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BBC News
30-07-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
A Chicago pizza expert's guide to the city's best pies
Getty Images Local pizza expert Steve Dolinsky wants you to know that Chicago pizza isn't just deep dish. Just in time for Lollapalooza Chicago 2025, here are his favourite pies in the city. The SpeciaList Steve Dolinsky is a 13-time James Beard Award-winning food journalist whose "Food Guy" reports air Thursday nights on NBC 5 News in Chicago. He's the author of the book Pizza City, USA and The Ultimate Chicago Pizza Guide, the host-producer of the Pizza City podcast and the founder of Pizza City Tours and Pizza City Fest, which now holds events in Chicago, LA and Nashville. Outside Chicago, the term "Chicago-style pizza" is invariably associated with the deep-dish pie that's often mocked by out-of-towners as "lasagna in a bread bowl". But true Chicagoans know that the city and its suburbs are actually home to three iconic styles of pizza: deep-dish, stuffed and Chicago thin – AKA: "tavern style". As visitors prepare to flock to the city for the 25th edition of Lollapalooza, a massive annual four-day music festival expected to draw 100,000 people per day this year, they'll find plenty of opportunities to experience what is arguably Chicago's most famous culinary offering; in all its forms. We tapped renowned local food reporter Steve Dolinsky for his expert take. "People think Chicago is all deep-dish and was invented by the Uno's guys," says Dolinsky, who published Pizza City, USA in 2018, documenting all of the region's delicious styles. "But there's so much more to it." The story of Chicago pizza doesn't start with a deep dish, but with a tavern. In the 1940s, when men habitually popped into bars after work, "bartenders realised that by serving a salty snack, they'd sell more beer," says Dolinsky, whose book led to a Pizza City podcast, Pizza City tours and the wildly popular Pizza City Fest; landing this year in Chicago from 22 - 24 August. "With the advent of gas ovens, they started making thin-crust pies, which they'd cut into squares and pass around the bar on cocktail napkins for free." Then, in 1943, when Ike Sewell and Ric Riccardo opened a bar in Chicago's busy River North area, Riccardo used cake pans inherited from the bar's previous occupant to develop a deep-dish pizza, leading the duo to open The Pizzeria (later renamed Pizzeria Uno). "Unlike its thin-crust predecessor, this dough was pressed into a pan," explains Dolinsky. "They topped it with cheese to protect the dough, then added toppings and a chunky tomato sauce." Fast forward to 1971 and Rocco Palese's invention of the stuffed pizza at Nancy's; purportedly inspired by his mother's pizza rustica (Italian stuffed savoury pie). "All visitors and most locals still don't understand stuffed is a sub-category of deep-dish," says Dolinsky. "It bears little resemblance to a classic deep-dish or even a deep-pan pizza, due to that thin second layer of dough. Fortunately, we have so many other styles of pizza here, you don't have to rely on just one.' Here are Dolinsky's favourite pizzas in Chicago. Getty Images Quintessential tavern-style 1. Best for the thin-crust diehard: Pat's Pizzeria on North Lincoln Avenue Pat 's opened in 1950, bringing their spin on thin-crust pizza to Chicago's North Side, where it was a smash hit. TIPS Less is more with any Chicago pizza, warns Dolinsky. If you want toppings, the best two are raw, bulk fennel sausage pinched and pressed onto the pie, and giardiniera (pickled vegetables), the classic condiment in Chicago's famous Italian beef sandwich. Crunchy and briny, giardiniera tastes great on all styles of pizza. The magic here is in Pat's iconic dough, says Dolinsky, which is proofed overnight, then put through a dough sheeter (used to flatten pizza dough into large sheets), which helps to make a really thin crust. The "skins" are then cured in a cooler for about three days. "After the dough is sheeted, it's laid between sheets of paper and put on a rack to let it really dry out," explains Dolinsky. The result is one of the thinnest pizza crusts in Chicago, which is topped from edge to edge with sauce, cheese and crumbled fennel sausage before it's baked to a crisp. Dolinsky likens it to eating "a salty cracker dipped in tomato sauce". Website: Address: 2679 N. Lincoln Avenue, Chicago, IL 60614 Phone: (773) 248-0168 Instagram: @patspizzachicago Getty Images 2. Best for a true working-class pizza: The Original Vito & Nick's Pizzeria This family business originated in 1923 as a tavern on the South Side of Chicago; in 1946, they became one