Gino's East

Gino's East
162 E. Superior St.
Chicago, IL 60611
(312)266-DEEP (3337)
www.ginoseast.com

It's Saturday, the day I am scheduled to leave Chicago and return to Daytona Beach. My flight is not until 6:00PM, so there is time for me to take one last stab at hitting one of my food targets before I leave. Zee and Lynden have decided to catch the train into the city for some quick shopping and tell me they will accompany me to any restaurant I want to visit if I tag along. Sounds like a good idea to me. I figure if we are going to be right downtown, we have to check out Gino's East for some real Chicago deep dish pizza. My luck is definitely starting to turn.

We get into the city after a pretty uneventful train ride and start walking around. Our shopping destination is the American Girl store on North Michigan Avenue. If you don't know what American Girl is it is a doll store where all the dolls come with a story about their origin. I am sure it is much more than that as the store we entered was packed and some of these people were crazed. I wandered off to find a bathroom and passed an area of the store where they had a beauty shop. People actually bring their dolls to the store to get their hair done. God only knows what that must cost. Since I am there, I call my daughter Kennedy to ask if she wants anything and she tells me she doesn't like American Girl. I hang up and think my luck is really beginning to turn in my favor. I guess I'll be keeping that cash in my pocket.

Heading back to find Zee and Lynden, I feel my phone go off in my pocket. It's from an (800) number that I vaguely recognize, so I go ahead and answer it. It is a recorded message from Delta telling me my flight has been canceled and I have been rescheduled for 7:00AM the next morning. What? This cannot be happening to me. If you remember this was when those terrible rain storms passed through Atlanta and continued on through Tennessee, which suffered from major flooding. Me having to stay in Chicago another night pales in comparison to what those folks had to go through. I consider myself blessed.

We head on over to Gino's East and find a short line outside. The guy working the door says it is going to be about 20 minutes for a table, so we decide to wait. The line does move quickly and we find ourselves being escorted to the upstairs section of the restaurant. Gino's East seems like a fun place. The walls are covered with pictures of famous people that have stopped in for a pie and graffiti from many past patrons. I have never quite understood the fascination with signing your name on the wall of a restaurant, so we skip that process. Our waiter promptly comes to the table and we order drinks. The ladies opt for sodas, but with my recent news that I was stuck in Chicago, I order a Budweiser. I actually got a Bud Light when he returned, but again, what are you going to do? I drank it just the same.

Lynden and I again decide we are going to split our order. We decide to keep it simple and order a small deep dish pepperoni. Zee goes off the board and orders a stromboli or calzone that had spinach in it. The thing to remember about these deep dish pizzas when ordering them is they take 45 minutes to bake. We use the time to chit-chat and check out the crowd.

Our food comes and it looks really good. Finally, I am going to get into some deep dish pizza from Gino's East. The waiter serves Lynden and I each a slice and Zee starts getting after her food. The pizza had a great sauce, the cheese was really good, but I don't think I am a fan of the crust. It is a yellow, egg-based dough that is just a little tough for my taste. I understand that it has to be in able to hold up to the weight of the toppings, but there was just something about the flavor that didn't quite grab me. Zee and Lynden both felt the same way, but overall it was pretty good. There will always be the question of Chicago or New York, deep dish or thin crust, but I have to say I must be a thin crust New York pizza guy. It just comes down to what you are used to eating and which one you prefer. That doesn't make either of them bad. In fact, they are both good in their own right.

We finish and pay our tab to begin making our way back to the American Girl store. Lynden is leaving from Midway Airport and had left her bag at the store. We have to take the train back to the hotel and then O'Hare. At least, Zee has to get to O'Hare. I am not leaving until the morning now. We say our good-byes to Lynden and head to the train station. As we are waiting for the train, I comment to Zee my amazement at how clean the train and stations are in Chicago. As I say that, the train pulls into the station and the doors open. As I go to get onto the train, a man passes me sloppily eating a piece of chicken and smelling of urine. I mean, this guy couldn't have smelled more of urine if his name was I.P. Freeley. My gosh it was horrible! Then I start to sit down and he must have been sitting in the seat previously as there are fries and chicken bones on the floor along with his lingering odor. It is at this time I decide to quit making anymore comments about anything until I am back home. Every time I make some comment or have some thought on this trip, the opposite happens to me.

All-in-all, it was a great trip and I did get to hit one of the Man v. Food locations. If you are a fan of deep dish pizza, you should give Gino's East a try. For our visit to Gino's East, I have to give them three Stiffy's.

Eat, drink and be merry!

Harry