A Pizza a Day Diet: Gino's East

A few years back, when Cyn was teaching at the Vermont College of Fine Arts Writing for Children and Young Adults residency, I decided to conduct a culinary experiment: a comparison (and blog report) of various pizza joints around Austin during the course of about ten days.  I also made a couple pizzas of my own.

The rules were these: aside from a dinner salad prior to the pizza, my meals were pizza for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  For the record, the first time I did it, I lost five pounds; the second time, two and a half.

Here's the inaugural post from 2009:  A Pizza a Day and Other Weird Activities.  To view the entire 2009 line up, just click the "pizza a day" label.

I tried this again January 2015, but posted only to my Facebook account (I'll probably reproduce the posts here soon).  So, this summer, as Cyn heads off to the summer residency, I decided to try it again, with a whole new pizzeria lineup.  (The number of pizza restaurants in Austin has expanded dramatically in the past six years).

And, tonight, I started with the Austin incarnation of Gino's East, one of the great trifecta of Chicago deep dish pizzas (Uno's, Gino's East, Lou Malnati's).

The restaurant just opened and they don't have delivery or carry out yet, but the actual place is charming: a long narrow Sixth Street establishment, with a bar along one side, brick walls and cast iron chandeliers.

The pizza itself was outstanding: the corn meal crust was rich and had a thin bottom with structural integrity that stayed crisp and didn't overwhelm with breadiness. The Gino's East crust is traditionally my favorite of the deep dish pizzas, and this did not disappoint.

I ordered the "Gino's Supreme," with sausage, mushrooms, onions, and green peppers.  The sausage was plentiful, with large flavorful chunks.  The cheese was nicely gooey but not overpowering, and the vegetables were likewise plentiful.  The tomatoes were just a tad sweeter than I typically like, but were a nice contrast to the richness of the crust, and also accommodated the red pepper flakes. 

In sum, it wasn't quite the same as the original, but very good nevertheless.  And the best part?  Leftovers!