CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) — A decades-old Chicago pizza spot has been named the best pizzeria in the entire country: Pequod’s Pizza.
The review website Yelp named Pequod’s — known for its caramelized, crispy twist on Chicago’s classic deep dish — No. 1 in its list of the best 100 pizza places in the U.S.
General Manager Sean Asbra was quick to note that there’s a ton of great pizza in Chicago, and a person’s favorite is completely dependent on their personal taste. He did, though, talk a bit about what sets Pequod’s apart.
“The caramelized cheese on the edge, which, in and of itself is godlike,” Asbra said. “The sugar burning in the mozzarella and caramelizing against the pan — and then that’s butting up against the crust.
“Just give me a bucket of ranch, and I'm in heaven.”
Pequod’s has come a long way from when it opened in 1971 in suburban Morton Grove. Over the course of its lifetime, the pizzeria’s been featured in all sorts of food and travel content, including a 2023 Bon Appétit segment and multiple features on FX’s “The Bear.”
“I sometimes don’t understand it because I don’t try to do anything. I just try to have everybody maintain and cook a good, quality pizza,” he said. “It’s a relief to see your hard work get turned into something like that because so many places work a lot harder, or equally as hard, as we do, and they don’t get the accolades.”
Asbra added that he doesn’t check for accolades or rewards, and he didn’t hear about the Yelp ranking until one of his bussers sent it to him.
“If we do it right, then people will recognize it,” he said. “If we do it wrong, they’ll recognize that as well.”
Nonetheless, the praise has continued to pour in for Pequod’s, for which Asbra credited great — and “very patient” — customers along with a hardworking staff.
“I was here when we had three employees, and I’m here now when we have well over 100,” he said. “If I didn’t have good, loyal customers that liked to talk about [Pequod’s], then we probably would have been out of business a long time ago.”
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