequently), I unreservedly order from Pappi's. Even saying the name makes me happy. "Pappi's Pizza." How about you?
For me, it's always a medium mushroom (about $9). The crust is tasty, and the balance of cheese, sauce, and topping is just right. They cut in squares, resulting in my favorite slices, the tiny corner pieces. The menu, actually, is pretty extensive, offering a lot of (meaty) sandwiches, ribs, pasta, (fried) appetizers like onion rings, etc, plus pan and stuffed pizza as well as thin crust. Meatlessness here is pretty much restricted to pizza, and they do have a vegetarian special. The service is good, they accept credit cards, and it's take-out only. If I stick to my new attempt at total Veganism, I shall truly miss Pappi's, 'cause you just can't make a greasy-ass mess of glorious gluttony with soy cheese.
Review by Abel Packaday, July 1998 |