Stop #5 - Giordano's (Oswego)

Deep Dishing It
We headed to Giordano's in Oswego on this Valentine's weekend for some heart-shaped deep dish pizza.  It was a great night as we welcomed 9 others on our pizza tour.  A big shout out to the Klisiewicz and Svejda families. Thanks for joining us!

Atmosphere
We were in a back room (a sign said it would hold 55 people) and there were several other tables of 2-4 people around us.  The heat kept turning off and on which made it either really warm or really cold.  Our waitress checked in with us several times and we didn't have any issues with the food when it came out.  She even offered the Klisiewiczs a side of salad dressing for their house salad left overs.  They do have a smaller bar area that you can sit at.  It was also very quiet for being as crowded as it was.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Eats and Treats
There was plenty to eat tonight at our table and we all had leftovers.

• garlic parmesan fries served with ranch dressing
• side ceasar salad
• house salad with balsalmic dressing 
• 3 heart-shaped deep dish pizzas (all medium size)
• sausage and mushroom
• pepperoni
• Chicago Classic (pepperoni, mushrooms, onions, green peppers)
• 1 gluten-free thin crust sausage pizza (11")
• 1 thin crust pepperoni pizza (large)
• 2 kids pizzas
• S'mores pizza
• vanilla ice cream
• tiramisu

We recommend everything that was had but the one thing that we noticed right away was the deep dish pizza is not what we remember it to be.  It has been a couple of years since we have had Giordano's and actually eaten it in the restaurant.  We remember the deep dish actually living up to its name and not being so shallow.  It might have been that we ordered the heart-shape versus the regular round pizza but in observing the other tables around us it didn't seem like it was just our pizza. 

 
Andrea giving a "thumbs up"

I ordered a side caesar salad.  The shaved parmesan tasted fresh and there was just enough dressing for each bite to have some with it.  Chris and I specifically ordered the medium heart pepperoni deep dish and the gluten-free sausage.  The ingredients on our pizzas were not as fresh as we would have liked.  The gluten-free crust was a little crispy and over-done, but not burnt.  It was still very tasty though but there was not a lot of sausage on the pizza.

The middle of the pepperoni deep dish was flimsy.  It probably could have been left in for a few more minutes to make sure it was fully cooked.  I also ordered tiramisu to go which was delicious!

S'mores Pizza

The Svejdas ordered and shared their s'mores pizza.  Their son Henry stated that this was "hot and yummy!"

Word to the wise - food coma may set in and you and/or your kids may fall asleep on your way home. (photo courtesy of Andrea Svejda; daughter Emily) 



Total people: 11
Total bill (for 2 people): $62.00* (1 medium deep dish, 1 gluten-free, 1 side caesar salad, 1 tiramisu, 1 Pepsi, 1 water)
*service charge was already included due to the size of our party

Rhode's Recommendation - Yes

If you're going to be in the Chicagoland area, it is not hard to find a Giordano's. Stop in and enjoy a Chicago-style deep dish, thin crust, or order the gluten-free.  Some locations, like the one we visited, have frozen pizzas you can stop in and take home.  That is a blog for another day though!