Chicago Style Pizza

[BernieP]

I don't have anything against chains. They are what they are.

I can say I am partial to red Robin for onion rings and fried jalapeños, if I don't feel like making a steak outback has an ok sirloin I like and i'm going to cracker barrel for breakfast a couple of times.

I just don't go expecting anything spectacular.

try the chicken fried steak at the Cafe in Leonardtown.
I think that's the problem with most pizza places, they are chains, and as a chain, they are more "efficient" and "consistent" in how they serve food
But that often leads to scarifying the experience of the person dining, they get unhealthy food. Let's be honest, chains tend to serve larger portions, maybe of lower quality, but larger portions.
When I buy tomato sauce in the store I read the ingredients. I could make it at home, if I did, I might use a pinch of sugar because that's how I learned to cut the acid of the tomatoes. But it's not high on the list. I'd use olive oil. I certainly would not use peanut or vegetable oil, nor would I use high fructose corn sweetener. Making it at home you are going to get the best tomatoes you can. Manufactured sauce will swap higher quality tomatoes and olive oil out for added sweeteners and spices (salt) to make up for the lack of tomato flavor.
Restaurants do the same thing.

 

[Grumpy]

Good thing you didn't mention extra pineapple

 

[BOP]

I hesitate to suggest this because I know I'll be met with hoots of derision....

...but.....


....let me gather my courage.....


....almost there.....


(cough)

Pizza Hut has a Detroit style pizza that is terrific and quite similar to a Chicago deep dish.

(runs away and hides)

Pizza Slut is still in business?

 

[BOP]

hey hey hey, low blow. I'm not a fan of chain restaurants in general. Mostly their food is fattening, loaded with sauces and typically high in salt.
It's not very interesting, it's like meatloaf, comfort food.
Cooking for some of these places doesn't require much training or knowledge.
A lot of it is prepackaged and pre-cooked in some cases. It's consistent but done at the sacrifice of flavor and the customers health.
I would say the typical meal is probably almost the entire caloric intact for the day, and loaded with chemicals (to enhance color and preserve the food) and things like corn sweetener and salt.

I eat out usually once a week; occasionally twice, but that's extremely rare. I attribute that as being a major reason I've lost 30+ pounds since 2015, with really no other extra effort to lose weight. Well, that, and modified fasting, which is basically my last meal comes around 18:00 and I don't eat again until between 11:00 and noon.

When I do eat out, that's my only meal of the day, period...even though I typically only eat twice a day. I do use a meal replacer like Glucerna or similar if I'm hungry later in the evening, but that also only happens once or twice a week.

Restaurant meals can be good, but too calorie dense to take on board all the time.

 

[BOP]

try the chicken fried steak at the Cafe in Leonardtown.
I think that's the problem with most pizza places, they are chains, and as a chain, they are more "efficient" and "consistent" in how they serve food
But that often leads to scarifying the experience of the person dining, they get unhealthy food. Let's be honest, chains tend to serve larger portions, maybe of lower quality, but larger portions.
When I buy tomato sauce in the store I read the ingredients. I could make it at home, if I did, I might use a pinch of sugar because that's how I learned to cut the acid of the tomatoes. But it's not high on the list. I'd use olive oil. I certainly would not use peanut or vegetable oil, nor would I use high fructose corn sweetener. Making it at home you are going to get the best tomatoes you can. Manufactured sauce will swap higher quality tomatoes and olive oil out for added sweeteners and spices (salt) to make up for the lack of tomato flavor.
Restaurants do the same thing.

I've taken to buying Ledo's pizza sauce for those types of meals. Don't like most of the store offerings.

 

[LightRoasted]

If I may ...

I eat out usually once a week; occasionally twice, but that's extremely rare. I attribute that as being a major reason I've lost 30+ pounds since 2015, with really no other extra effort to lose weight. Well, that, and modified fasting, which is basically my last meal comes around 18:00 and I don't eat again until between 11:00 and noon.

When I do eat out, that's my only meal of the day, period...even though I typically only eat twice a day. I do use a meal replacer like Glucerna or similar if I'm hungry later in the evening, but that also only happens once or twice a week.

Restaurant meals can be good, but too calorie dense to take on board all the time.

Outstanding! Congratulations! Intermittent fasting along with a healthy diet is the bomb, isn't it? The only side effects are being healthy and not getting sick. Keep it up.

 

[Merlin99]

That's because of mass advertising. There are freaking Taco Bells in Texas, surrounded by amazing taquerias, and they do a brisk business.

There is an Olive Garden in Times Square with lines out the door, yet literally half a block away in any direction are authentic Italian restaurants that will blow your socks off.

And that's okay - I'm not going to quibble with Olive Garden (I'm a big fan of their salad) and I occasionally get a hankering for a Dorito Loco taco. People in general do what they're told, and the TV tells them to eat at Taco Bell and Olive Garden. If the TV told them to eat nopales and mole they'd do that.

The US is a mutt country of immigrants, taking its cuisine from all over the world and putting our own twist on it. You CAN get authentic Mexican or Italian or Korean or whatever in many parts of this country, but we largely like our version because that's what the media tells us to like and what we're used to. If you went to any other country and ate at an "American" restaurant you'd likely not even recognize the dish they put in front of you.

And that's okay, too. Food doesn't need to be "authentic" to be good.

If you want, I'll start in on the pizza snobs.....

I do like the salad, but the bread sticks have taken a dive. They used to be the best thing on the menu, but now they're bland and tasteless.