Cover Image: Pizza City, USA

Pizza City, USA

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Member Reviews

I loved this cookbook! Since we have been home more, i really love the photos and all the recipes. It’s very easy to follow.

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A perfect gift for any pizza fanatic out there! I had so much fun reading this book, and would love to have a copy for a coffee table book!

Thank you to NetGalley, as well as the publisher for providing me with a digital copy of this book, in exchange for an honest review.

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This is a real gem of a book, if you can get past salivating over the pictures in the book and onto the descriptions of each pizza place, it is a great read. This book has a bit of information of the styles of pizza, the history of Chicago town pizza and what makes the perfect bite with each different style pizza. Loved this book, it is worth a read, you will never view pizza quite the same again!

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As a girl from the South who did not grow up eating Chicago style pizza, this was an especially wonderful read. I loved the history, the information (I LIVE and Love information!), and pride that is presented in this book. This is a must have and must read for anyone who loves food, especially pizza. Fair warning though, this will make you hungry, even if you have already eaten! Thank you to the author, publisher, and Netgalley for the privilege of learning about the wonderful history of this special delight.

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First off this is not a book with pizza recipes. It is a book about different Pizzerias and different types of pizzas in Chicago, which includes suburbs and outlining areas. I am not from Chicago but have visited when I was younger, but still I enjoy food and I found this book to be very interesting. Having worked in an Italian piazza restaurant in Indio CA, outside of Palm Springs in the early eighties we were busy most nights but especially weekends. Like the author speaks about we made our own dough fresh and would not use it for two days, we also made our own sausage and sauce. People would come for miles to get the pizza. At the beginning of his book the author speaks of the dough being the key to a good pizza and not that it makes a difference I agree. As for the book, I thought the author did an excellent job of going through and telling us the reader why each place made the cut. You get a picture an address and then a brief history of the pizzeria and then how the pie held up to his test and that of the person he brought along. He tried many different types, and gives you the difference between the different Chicago types of pizzas. At the end you get a list of places that did not make the cut. I will say that one place, Freddys Pizza in Cicero. Made a pizza that my father use to take me to here in California, in the 60’, 70’s it was called the mug in San Bernardino. The pizza in the book looked like the one they used to serve all the time and brought back good memories. Overall I liked the book.

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Thank netgally, the author for an Advanced Copy of this book. I really enjoyed this book. It's well worth reading

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I thought this book might have a good pizza receipe in it but no it just tells you where to get which type of pizza from. Is this info not on trip advisor? Can't see anyone wanting to pay good money for this book.

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I want to recreate Steve Dolinsky's research for this book! Everyone loves pizza and everyone has their personal favorite. Most of us are willing to try new pizza, just in case there's one out there that is better than our favorite. As retirees, my husband and I keep homemade crust and sauce in the fridge. We are always looking for new ways to make our go to meal. This book has challenged us to try many new ingredients and crusts. I'll let you know what we decide after trying all of the recipes in the book. What a wonderful gift for a new homemaker or someone with small children.

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This is a book to fit a particular niche; it's a travelogue of pizza in Chicago. As such it is explicit and exact in its instructions. If you are a pizza lover and are planning a visit to Chicago, or better yet, planning to move there, here is the book to guide your way with maps and details of specific pizza joints.

Its value is limited for others.

I received a review copy of "Pizza City, USA: 101 Reasons Why Chicago Is America's Greatest Pizza Town" by Steve Dolinsky. Foreword by Grant Achatz. (Northwestern University Press) through NetGalley.com. The Amazon listing for the book does not mention Mr. Achatz and the Introduction in the ARC appears to have been written by Mr. Dolinsky.

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PIZZA CITY, USA by Steve Dolinsky is a totally fun and VERY comprehensive review of pizza places around Chicago. In fact, he profiles enough restaurants to give "101 reasons why Chicago is America's Greatest Pizza Town." The pictures throughout are fabulous (mouth-watering is not an exaggeration) and accompany a one to two page description of each establishment, often offering a bit of local history as well as what makes the pizza distinctive.

