a weekend of firsts

This weekend was filled with new experiences -- for one, I experienced Lou Malnati's -- what Nicki describes as THE ULTIMATE CHICAGO PIZZA. [apologies for not having a pornographic image displayed of said pizza (a la the Mackeyblog). You'll have to settle for this uber-genero-shmaltzy shot...]

Now for those of you who are unenlightened, Chicago is legendary for it's pizza, and for very, very, very good reason. Do you know what the hardest thing to find in Chicago is? Pizza Hut. I think there's one of them, and it does almost no business. And in my not-so-humble opinion, as corporate pizza goes, Pizza Hut is the way to go (unless there's a Papa John's nearby -- but that is another blog). And don't talk to me about Domino's -- you'll just embarass yourself. Domino's pizza has only ever been good for one thing -- practical jokes.

So getting back to the topic-at-hand -- quite simply, the pizza in Chicago is extraordinary. I can't imagine another location in the United States where something as deliciously decadent and down-right unhealthy as "Chicago-style" pizza could be invented (also, it'd be stupid to call it "Chicago-style" if it were invented in Longmont, Colorado...).

Now don't get me wrong -- there are other cities that also have famous pizza -- New York is the first (and ummm... last) to spring to mind, and I don't doubt that they would defend the honor of their unbelievably flat, unbelievably large, by-the-slice slices with pizza-cutters a-spinning and shake-y cheese dispensers at the ready. And I wouldn't blame them -- I practically LIVED on ziti pizza for the entire year I lived in NYC. But there comes a time when, if you're really going to be an extreme pizza eater, you at least attempt what is known as pizza, "Chicago-style".

What is "Chicago-style" pizza, you ask? It starts with a thin, stiff crust -- this is Chicago-style pizza's only downfall. Often-times, the crust is inedible. But truthfully, that doesn't really matter -- the crust is just a way to deliver the goods. Y'see, the crust comes up about an inch on every side -- it's like a kiddie pool for all the "toppings" (which go on the inside) and the sauce (which usually goes on top -- see photo), and THE CHEESE. Oh sweet Jesus, the cheese of it all... it is an ungodly amount of cheese... a CRIMINAL amount of cheese... it's a lactose-intolerant's worse nightmare. To give you some idea of what I'm talking about, imagine all the cheese you can possibly imagine... go ahead, imagine it... OK, got a picture in your mind?

It's more cheese than that.

Lou Malnati's does everything right that 99% of the Chicago pizza establishments do right -- the "toppings" are very fresh, the sauce is very tangy, and the cheese is... well c'mon, it's cheese -- cheese rocks. What Lou Malnati's does to put themselves over the top of that is what's known as a "butter crust". This is a Chicago-style crust you WANT to eat. This is a crust that, even if you don't like the crust on pizza, you ask your buddy if he/she is going to eat their crust (and he/she very defensively snaps "YES OF COURSE I'M GOING TO EAT MY CRUST!!! EAT YOUR OWN &*%$ING CRUST!?!"). Butter crust. Mmmm... good...

Other new experiences, you ask? Well... I also changed my first diaper... but I thought maybe I'd leave those details OUT of the blog...