Parlor Pizza Bar

Named for Ferris Bueller’s immortal sausage king of Chicago, this standout is equal parts sweet, salty, and bitter, and the springy thin crust crisps and bubbles in all the right places. 108 N. Green St., 312-600-6090

Piece

Over the past 14 years, Billy Jacobs has made this one of the highest-grossing indie pizzerias in the nation, winning countless awards and adding gimmicks such as live-band karaoke on Saturday nights. Small wonder its misshapen pies—hand-formed and minimally topped as the New Haven style demands, cooked in a gas-fired oven—are as good as ever. … Read more

Louisa’s Pizza & Pasta

A mile high with thick crust, mozzarella, tomato sauce, and impossibly sweet, juicy sausage, this pie fell right off Chicago’s deep-dish tree: Mama Louisa learned her craft at Pizzeria Due. 14025 S. Cicero Ave., Crestwood, 708-371-0950

Marie’s Pizza & Liquors

In 1940, when this place opened, “special” meant sausage, green peppers, onions, and mushrooms baked in a gas-fired oven. It’s still terrific, especially on Saturday night, when a strolling trio lends a retro kind of seasoning. 4127 W. Lawrence Ave., 773-725-1812

Santullo’s Eatery

There are more atmospheric pizzerias than this cavernous spot with booths and laminate tables, where a gruff and tatted cashier serves your $4 slice on a paper plate dropped unceremoniously on a tray. Doesn’t matter one bit, though, when said slice is what New York–style pizza is in its best moments: cheese melted to a … Read more

Dante’s Pizzeria

“Abandon all hope, ye who enter here.” The warning at the entrance to the underworld in The Divine Comedy may as well refer to your chances of finishing the Inferno, Dante’s 20-inch beast that re-creates the nine circles of hell, if not the nine circles of heartburn. The spicy peppers ringing it never overshadow the … Read more

Bongiorno

A cheap, good lunch is the white whale of River North, but this plastic-tableclothed joint pulls it off: a crispy-crusted 10-inch pie runs you $5.95, midday only. No wonder there’s always a line out the door. 405 N. Wabash Ave., 312-755-1255

More Bread and Cheese, Anyone?

Why pizzerias pack their menus with endless variations of pizza ingredients is one of life’s great mysteries. But if you’re already in the carb-and-dairy zone, you might as well go all in. Our picks: Crunchy bruschetta at Elio Pizza on Fire Photo: Courtesy of Elio Pizza on Fire Doughy beignets at Jimmy’s Pizza Cafe Photo: … Read more

Macello

The heel of the Italian boot, Puglia is best known for orecchiette, olive oil, and the pizzica, a zany folk dance that reportedly cures tarantula bites. The region’s pizza isn’t half as colorful. Unless you’re at Macello, a charming and oft-forgotten ristorante in an old slaughterhouse under the Green Line. The site is slightly less … Read more