of the city's first thin-crust pizza makers. "This pizza starts with a thin layer of tomato sauce topped with pinched and pressed raw bulk Italian sausage, which renders delicious fat into the pie as it's baked," says Dolinsky. The cracker-thin pizza is finished with handfuls of whole milk mozzarella. Due to baking directly on the hot stone deck of the oven, the bottom (or "undercarriage") has blistered, charred spots that add to the texture. It's cut into squares, and whether you go for the crackly edges or cheesier middle is up to you. Nick Barraco, the founder, declared in 1965 that they would never deliver their pizza, which is honoured to this day, as is the pizza's original recipe. Website: Address: 8433 South Pulaski Road, Chicago, IL 60652 Phone: (773) 735-2050 Instagram: @vito_and_nicks Getty Images 3. Best for a chef-driven tavern-style pie: Pizza Matta Jason Vincent is the James Beard award-winning chef and owner of Giant and Chef's Special Cocktail Bar. During the pandemic, he started making pizza from a portable truck and in 2023 he opened Pizza Matta next door to Giant. When Vincent first opened Pizza Matta, he was serving East Coast-style pizza by the wedge-shaped slice. Once he perfected that pie, he added a tavern-style pizza as a weekly special. Because it was so successful, it's now on the regular menu and customers can get both styles every day. "Vincent's pies are perfectly thin and crispy, and being the accomplished chef that Vincent is, he finishes his pizza with SarVecchio, a dry, shredded, salty and nutty cheese from Wisconsin that resembles Parmesan in flavour," says Dolinsky. Vincent also uses sausage, ham and chicken from a farm in Michigan, premium pepperoni from Ohio and mushrooms cultivated in Chicago. Website: Address: 3211 W. Armitage Avenue, Chicago, IL 60647 Phone: (773) 661-6521 Instagram: @pizzamattachicago Getty Images Deep dish 4. Best for vegetarians: My Pi This famed spot was founded in 1971 by Larry Aronsen and is now run by his son, Rich. Larry opened My Pi because he loved Uno and its sister pizzeria, Due; tinkering with the pie to make his own version TIP Dolinsky doesn't advise getting any style of Chicago pizza to-go, but says that if you insist on taking a deep-dish or deep-pan pizza home (or to your hotel), it must be left uncut. Once sliced, everything seeps into the crevices, ruining the bottom crust. What makes My Pi so special? "It's known for this secret spice mix, which Larry makes at home and gives to Rich to add to the tomato sauce," says Dolinsky. No one knows the recipe but Larry, who put the mysterious formula in his will so that Rich can one day make the mix. "While most pies get a ton of flavour from the rendered sausage," says Dolinsky, "this one is great for vegetarians because the spices add that flavour." This is a one-hand pie: firm, no flopping, with a crisp-tender dough. It earns Dolinsky's stamp of OBR – optimal bite ratio – meaning every bite has the perfect mix of crust, cheese, sauce and topping. Website: Address: 2010 North Damen Ave, Unit E, Chicago, IL 60647 Phone: (773) 394-6900 Instagram: @mypipizzachicago Alamy 5. Best for a taste of 1940's original deep-dish: Lou Malnati's Lou Malnati started his pizza-making career managing Uno and Due but after being turned down when he tried to buy the businesses, he opened his namesake pizza spot in 1971. The business now has more than 70 locations throughout Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana and Arizona. This deep-dish pizza is made with plenty of oil in the dough, which helps it spread in the bottom and up the sides of the pan and creates a sturdy crust. It has thin slices of Wisconsin mozzarella spread across the bottom. The sauce at Lou's gets great acidity from chunky California tomatoes and it's finished with a bit of pecorino Romano cheese. Be sure to order the fennel sausage "crumbled", or they'll press a sausage patty right into the pizza, which sits in the pie like a manhole cover. "You can upgrade to a Buttercrust (pizza crust made with butter instead of oil) for $0.75 more," says Dolinsky, "but word on the street is it's just more oil in the dough." Website: Address: 6649 North Lincoln Avenue, Lincolnwood, IL 60712 Phone: (847) 673-0800 Instagram: @loumalnatis Hannah Hornacek 6. Best for a great deep-pan pie: Labriola In 2014, pizza in Chicago took a new course when Rich Labriola, a former commercial baker, opened Labriola just off Michigan Avenue. "Labriola ferments his dough for two to three days. This allows the yeast to eat the sugar to develop carbon dioxide during the ferment, which gives the dough some lift and airiness," says Dolinsky, explaining