CHEF SAMBRANO: PIZZA IN CHICAGO

Friday, July 19, 2013

PIZZA IN CHICAGO

Just recently I been kind of getting to know our visitors here on Maui Island. I mean our visitors (tourists) are coming here to get to know our island, I might as well get to know some folks and get to understand where they came from and what kinds of foods I should eat when I visit their city if I ever get there that is...

So I am cruising Lahaina Town, and I run up on a dude and his girlfriend, first thing I notice is they are both lovey dovey and wearing Chicago Cubs jerseys and caps, me I'm wearing a Dodgers cap.

I approach them, "Hey Cubbies!"

They stop in their tracks, "Us?"

"Yeah you guys..by any chance are you from Chicago?"

The guys smiles, "Yeah how'd you know?" I point to their caps. "Oh yeah that's a give away huh?"

"Yeah."

"Are you from L.A.?"

"Huh?"

He points to my cap, "You're wearing a Dodgers cap?"

"Oh yeah, I mean no, I'm from here."

So we get to talking about baseball, I made reference about that kid that caught a foul ball during a playoff game a few years ago, the Cubby Nation felt that kid cost the Cubs the playoffs.

"Yeah you know I remember that one, that kid was threatened, it was scary."

"People really tried to hurt the guy?" I asked.

"Yeah," says the dudes girlfriend. "What creeps!"

So we talked small talk, where they should go on Maui, blah blah blah...how to say certain words in Hawaiian. Blah blah blah. Then we talked about food, I asked them where they go for pizza since pizza and Chicago are synonymous. And they mentioned Gino's East of Chicago.

"Yeah they make things fresh, not like Pizza Hut man," the guy says. "It's real Chicago Pizza."

Okay, since that's what they told me, I had to Google it, and this is what I came up with from their menu. First of all Gino's has a few locations in Chicago (4), and one in Wisconsin.

MENU

APPETIZERS (3.95 TO 12.95) Reasonable
Minnestrone Soup
Garlic Sticks w/ Dip
Cheesy Pizza Bread
Toasted Ravioli
Bruschetta
Chicken Tenders w/ BBQ, Honey Mustard, Spicy Buffalo or Ranch
Gino's Wings w/ BBQ or Buffalo
Mozzarella Sticks
Spinach Sticks
Calamari
Spinach Artichoke Dip
Gino's Family Platter- combination of Spinach Sticks, Bruschetta, Calamari and Toasted Ravioli.

SALADS ADD CHICKEN TO ANY SALAD FOR 2.50
Gino's East Fresh House Salad-Crisp lettuce blend w/ tomatoes, red onion, and black olives.
Caesar Salad- Crisp romaine, Romano cheese, and croutons tossed in Caesar dressing. Served with breadsticks.
Tuscan Harvest Salad- Hearty mixed greens, Granny Smith apples, tomato, dried cranberries, walnut, and gorgonzola cheese tossed in fat free raspberry vinaigrette.

"Never mind that, I wanted to see the meat of the menu. What I'd order? This what I'd order that looked good on the menu.

1. Buona's Italian Beef & Sausage Combo- Buona beef and Italian sausage topped with sweet green peppers, served with a side of au jus and giardiniera.
Giardiniera is (Jar Dih Nair Ah) is pickled foods. $8.50

2. Buona's Italian Beef- Thinly sliced roast beef (served like No.1) $7.95

3. Meatball Sandwich- Lots of meatballs $7.95

4. The Beef Stromboli- Flaky crust stuffed with tender sliced beef w/ mushrooms, onions, peppers, and a blend of 3 cheeses! yeah!!! $9.25 with fries of course screw the salad!

5. Gino's East Supreme Pizza- Sausage, onions, green pepper, and mushrooms. But I'd add on some bacon, and ground beef too. $27.50 for a medium plus $3.25 extra for each ingredient.