I loved this look at one of my favourite foods. I also liked that it’s like a tour of all the best places to eat in Chicago. I will be trying some of the recipes included within. I cannot wait to visit the Windy City to test out some of the pizzas discussed.

Thank you to Northwestern University Press for this advanced copy.

This was a great book and if I ever go to Chicago I will definitely be hitting up all the pizza places.

Loved this Book I found some helpful insight in to Chicago Pizza and new ideals to try in the future. I do recommend this book.

This book was ok, but I gotta knock some points off for how ill-advised it was to publish this during a pandemic when the restaurant industry is so shaky. Too much of the information was out-of-date even before the book was released & there was even an entire chapter about popups that were only temporary. There was also space wasted discussing restaurants Dolinsky could only speculate would be reopening, moving or changing their operations. I live in Chicago & repeatedly while reading went online to get more information on the restaurants mentioned only to be let down that I wouldn’t be able to try the pizza mentioned because it no longer existed.

This book also has too much self-promotion of his tour company & previous book and too much repetition. The same backstory is given repeatedly word-for-word. I did enjoy the blurbs from celebs about their pizza experience in Chicago & the burbs, but that mostly disappeared after the first 1/3 of the book.

Almost everybody loves pizza, and those lucky enough to live in Chicago or nearby are even luckier because the pizza served there is amazing. The Ultimate Chicago Pizza Guide: A History of Squares & Slices in the Windy City is an excellent guide to finding the best pizza for anyone who visits Chicago. It also includes a fascinating history of pizza that will be of interest to foodies everywhere and especially pizza aficionados.

The book is well-organized according to types of pizza, and has beautiful photographs of pizzas served in Chicago. It also has a few (three) recipes for making pizza at home. Because this book focuses on where to purchase good pizza, the recipes aren’t the most important thing, although they are succinct and easy-to-follow so anyone who has the ambition to make it at home can do it successfully.
Everyone has their favorite style of pizza; this book will leave no doubt where to get that style and a little about each specific pizzeria. Most foodies love learning about a favorite food, and when it comes to pizza, this book has all the information anyone could need. It’s actually a good book to curl up in a corner and peruse until it’s time to go get a good pizza. This excellent book includes pizza history, pizza basics, pizza styles, pizza terminology, pizza methodology, and even pizza recipes.

Even those who don’t live near Chicago will appreciate this book and the research and work that has gone into The Ultimate Chicago Pizza Guide: A History of Squares & Slices in the Windy City, which is a great thing to all of us who love pizza.

Special thanks to NetGalley for supplying a review copy of this book.

Warning to all: Do not read this book hungry!! Order or make your favorite pizza and sit back and enjoy this book. This is a wonderful love letter to Chicago and pizza. Reading this while on lockdown was truly a gift. I cannot wait to get back there to take a tour slice by slice. Until that happens I am using some of the recipes and making lots of different styles of pizza and sharing with friends and neighbors. I live in a very pizza friendly city and yet have always tended to go for the same types. This book opened my eyes to the various styles and now I am making it my business to expand my horizons and try them one slice at a time! Thanks to the author for this wonderful insight and terrific look at a beloved food.

I was amazed at how many different styles of Chicago pizza there were. I was just familiar with the classic Chicago style deep dish pizza but as I found out from this book that is just the tip of the iceberg. If I lived in the Chicago area I would make it a goal to check out all the different pizza places discussed in this book that would be a great adventure.
This book covers everything from descriptions and terminology but the best thing is the individual pizza locations and the types of pizza they serve. The author lists all the locations of the restaurants along with web addresses. It is very user friendly. There are pictures of the pizza at each location too.
So if you like pizza and live in the Chicago area this is the directory you need for the best pizza in town.

I live in Chicago and had the opportunity to see the author when he was promoting his previous book at the Harold Washington Library. I enjoyed his look at pizza in the city. This book has a few places he did not feature in the last book which I appreciated. The one issue with these types of books is that restaurants adapt or close so some of the info is already a little out of date. However, there were plenty of places that I now must visit.

With my family having Chicago, Illinois roots, still having family and friends there as well as being a traveler to there I had to request this. Yes Chicago is stereotyped for its deep-dish BUT not many people know they have their thin crust style that rivals New York and New Haven (where I was born and raised: on Sallys Apiizza on Wooster Street, screw Pepe's Pizza) style. I am sure many of my friends and relatives have eaten pizzas from the restaurants mentioned, it makes me want to do the same. I also enjoyed that this book seemed like a tour of the city with the best food spots to hit.

I also love the recipes. My dad recently purchased an Ooni pizza oven and I am purchasing this book so we can try the various recipes. This was so written and fun and makes me even more nostalgic for my favorite city. Go Bears!

Highly recommended for any pizza foodie.

Thanks to Netgalley, Steve Dolinsky and Northwestern University Press for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Available: 10/15/21

(my Chicago grandma's birthday)

I got to try Chicago Style Pizza a few weeks ago and I love it. When I saw this book I had to request it! I enjoyed reading about all the types of pizzas, the stories, the restaurants and of course see all the delicious food photos. There are a few recipes and I can't wait to try them.