that this helps the dough maintain shape during baking. TIP Tavern-style pizza is always served as a whole pie, says Dolinsky. While places like New York are known for serving solitary slices to diners on paper plates, Midwesterners gather around the table for their pizza in a more communal style. There's a nice Midwestern spin here with nods to corn: Labriola incorporates corn oil in the dough, and then lines the bottom of the pan with coarse cornmeal to provide some texture underneath, but also to help release the pizzas when they're finished baking. Much like in Detroit (which has its own style of pizza), the cheese is spread to the very edge of the pie, so as it bakes, the cheese seeps down between the dough and the pan and burns a little, getting super crunchy like a frico (a crispy Italian cheese cracker). This is a thicker pizza that definitely demands to be eaten with a knife and fork. Website: Address: 535 N Michigan Avenue, Chicago, IL 60611 Phone: (312) 955-3100 Instagram: @labriolachicago Azuree Withal 7. Best for the tastiest crust: George's Deep-Dish The award-winning pies at George's Deep Dish are based on Greek lagana, a flatbread similar to focaccia that's only eaten on Shrove Monday ahead of Easter. George Bumbaris, the eponymous founder, was inspired by the bread from Grevena, the region in northern Greece where his father was born. He uses a natural sourdough starter and cold ferments the ball of dough for at least two nights, yielding one of the tastiest crusts in Chicago. "You must get the pinched and pressed sausage here so that fat renders into the pie as it bakes," advises Dolinsky. Bumbaris comes from the fine-dining world, so he takes a slightly more studied approach to pizza than the average pizzamaker. He's also clever with his pizza names, with fun names like Orwell's Farm (a vegetarian pie) and Clooney's ER (with sausage, meatballs, pepperoni and bacon). Website: Address: 6221 North Clark Street, Chicago, IL 60660 (multiple locations) Phone: (773) 801-1551 Instagram: @georgesdeepdish Getty Images Stuffed 8. Best pie for true pizza indulgence: Nancy's (West Loop) There's some confusion about Nancy 's, which people often say serves deep-dish pizza. Incorrect: it's stuffed pizza. Back in 1971, when Annunziata Palese and her husband, Rocco, took over Guy's Pizza, Rocco went home to Italy and was inspired by his mother's pizza rustica. When he came back to Chicago, he built a deep-dish pizza with a bottom crust, topped it with cheese and fillings, then placed another thin layer of the dough over the pie, poked holes in it, and put tomato sauce on top of that. The stuffed pie at Nancy's was born. You know a pizza is stuffed when it's as high as the pan in which it's baked. "These pies are heavy," said Dolinsky. "I wouldn't recommend eating more than a slice – maybe two if that's all you're going to eat for a meal." Website: Address: 1000 West Washington Blvd., Chicago, IL 60607 Phone: (312) 733-9920 Instagram: @nancyspizza This article was originally published in July 2024 and has since been updated. BBC Travel ' s The SpeciaList is a series of guides to popular and emerging destinations around the world, as seen through the eyes of local experts and tastemakers. -- If you liked this story, sign up for The Essential List newsletter – a handpicked selection of features, videos and can't-miss news, delivered to your inbox twice a week. For more Travel stories from the BBC, follow us on Facebook, X and Instagram. Food & Drink City Features
Gizmodo
07-07-2025
- Climate
- Gizmodo
‘Warning Fatigue' Might Have Made Texas Floods Deadlier
A deluge of rain triggered deadly flash floods in Texas Hill Country over the weekend, causing widespread damage and killing more than 80 people. As the death toll climbs, some experts say 'flood warning fatigue' may have discouraged residents from heeding the National Weather Service's (NWS) warnings. Texas Hill Country is part of 'flash flood alley,' a crescent-shaped region that curves from the Dallas area down to San Antonio and then westward. It's one of the most dangerous places in the U.S. for flash flooding. In this region, the NWS issues flood watches so often that residents may be more likely to ignore them, Troy Kimmel, an Austin-based meteorologist and emergency manager, told NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth. While Kimmel believes the NWS issued timely alerts for this weekend's floods with the best information available, he argues that too many warnings can make people complacent. 'The public just gets buried in these warnings,' Kimmel said. 