Encyclopizzeria 
When I went to My Pie, I didn’t know what to expect. My Pie had been recommended by John, one of the WGN Radio listeners from when Bokeen was on the Mike Bubala show discussing RC Cola and Chicago pizza. Still, I knew very little about what sort of ‘za to order or what they were known for.
My Pie’s Exterior
Walking in, it becomes clear that this place does most of its business with carryout orders; the space you order at is small and cramped. The small parking lot is busy. But being small doesn’t necessarily mean they don’t know how to deliver a great pie. They offer two kinds of pizza: a thick crust and a cracker-thin style, which looked a bit sad in the pizza warmer. We opted for the thick crust with my favorite toppings: pepperoni, mushrooms, and green olives. A medium deep dish pizza here will cost you $15.75, plus $2.35 for each topping, so this one was $22.80–pretty standard for deep dish. Thin crust options at My Pie are a few bucks cheaper, but I’d recommend springing for the real deal here.
Though there are a few small tables and a counter inside the restaurant, the best seats in the house are actually outside, in the form of a slightly out of place picnic table area across the parking lot that overlooks a charming…conference room? The seating setup, albeit a bit odd, provided ample space for pairs and groups of diners alike. But enough about the atmosphere, onto the food.
My Pie offers a selection of non-pizza foods, including a well-stocked salad bar, perfect for the daytime lunch crowds nearby, as well as slices to go. As mentioned, though, we went for the deep dish. The crust was chewy and buttery, a bit similar to the crust at Lou Malnati’s–a big plus in my book, since Lou’s would be my desert island pizza choice. The sauce was rich with great tomato flavor, and there was plenty of cheese to go around. They unfortunately fell a bit short on the toppings, though; the pepperoni and olives were fine and plentiful, as were the mushrooms, but sadly, the ‘shrooms were from a can. For a place that has a full salad bar, this seemed, like much of the rest of the experience at My Pie, a bit odd. Mushrooms from a can are slimy, soggy, and certainly avoidable, and while they’re not a deal breaker, it was hard not to notice.
My Pie’s deep dish sausage and canned mushroom pizza.
Overall, the pizza was pretty good. My Pie’s website claims that they offer up the World’s Best Pizza–a bold claim. Was My Pie the “World’s Best Pizza”, not so much. If you’re in Bucktown, it’d be a good lunch or dinner spot, and the leftovers were pretty good reheated, but I’m not so sure it’s worth making the extra trip for, given the abundance of other spots in the city that serve pizza that’d be higher up on my list of “World’s Best Pizza.”
My Pie
2010 N Damen
Chicago, IL 60647
(773) 394-6900
http://www.mypiepizaa.com
