Best Pizza in the Country

Really, it’s tough to get more grandiose than that. I suppose you could extend the claim to the world—or ostensibly the universe—but this is about as glorified as any one food typically gets. Best. In. The. Country.

That was the claim recently made by GQ in reference to the pizza at Great Lake in the Andersonville neighborhood of Chicago (the city’s bastion for Swedes, a group I tend to tag along with thanks to my parents’ decision to raise me within a Swedish church and community of friends and, subsequently, a wife who draws lineage to the dark and beautiful land of reindeer and Vikings; she and I lived in Andersonville in the 1990s…).

The pizzeria is also renowned as perhaps the slowest in the city (or perhaps the country?... universe?...). In Alan Richman’s GQ article, he notes that in the time co-owner and head (well, sole) pizza maker Nick Lessins takes to create each pizza, “civilizations could rise and fall, not just crusts.” However, he goes on to gush, “His cheese pie, prepared with fresh mozzarella made in-house, grated Wisconsin sheep’s and cow’s milk cheese, and aromatic fresh marjoram instead of basil, was slightly shy of unbelievable.”

These “best” designations never last too long, and the spotlight on Great Lake will likely fade in the coming years (assuming it survives—even top eateries can fail in our fickle and tumultuous foodservice world…), but for now it provides a keen study on the (likely inadvertent) culmination of various industry trends—think a strong emphasis on unique culinary combinations (these are not your everyday pizza toppings), as well as a healthy dose of local and artisan foods.

A recent Chicago Tribune article provides a decent slice of life at Great Lake. Check it out.

As for me, I hope to avoid the hand-wringing, headache-inducing particulars of securing a Great Lake pizza or two via a (hopefully) forthcoming inside tip from a Swedish friend of mine who works the Andersonville beat for Chicago’s Finest. I’m keeping my fingers crossed.