'I'm on the record for saying the National Weather Service overall in the United States issues too many warnings. I fully believe that.' On the afternoon of Wednesday, July 2, the NWS office in Austin/San Antonio posted on X, stating that scattered moderate to heavy showers were developing and expanding to the Hill Country. Meteorologists know that this region's rolling terrain can quickly cause shallow rivers to swell, and as the forecast grew increasingly concerning, the NWS continued to post about the flood threat. By Thursday afternoon, portions of the western Hill Country, southern Edwards Plateau, and Rio Grande were under a flood watch. That advisory upgraded to a flood warning for some parts of the affected area just after midnight on Friday, indicating that flooding was imminent or already underway. From then on, the situation escalated. According to ABC News, Kerrville Mayor Joe Herring told reporters the Guadalupe River rose 26 feet (7.9 meters) within just 45 minutes in the early hours of Friday. Local weather and disaster officials are no strangers to this type of situation or how deadly it can become. In 1987, heavy rain in western Kerr County triggered a similar flash flood that killed 10 teenagers being evacuated from a camp. Less than a month ago, another flash flood killed 13 people in San Antonio. Despite this, many people within the Guadalupe floodplain—particularly those in cabins, campsites, and mobile home parks along the riverbank—failed to receive or respond to flood warnings and evacuation alerts early Friday. 'We know we get rains. We know the river rises. But nobody saw this coming,' said Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly, the county's top elected official. A Washington Post review of wireless emergency alerts and data from the Federal Emergency Management Agency's Integrated Public Alert & Warning System showed that Kerr County did not issue its first Amber Alert-style push until Sunday. And although the NWS Austin/San Antonio office was issuing alerts before then, some of them didn't come until flooding was already well underway on Friday, and many may not have reached people in places where cellular reception is spotty. Texas officials have raised questions about whether the NWS could have done more to warn people in the flood path. Some critics suggested the Trump administration's sweeping NWS cuts hindered the agency's ability to forecast the impact. Other experts have defended its efforts, stating that the NWS issued timely and accurate warnings to the best of its ability considering the rapid escalation of the event. In an emailed statement, the NWS communications office told Gizmodo it is 'heartbroken by the tragic loss of life in Kerr County' and detailed its flood warning alert efforts leading up to Friday, July 4, stating that it gave 'preliminary lead times of more than three hours before warning criteria were met.' The question of whether flood alerts actually reached all residents in the flood path is a critically important one. This disaster has renewed a years-long push for a comprehensive flood monitoring system in Kerr County, which could go a long way to address gaps in the county's warning abilities. But getting these messages to the public as quickly as possible is only half the battle. 'The real trick is, how do you get people to get the message quickly, a message they can understand easily, and have them take action that will save their lives?' Steven Lyons, retired meteorologist-in-charge of the NWS San Angelo office, told the Washington Post. 'People think, 'It can't be that bad; I'll just jump up on my roof,'' Lyons said. 'Well, not if your house is floating away.' Warning fatigue is a key driver of this type of thinking. Some experts, like Kimmel, argue that issuing too many false alarms can lead to the 'cry wolf effect.' This is when people ignore emergency alerts because they assume the hazard won't actually manifest. The phenomenon has taken hold across the country, especially in disaster-prone places like Flash Flood Alley, where climate change is exacerbating the frequency and intensity of extreme weather. As global temperatures continue to rise, so will the number of alerts, which could worsen warning fatigue. At the same time, catastrophic events like this deadly flood will become more common. This is a deadly combination. It's possible that more weather catastrophes could make the public more attentive and responsive to emergency alerts, but desensitization likely already results in countless deaths nationwide. As the NWS contends with climate realities and struggles to maintain lifesaving operations under the second Trump administration, the agency must also find ways to get through to the public.
