Second City Pizza — Restaurant in Florida

Yeah. I'm a Chicago boy. Went there today to see if the hot dog, fries, and beef meet Chicago standards for these Chicago foods. All stood up to the test and made the grade. Authentic Chicago. Sweet peppers and giardenier and sport pepoers were correct. Hot dog (vienna brand, of course). The beef and hot dog bread was right. They even have fries that are fresh cut. That's true Chicago authentic (although large crinkle cuts also are passable as authentic Chicago). The fresh cut could be thicker cut. Also, the order taker needs to understand Chicago lingo better. He asked if the beef was to be "dry, dipped, or on-the-side.". I (and my wife) said dipped as we mostly always prefer. He should have asked "dry, dipped, or wet."" Because we both got "wet" and not "dipped." I even tried to clarify how to do it, but cut me off, and he said, "Oh, lightly dipped." I said yes, hoping to get "dipped" rather than "wet." But we both got "wet." No true hot dog joint worker in Chicago presents "on-the-side" as an option of 1 of the 3 basic options. The responsibility is on the side (pun intended) of the person ordering who wants the juice "on-the-side", they have to specifically ask for it. We Chicagoans in line waiting to order snicker at this when someone asks for "on-the-side"....essentially the French "au jus." We are Americans. We are Chicagoans. Chicagoans typically eat beefs dry, dipped, or wet. And we know the difference. No big worry here for this restaurant. We also like "wet" but prefer "dipped." So all was good. Next up...Both their Chicago thin and Chicago deep...

Went here on account of a deep dish craving i’ve been having for a while now, for a real one at that. I haven’t found a single other place in town that makes deep dish like this. However as of writing this review it’s been some time since I dined here and I have had the chance to try other places in other areas to get an idea of what a good, real deep dish pizza is.

With that in mind, the small deep dish pizza I tried here was good. Unlike others i’ve tried however, the deep dish here was rather greasy — to the point where grease was quite literally pouring out of the to-go box when I left the building. The crust was also rather soggy. However, the flavor was most definitely there, along with a great cheese pull and good ingredients. If it weren’t for the textural issues then I would have little to no complaints with the deep dish pizza here.

However, there is also the price to factor in. The pizza here (or at least the deep dish) is expensive! Even though this is the only place in town as of now with deep dish like this, I wouldn’t agree that it justifies having deep dish ~15-20% more expensive just because of the location. Not to mention this establishment is also small, with low traffic and very easy to miss at that. I don’t see a reason for the price hike other than just because it’s possible due to the lack of competition. Yes, deep dish is always expensive because of the ingredients and their amounts, but this is still excessive!

I wouldn’t go here again, not for deep dish at that price tag, but unfortunately there aren’t many other options around...

Being away from Chicago for 9 years I’ve missed the food so much. Tonight was one of those nights where I really needed a beef and pizza fix. Ive been to the different locations when they were open and i always had the same complaint. The beef is cut too thick almost like a roast beef sandwich. However this time the beef was sliced thin and you can tell it was simmered in the Au jus. The beef was good I give it an 8 outta 10. The hot dogs are always good tho I’d get better pickle spears. The pizza I was pleasantly surprised. I’ve had their pizza once and I was disappointed. I figured this time I’d give it another try. I ordered it, but i got the Italian style crust, because the other crust isn’t Chicago at all. It’s too thin kinda like a cracker. The Italian style was a bit too thick, I guess I’ll never find my perfect pizza down here, but it did have good flavor. I’d give it a 6.5 maybe 7 outta 10. I’ll def be back.

Update: I grew up on the north side, near wrigley and no Chicago pizza isn’t cracker crust thin. It’s a thicker crust thicker than a cracker anyway. Villa Palermo, Munchies, even Home-run inn. I’m curious as to what part of Chicago u grew up in, and yeah only tourists eat at Giordanos and Lou Malnatis looking...