I received a free digital copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

I'm not sure what I expected when I requested this book, but what I got was so much more! Steve Dolinsky has really made The Ultimate Chicago Pizza Guide, no joke. There are charts, glossary, history lessons, gorgeous pictures, and so much information that you won't have to look anywhere else for your questions about Chicago Pizza. I absolutely love the fact that this book includes recipes for those of us brave enough to take on the art of making a Chicago pizza at home. This is a book I intend to add to my home collection.

5/5 Stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Northwestern University Press for providing me with an e-arc of his book in exchange for an honest review.

The title is quite accurate. “The Ultimate Chicago Pizza Guide: A History of Squares & Slices in the Windy City” by Steve Dolinsky is exactly what it says: a guide to all of the types of pizza one would find in Chicago along with a detailed examination of the best purveyors of those pizzas.

As a Chicagoan, I am insulted when the conversation about Chicago pizza starts and ends with deep dish. As Mr. Dolinsky frequently points out, deep dish is something that we eat maybe once or twice a year, usually when we have out-of-town guests that specifically ask for it. So what do we do in between these visits? We eat thin crust, tavern style, Sicilian, and everything else you can think of.

And this is where this book shines. Mr. Dolinsky walks through all of the different types of pizza you will find in this city (yes, even deep dish and stuffed). A bit of history, backstory, and description gets one warmed up for the real treat in this book – a detailed, place by place guide to the best examples of each type. Yes, some of the big boys are here (Lou Malnati’s, Giordano’s, etc.) but it’s the local, the one-off, the mom-and-pop places that really show us the best of the city. Not only do you get recommendations of places but also specific pies to order. We also learn about the ingredients, the ovens, the hardware (I ended up buying some pizza pans just because of this book!).

Is this guide perfect? Nope, there’s some minor flaws – if you’re reading it front to back one notices the repetition between sections (when a place is featured for more than one type of pizza), lots on Detroit-style pizza even though it may not be here to stay (a flash in the pan? (HA!)), some of the COVID information may date this book pretty quickly. I also wish there was more on suburban places, although I understand the author’s reasoning, I believe that Chicagoans will be the largest customer of this guide and therefore they’d be more willing to drive out for an awesome pie.

But overall a great guide for one of Chicago’s iconic foods. Let’s hope Mr. Dolinsky is working on a hot dog guide next!

I requested and received a free advanced electronic copy from Northwestern University Press via NetGalley. Thank you!

An absolute must-read for anyone who loves pizza! I learned so much about different styles of pizza. I had no idea there was so much to this time-honored treasure! While this is written and geared towards Chicago pizza connoisseurs, it will be appreciated by all pizza foodies. I really appreciated all the pictures and rich descriptions, especially the glossary. All the extras, like beer pairings, recipes, and gluten free options are added bonuses. I will have this handy the next time I visit the Windy City and my pizza craving strikes. I received a complimentary copy from the publisher via NetGalley and all opinions expressed are my own, freely given.

Another title for this book could be Chicago Pizza- A Love Story. The author clearly loves this city and pizza and it shows. For every type of pizza (Chicago thin, deep dish, Detroit style etc) he tells you were you can find it in Chicago and at the end a recipe to make it. This book should be purchased along with a Chicago tour guide because you will want to visit these places on your trip.

This is an interesting tourist guide. I goes into detail on the effects COVID-19 has on the pizza industry. The photos look not staged, real locations, real pizzas.

Everyone that loves pizza needs this book.
It is not your average cookbook or coffee table book. This is for all the lovers of Chicago styles pizzas.
All the places to grab a slice and all the varieties might make for a fabulous summer excursion. I am looking forward to making all the types and visiting all the places next time I am in Chi-town.

I put on thirty pounds just perusing the gorgeous pizza photographic illustrations. As an extremely particular/fussy/persnickity pizza eater, this book has provided me with many new venues to try. Now if only the book contained the much sought after secret Barnaby crust recipe, I would have given it 100 stars. Nevertheless, this would make a great gift for pizza connoisseurs.

Good guide to Chicago pizza places. Includes stories, photos, and some recipes. Great book for pizza lovers and especially those who live in or near Chicago or plan to visit in the future.

Thank you to Netgalley and Northwestern University Press for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

When your favorite food is pizza, especially deep dish, how could you resist taking a bite out of this book. This is a fun, easy to read book with some new information that I have not read about in previous books. I enjoyed this very much and look forward to my next trip to Chicago and exploring some of the places that i have not previously tried. Last week I was in Chicago and my first meal was at the granddaddy of all Uno's, and it still after having had it at least 75 times my benchmark. Thanks to this guide I will keep searching to see if there is a new favorite out there.

I received an advance copy of, The Ultimate Chicago Pizza Guide, by Steve Dolinsky. This is a great book on the history of pizza in Chicago, and where to get the best pizzas. Thin, thick crust, wood fired, etc.