Axios
05-07-2025
- General
- Axios
What we know about the Texas flooding victims
Efforts to find more than 25 girls missing from Camp Mystic after flash floods hit Central Texas early Friday morning continue, but four bodies — and dozens more from other parts of the region — have already been recovered. Here's what we know about the victims of the flooding near Kerrville, Texas: Renee Smajstrla The young girl has been identified by her uncle as one of the Camp Mystic attendees who went missing and whose body has since been recovered. "We are thankful she was with her friends and having the time of her life, as evidenced by this picture from yesterday. She will forever be living her best life at Camp Mystic," Shawn Salta wrote on Facebook. Sarah Marsh The 8-year-old Mountain Brook, Alabama, girl was a camper whose body has been found, per the city's mayor. "This is an unimaginable loss for her family, her school, and our entire community. Sarah's passing is a sorrow shared by all of us, and our hearts are with those who knew and loved her, " Mayor Stewart Welch wrote in a Facebook post. Janie Hunt The girl's family confirmed to NBC5 reporter Keenan Willard that she had died in the floods while at Camp Mystic. Lila Bonner Bonner's family also confirmed the girl had died. "In the midst of our unimaginable grief, we ask for privacy and are unable to confirm any details at this time. We ache with all who loved her," the girl's family said in a statement to NBC5. Other people who were camping or lived near Guadalupe River, which surged to roughly 26 feet within 45 minutes, also were victims. They include: Jane Ragsdale The beloved co-owner and director of Heart O' the Hills camp was killed in floods, according to a statement posted on the camp's website. "We at the camp are stunned and deeply saddened by Jane's death. She embodied the spirit of Heart O' the Hills and was exactly the type of strong, joyful woman that the camp aimed to develop with the girls entrusted to us each summer." The girls' camp opened in 1953. There were no campers at the time of the floods. Julian Ryan Ryan, 27,"died a hero," his family told KHOU in Houston. Ryan's fiancée told the station water quickly entered their home near the Guadalupe River. Ryan punched out a window to get his family out, she said, but he was ultimately unable to make it out. "Julian was a cherished son and devoted parent and fiancé who was dedicated to his family. He was known to have an infectious laugh and unwavering kindness," according to a GoFundme account raising money for his family. "He touched countless lives with his humor and will be deeply missed by everyone who had the privilege of knowing him."
