Having so far tried Pequod’s and Lou Malnati’s, it was time to try another Chicago deep dish staple: Giordano’s. To recap the scoring method, each aspect (cheese, sauce, crust, toppings) is graded on a scale of 0-5. My partner Sylvie and I will each score the pizzas independently, with the totals added for an overall score. Sylvie’s half is all vegetarian with spinach and mushroom, while my half is sausage and mushroom. Let’s dig in on Giordano’s.
Cheese
Sylvie: 2 (out of 5)
Keenan: 3.5
Take aways: Sylvie thought there was way too much cheese. I liked that there was a lot of cheese, but found it to be not gooey enough.
Sauce
Sylvie: 2
Keenan: 2
Take aways: For both of us, there just wasn’t enough. I also found the sauce to be kind of bland, and a bit too tart. It really could’ve been store bought pizza sauce and I would’ve believed it.
Toppings
Sylvie: 2.5
Keenan: 3
Take aways: For Sylvie, there was very little spinach. We both found the mushrooms to be kind of slimy. For me, the sausage was ok. There seemed to be enough of it, but it didn’t stand out.
Crust
Sylvie: 2
Keenan: 3
Take aways: Overall the crust was fine, but unlike others we’ve tried, Giordano’s put a layer of crust on the top of the whole pizza in addition to the bottom. This was actually a bit raw in the center. Even putting that aside, it made it hard to eat, with the pizza toppings and cheese coming out the sides, in between the two crusts, with every bite.
Overall score: 20 (out of possible 40)
This puts Giordano’s in last place for us so far. Currently the standings are:
1. Lou Malnati’s - 31 points
2. Pequod’s - 30 points
3 Giordano’s - 20 points