L-Stop Musts: Pizza Edition

Chicago is renowned for its deep-dish delicacies and square cut tavern pies. For both flatbread aficionados and thick crust cravers, the Red Line serves up a variety of local pizza options which are ripe for the cutting.

Granville: Pete’s Pizzeria and Bakehouse (1100 W. Granville Ave.)

Steps away from Lake Shore Campus, Pete’s Pizzeria and Bakehouse is a reliable staple in the Rogers Park Community. After a day of classes, students living in the dorms on North Kenmore Avenue can walk down the street for a slice or Italian beef sandwich.

Pete’s dine-in menu includes margherita, four cheese and vegetarian choices. The menu dips into themed selections like taco and Hawaiian pies, as well as an Italian beef pizza topped with giardiniera all on a warm hoagie crust. 

Lunch and dinner options include salads, wings, chicken wraps, pasta and Italian beef sandwiches. To cleanse their thin crust pizza palate, customers can order a cool plate of cheesecake or tiramisu for dessert.

Pete’s Pizzeria and Bakehouse is open 10 a.m to 10 p.m Sunday through Thursday and 10 a.m. to midnight Friday and Saturday.

Thorndale: Sfera Sicilian Street Food (5759 N. Broadway)

Students don’t need to ride far for a more authentic taste of Italy. Sfera Sicilian Street Food is a five-minute walk around the corner of the Thorndale stop, offering an authentic hole-in-the-wall experience for worldly eaters.

As the name implies, Sfera takes its inspirations from Sicilian street food, but in its cooking adds a Midwestern bend. Vending pizza by the slice, each cut comes with creamy Wisconsin mozzarella and roasted pecorino breadcrumbs. Toppings of choice include garlic mushrooms, farm fresh vegetables and crumbled Italian sausage.

Sfera specializes in arancini — fried risotto balls stuffed with cheese and vegetables. The classic Italian side dish deliciously complements Sfera’s panini — available with chicken, capicola, prosciutto, artichoke and chickpea fritters.

The restaurant’s cozy confines invite a grab-and-go eating experience that doesn’t mince on quality. Along with its colorful array of cannoli desserts, Sfera sells homemade dried pasta and sauces for customers to use at home.

Sfera Sicilian Street Food is open 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

Belmont: The Slice Shop (928 W. Belmont Ave.)

Foodies looking for grandma style, pan-baked pizza can find a filling alternative at The Slice Shop. Nestled underneath the Belmont stop, the pizza parlor indulges in lowkey, paper-plated dining.

The Slice Shop’s eponymous portions are rich with seasoned tomato sauce atop fresh-from-the-oven crust. Emphasizing assorted toppings, pie options include buffalo chicken, hot Italian sausage and mixed vegetables. Grandma style’s slow bake process results in a crispy crunch at the bottom and a soft, chewy layer of cheese on top.

Customers can purchase a cup of ice cream with each slice, available in brown butter almond brittle, dark chocolate truffle, gooey butter cake and lemon bar. Jalapeno poppers and pizza puffs can be ordered on the side, alternatively patrons can spring for a cold cut sandwich if pizza alone won’t satisfy.

The Slice Shop is open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 11 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

Grand: Uno Pizzeria & Grill (29 E. Ohio St.)

It’d be heresy to make a Chicago-based pizza list without shouting out deep dish. Fortunately for Red Line riders, Uno’s sits just above the Grand station.

Uno Pizzeria & Grill — known colloquially as Uno’s — is an institution of both Chicago and food history. Founded in 1943 by owners Ike Sewell and Ric Ricardo, its original pizza recipe featured a thin crust, layered cheese and dense sauce cooked within a deep brick-oven pan.

Creating deep dish pizza, Uno’s recipe has since spawned copycat chains across the city and country. Uno’s itself has amassed such fame just across the block from its Ohio St. location rests Due’s, a sister location with an identical menu.

Uno’s pies are renowned for their crisp, doughy bread seamed beneath thick, melted mozzarella and topped with freshly cut and pressed tomato paste. Uno’s also offers cooking classes for those desiring a deeper understanding of deep dish cuisine.

Their pizza craftsmanship pairs with an elegant dining experience as customers can order garden salad, gourmet pasta, steak and alcoholic beverages with their meal.

Uno Pizzeria & Grill is open every day from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.