Local readers will recognize Dolinsky's name as "The Hungry Hound" on Channel 7 and I enjoyed the brief biographical information he provided. Dolinsky also readily acknowledges that not everyone will agree with his assessments (and I did not!), but he carefully explains his criteria and definitely still makes this a clever and informative book. There are separate chapters on recommendations (with maps) for Tavern (or Chicago Style thin), Thin, Artisan, Neapolitan, By-the-Slice, Deep Dish/Pan, and everyone else (Stuffed, Sicilian, Roman and Detroit-style). PIZZA CITY, USA would make a great gift, especially for someone moving to the Chicago area. Dolinsky is coming to The Book Stall on Thursday, Sept. 27 from 6:30pm to 7:30pm (free pizza available, of course!).

Link to Book Stall page (in live post): https://www.thebookstall.com/event/steve-dolinsky-pizza-city-usa

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Thank you for the opportunity to preview this book for review.

This book left me starving for pizza! With a photo of each pizza sampled and reviewed, how could I not be hungry? Having spent the first twenty two years of my life in the Chicago area, I was familiar with and had sampled many of the pizzas the author referenced. This book also brought back some great pizza “memories”: the first time my dad took us for a Home Run Inn pizza when we were kids,
a first date at Due’s (with my pizza loving husband) more than 4 decades ago, many great times with family and friends involving Lou Malnati’s Pizza, from college days up to the present.
This was a great book. What’s not to like about Chicago pizza? I was hoping for a recipe or two at the end of this food journey.

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Great book on the different pizza styles in Chicago. Steve Dolinsky rates 101 different pizza establishments in and around Chicago! Pizzas are broken into nine categories: Tavern-Style (city and suburbs), Thin Crust (city and suburbs), Artisan Thin, Neapolitan and Deep Dish (city and suburbs). Pizza is evaluated on crust, sauce, sausage and pepperoni quality, application and taste of cheese and overall taste. This is the definitive book on Chicago pizzas. I was ready to order all 101 pizzas after reading.

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I adore Chicago-style pizza and remember well when a friend gifted us with a full luscious pie. Most fabulous pizza ever! Pizza City, USA goes even further to explain 101 reasons why the Windy City is King among America's pizza towns. Written by Steve Dolinsky, a top Chicago food journalist, who undertook an arduous Pizza Quest to methodically taste-testing 101 different pizzas all over Chicagoland (I want his job!) He reveals the top five pies in seven defined categories in a lively, thoroughly researched style. Yum and yum! 5/5

Pub Date 15 Sep 2018

Thanks to Northwestern University Press and NetGalley for the review copy. Opinions are fully mine.

#PizzaCity,usa #NetGalley

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If ever there was a time I would have liked to switch places with the writer, it was this time! To be able to sample different pizza every day...yowsers! What a gig! I liked this book and it made me want to go to many of the places reviewed. One of my small faults with it...the pictures did not always line up with the review on my kindle. So I had to guess what picture applied to what review. Since the whole point of this was to review each place's pies, that is not a good thing. In my opinion, if you are going to do pictures at all, then you should do pictures for EACH place and it should be clear what pizza picture applies to which review.

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A delicious book about my favorite food. There truly is nothing better than a slice of hot, perfectly made pizza and I was so thrilled that this book delivers on stunning photos of various slices. I was not expecting to get the fully in-depth history of pizza. I always suspected that Chicago locals didn't only eat deep dish!

A love of research and love went into this book and If I'm ever in Chicago I'm going on a pizza walk.

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Thank you for the opportunity I can't wait to try all of the recipes that are offered in this book! Very easy to follow too.

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#PizzaCity,usa #NetGalley #Pizza

Avoid to read this book with an empty stomach. The pictures are delicious and the descriptions are wonderful. This is a gastronomical travel around the USA in the search of the perfect pizza.

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A tasty treatise on the pizza that feeds Chicago. Outside of Chicago, most people assume that Chicago style pizza is the big deep dish pie. Those who have lived there know that is just one of many types and really isn't even the best option out there. As a former Chicago city resident, reading this book provided some fond memories of a couple of different pizzerias that were favorites while I was there. Beyond just reviews and pictures of pizzerias, Steve Dolinsky brings his journalism chops to the table and provides a history of pizza in the city and also a smart education on pizza basics. This book had me longing for a Windy City pie and also has me looking at pizza everywhere through a new and more knowledgeable lens.

Free ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Book is available September 15th.

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