The kitchen where deep dish pizza was invented can unsurprisingly be found in a Chicago kitchen, but where?
There’s a lot of passion for Chicago-style pizza, but it turns out the chefs actually “stumbled upon” the now-staple’s recipe.
Deep dish pizza started as a snack for customers drinking alcohol inside a bar owned by Chicago businessman Ike Sewell.
“He wanted a way to keep his patrons, keep on drinking,” explained Robert Komar, the general manager of Pizzeria Uno, the establishment where deep dish pizza started. “They made deep dish pizza, who knows how they stumbled upon it, and they would give it away for free at the bar and the purpose was to order more drinks.”
Needless to say, Sewell’s customers ate it up.
The pizza became so popular, Sewell decided to open a restaurant in its honor. He called it Pizzeria Uno, and it still exists today.
“This is where it all started. Deep dish in the world started in here in this kitchen in 1943,” Komar said, giving NBC 5 a full tour of its kitchen.
The Pizzeria Uno team never imaged what deep dish pizza would become.
It’s now a legendary Chicago meal, known for its buttery, crispy crust and a heaping amount or meats, cheeses, spices and veggies.
There’s an art to making it, starting with the dough.
“There’s different techniques,” Komar explained, showing NBC Chicago the iconic “spin” move to puff up the dough.
You then add four thick slices of cheese, and about a pound of sausage!
But the key ingredient at Pizzeria Uno is the chunky tomato sauce.
“I don’t know the science behind it, but that’s the key based on flavor,” he said.
Then it’s into the oven for about 45 minutes.
The recipe used today is the same one invented 82 years ago.
“We are the origin of it and we get to keep up that tradition,” Komar said.
About 500 feet away, Uno’s sister restaurant also exists – Pizzeria Duo. There, the tradition of deep dish is also alive and well, but you can also order thin crust.
In the 1950s, Sewell purchased a second building to keep growing his pizza business.
Today, his restaurants sit in two Victorian mansions standing amongst the skyscrapers of downtown Chicago.
Sewell’s businesses are a testament to old traditions and true Chicago style.
“These will always be Pizzeria Uno and Duo and they won’t have anyone buy them because – it’s the right thing to do,” Komar said.
While so much changes in life, Komar said the pizza you buy at these restaurants is one thing that will always stay the same.
“To change it, that would be crazy talk,” he said.
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