Another Saturday, another day of feasting on college football.
As an indicator of how great the matches were, a game between two undefeated top-10 teams was NOT on national television! Thanks to the infinite insanity of ABC/EPSN, Texas vs Oklahoma State was only “good enough” for regional action. And for those of us in the Midwest otherwise forced to put up with Michigan – Michigan State, only ESPN game plan saved us from watching something that was meaningless outside the Great Lake State. But with Texas- Oklahoma, Texas Tech- Kansas, and Virginia- Georgia Tech, we had plenty of tasty appetizers leading up to the big entrée: Penn State at Ohio State in the dreaded horseshoe. JoPa’s first win in Columbus in 30 years is certainly reason to celebrate, although it sounds like the good people of State College celebrated a little too hard. Makes you wonder what would happen in the streets of Centre County if they make it to the BCS Championship and win it all.
For dessert, I had the pleasure of taking in the USC-Arizona game from the friendly confines of the USC alumni bar: the Goose Island Brew pub in Wrigleyville (that’s the suburb of Chicago surrounding Wrigley field for all you living on the left and right coasts). The game was as close as I had expected- this was the one I had picked out back in June as the mid-season league game on the road that would give Pete Carroll his annual stumble. Of course, at the time I had missed the Oregon State road trip; I have to thank the Beavers for causing Pete’s stumble a little early.
All this talk of indulging in edible delights got me feeling a little hungry and I headed down the cold and windy Chicago streets for a warm, cheesy pie of comfort. The best pizza in the world is made in Chicago, and the best pizza in Chicago is made by Giordano’s. With all due respect to devotees of Gino’s East (and I really don’t want to step in the middle of that debate), Giordano’s is the Mount Everest of Chicago-style pizza. Imagine a succulent quiche packed with mushrooms and veggies. Now imagine that instead of egg as the medium, those ingredients are suspended in hot cheese. MMMMMMMM. Healthy? Of course not. A ridiculous amount of calories ? Sure. Worth it? You betcha!
If you do go to Giordano’s, one brief word of advice: one slice of this deep dish is equivalent to 3-4 slices of “regular pizza”. Eating two pieces of Giordano’s is a very large meal. To make it worse, it can really sneak up on you. You have been thinking about it all 4 hours on your drive from Iowa. You walk into the restaurant and you are overwhelmed with the beautiful sent of baking bread and melting cheese. By the time you wait 30 minutes for your pie, you feel like you are starving. When the pizza arrives, you dive into the first slice, polishing of the plate of molten cheese with nary a thought. So you reach for a second slice – why not? You always eat at least two slices of pizza anyway. Halfway through that second slice, it hits you. Bubbles of pure cholesterol begin racing through your veins. Your arteries begin to stiffen and petrify. Your swollen stomach draws an ever larger volume of blood to support its attempt at digestion. Your brain, already pickled by the pitcher of Goose Island Ale you chugged while waiting for your pie, shrinks from the lack of circulation. Your head spins, your belly swells, and sheer force of will manages to get the last few bites into your mouth. You pay your bill, waddle to the street, collapse into a cab, and wake up 15 minutes later in front of your hotel.
And you can’t wait to do it again!
Fight On,
Hans
PS: Giordano’s is a “destination food”. A meal that you miss when you leave it and are willing to drive a little further just to get. In and Out is another perfect example of a “destination food”. I want to hear about other’s destination foods- add it to the Bark Like a Dog post.
As an indicator of how great the matches were, a game between two undefeated top-10 teams was NOT on national television! Thanks to the infinite insanity of ABC/EPSN, Texas vs Oklahoma State was only “good enough” for regional action. And for those of us in the Midwest otherwise forced to put up with Michigan – Michigan State, only ESPN game plan saved us from watching something that was meaningless outside the Great Lake State. But with Texas- Oklahoma, Texas Tech- Kansas, and Virginia- Georgia Tech, we had plenty of tasty appetizers leading up to the big entrée: Penn State at Ohio State in the dreaded horseshoe. JoPa’s first win in Columbus in 30 years is certainly reason to celebrate, although it sounds like the good people of State College celebrated a little too hard. Makes you wonder what would happen in the streets of Centre County if they make it to the BCS Championship and win it all.
For dessert, I had the pleasure of taking in the USC-Arizona game from the friendly confines of the USC alumni bar: the Goose Island Brew pub in Wrigleyville (that’s the suburb of Chicago surrounding Wrigley field for all you living on the left and right coasts). The game was as close as I had expected- this was the one I had picked out back in June as the mid-season league game on the road that would give Pete Carroll his annual stumble. Of course, at the time I had missed the Oregon State road trip; I have to thank the Beavers for causing Pete’s stumble a little early.
All this talk of indulging in edible delights got me feeling a little hungry and I headed down the cold and windy Chicago streets for a warm, cheesy pie of comfort. The best pizza in the world is made in Chicago, and the best pizza in Chicago is made by Giordano’s. With all due respect to devotees of Gino’s East (and I really don’t want to step in the middle of that debate), Giordano’s is the Mount Everest of Chicago-style pizza. Imagine a succulent quiche packed with mushrooms and veggies. Now imagine that instead of egg as the medium, those ingredients are suspended in hot cheese. MMMMMMMM. Healthy? Of course not. A ridiculous amount of calories ? Sure. Worth it? You betcha!
If you do go to Giordano’s, one brief word of advice: one slice of this deep dish is equivalent to 3-4 slices of “regular pizza”. Eating two pieces of Giordano’s is a very large meal. To make it worse, it can really sneak up on you. You have been thinking about it all 4 hours on your drive from Iowa. You walk into the restaurant and you are overwhelmed with the beautiful sent of baking bread and melting cheese. By the time you wait 30 minutes for your pie, you feel like you are starving. When the pizza arrives, you dive into the first slice, polishing of the plate of molten cheese with nary a thought. So you reach for a second slice – why not? You always eat at least two slices of pizza anyway. Halfway through that second slice, it hits you. Bubbles of pure cholesterol begin racing through your veins. Your arteries begin to stiffen and petrify. Your swollen stomach draws an ever larger volume of blood to support its attempt at digestion. Your brain, already pickled by the pitcher of Goose Island Ale you chugged while waiting for your pie, shrinks from the lack of circulation. Your head spins, your belly swells, and sheer force of will manages to get the last few bites into your mouth. You pay your bill, waddle to the street, collapse into a cab, and wake up 15 minutes later in front of your hotel.
And you can’t wait to do it again!
Fight On,
Hans
PS: Giordano’s is a “destination food”. A meal that you miss when you leave it and are willing to drive a little further just to get. In and Out is another perfect example of a “destination food”. I want to hear about other’s destination foods- add it to the Bark Like a Dog post.
1 comment:
Ok, I would definitely put Giordano's on my destination food list as well. Nicole and I get it almost every time we go to Chicago.
Now that we live on the other side of the state, the Atlas is sort of a destination food place for us: Me, buffalo chicken world burrito, Nicole, their homemade mac and cheese.
There is also a little place called Folly Beach Crab Shack in Charleston, SC that might be the best seafood dive in the world. When I was a South Carolina Gamecock, some weekends we would go to Charleston and we would always hit this little place.
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