New York Post
18-06-2025
- Science
- New York Post
Beware toxic, foot-long worms invading US — here's what to do if you see the ‘demonic flesh-eaters'
Stop, hammertime! Weeks of heavy rain have prompted a plague of massive, toxic hammerhead flatworms to erupt from the ground in North Texas, much to the chagrin of frightened locals. 'It was terrifying, like these are truly the end times, even the worms are demonic,' Keller resident Adam Ingle told NBC5 of the subterranean scourge, which reared its hammerhead in the Dallas-Fort Worth and Houston regions. Named for their flat, ball-peen-evoking noggins, these foot-long invertebrates secrete neurotoxins that can irritate human skin upon contact and also poison pets that ingest them. 4 Adam Ingle vents about the flathead worms. NBCDFW 4 A video of the worms wriggling on the surface of the soil. @carliebenton/TikTok 4 The hammerhead worms were introduced to the US from Asia in the late 1800s. Sandra Burm – These invaders also prey on native species such as the earthworms that tend the soil, which can impact the environment. Since arriving in the US from Southeast Asia in the late 1800s, the worms have spread across the nation, cropping up everywhere from the Pacific Northwest to New York and most recently, North Texas, despite having been in the Lone Star State for decades. 4 'Tear it in half, now you've got two worms,' said Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller while warning of their regenerative capabilities. Craig – While they generally prefer to remain underground out of the sunlight, the heavy torrents brought these wriggling menaces to the surface, as seen in multiple viral TikTok videos of the groundbreaking phenomenon. 'In one of the creepy videos, the worms are wriggling on the surface of the soil like a miniature version of the monsters from 'Tremors' while another shows a lengthy specimen inching its way across an envelope. A third depicts one of the vacuum-headed critters crawling across a screen. 'Houstonnn we have a problem!!' the poster wrote in the caption. 'You don't want this guy in your garden or near your pets!' Unfortunately, eliminating this tiny terror is no mean feat — chopping them in half only increases their numbers as they reproduce asexually. 'Don't kill it, don't squish it, don't cut it up, because it makes three or four more worms,' warned Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller, per NBC5. 'Tear it in half, now you've got two worms.' To dispatch hammerhead worms, experts advise bagging the worms and freezing them for up to 48 hours or leaving them in a salt and vinegar solution. Due to their toxic nature, homeowners should avoid touching them without wearing gloves or other protection, even if they're already dead.
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Toxic Hammerhead Worms Surge In DFW After Heavy Rains
Recent heavy rainfall across North Texas has led to a surge in sightings of toxic, invasive hammerhead worms, prompting concern among residents and experts about their threat to plants, animals, and potentially humans. The hammerhead worm, an invasive species from Southeast Asia known as Bipalium kewense, has been reported in counties throughout the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. Recognizable by its distinctive hammer-shaped head and snake-like body, the worm can grow up to 15 inches long, though it typically measures 8 to 12 inches. Its light or honey-colored body often features one to five dark dorsal stripes. Adam Ingle, a Keller resident, encountered one on his porch. 'And then noticed its head had a hammer shape,' Ingle said, NBC 5 DFW reported. 'And it was terrifying, like these are truly the end times, even the worms are demonic.' Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller described the worm's appearance: 'If you see one, you won't mistake it, it's over a foot long, about 12, 15 inches long. It's got a big, wide head on it, like a hammer, I mean, just like it says.' The hammerhead worm poses a significant ecological threat as a predator of earthworms, which are vital for healthy soil in forests, crops, gardens, and compost piles. Its skin secretes a neurotoxin that can cause rashes in humans and harm animals if ingested. The worm may also carry parasitic nematodes, adding to its danger. Killing the worm requires caution due to its ability to regenerate. 'The thing people need to know is don't kill it, don't squish it, don't cut it up, because it makes three or four more worms, it's asexual reproduction,' Miller said, per NBC 5. 'Tear it in half, now you've got two worms.' Experts recommend placing the worm in a sealed bag with salt or vinegar, freezing it for up to 48 hours, or spraying it with a mixture of citrus oil and vinegar. Handling should be done with gloves, a paper towel, or a stick. Then, wash hands in warm, soapy water and rinse with alcohol or hand disinfectant. Sightings should be reported to the Texas Invasive Species Institute. First introduced to the U.S. in the late 1800s, likely through horticultural plants, the hammerhead worm thrives in hot, humid environments like greenhouses and has spread to tropical and subtropical regions, including Texas. It has been reported from Orange to Uvalde, numerous Gulf Coastal counties, and the DFW area through East Texas. The worms are often found under leaf litter, rocks, or shrubs during the day and may appear on soil, driveways, or sidewalks after heavy rains. Concerned for his dog, children, and garden, Ingle said he's staying vigilant: 'To try to get rid of it. Because I've got a dog, I've got little kids, and I've got a garden, so this thing hates all of those things,' NBC 5 reported. Experts say continuous removal of hammerhead worms is critical to protecting native earthworm populations and mitigating their ecological impact.
