One week later and my mouth is still watering thinking about the absolutely palatable Chicago style pizza that topped off my Illinois weekend last Sunday. Mark decided it would be pleasant to take me to the riverfront in downtown Peoria on Sunday before it was time to head back to Charlotte. This little city was quite the surprise and I love any view of water. The riverfront was beautiful and as we walked on the dock our stomachs were making animal noises and all we could think about was food. (as per usual)
I don't think that I can stress the frequency that pizza makes its way into our mouths. If I could count up each piece of pizza that I have eaten in my 24 years of existence, I would be willing to bet that approximately 67% of those pieces have been consumed while with Mark. I am actually sitting here wondering how we both don't look like pizzas with the amount of pizza we eat. Ok...maybe I am over exaggerating but pizza has become a consistent and always satisfying friend of ours in the culinary world. We found an Old Chicago right on the water with al fresco dining that was perfect for the beautiful Sunday afternoon. Starving, as usual, we decided to create our own pizza. There were toppings galore and several styles of crust. Chicago style deep dish pizza crust was required as we thought we should take advantage of taste testing the style of pizza that hails from the great state of IL. We carefully picked out our pizza toppings one by one to be sure we were about to make the most of making our acquaintance with this pizza style that is very much a rare bite for both of us! Italian sausage seemed like a fool proof starter and mushrooms quickly followed in the pick...mushrooms are always at the top of the list. Green peppers were added for some crunch and color and the cherry on top of this wonder twins creation were green olives! Black olives are so predictable and Mark seems to like the green ones better so why not! (can I also add that after each bite he kept reminding me how much he loved the green olives on his pizza and how they were such a perfect addition). When it comes to olives and pizza, I do believe there is a bit of a bias towards the black olives and the greenies remain underappreciated but let it be known now, green olives and pizza should be best friends forever. I don't think I have ever had little green friends on my pizza but I must say it was a surprising flavor that added a friendly punch to our riverfront lunch. The finished product was quite the treat and the deep dish crust was nothing short of amazing. The dough had such a fresh baked flavor and just melted in my mouth. My mindset was not that of an all star blogger while I was devouring my pizza because I failed to take a picture of the pizza in all of its delicious glory. I haven't met a piece of pizza that I don't like but this particular piece was superb. I'm sure the delightful weekend and the company made it taste even better but regardless, this pie was top notch.
The pizza left us both stuffed but it was nothing that a walk along the riverfront could not cure. As most weekends do, this one went by much too fast but more bloggable bites are in store in IL, that's for sure.
And a side note, for all of you who appreciate Emily Post's etiquette, since pizza is an "informal food", it is considered appropriate to pick up a slice and eat it. Fork and knife are not necessary for prim and proper manners.
Ciao!