Reader’s Choice

Coalfire

This category is so unfair. How can you compare thin crust and deep dish, Neapolitan and New Haven, the simple minimalism of a Marie’s pepperoni pie to the complex magic that is one of Burt’s? Backed against the wall, though, I’ll stick with Coalfire. The swarms have dwindled since Bill Carroll and longtime Matchbox bartender J. Spillane opened their BYO pizzeria at Grand and Ogden last year, but the pizza’s as great as ever. It all comes down to the crust—thin and chewy at the center, blackened and blistered at the perimeter, with a sooty, toasty edge thanks to the blast power of an 800-degree coal-fired oven. Overdo the toppings and the pies can get soggy. But with mozzarella, mildly salty tomato sauce, and some spicy Italian sausage from nearby Bari Foods? Perfection.  1321 W. Grand, 312-226-2625, coalfirechicago.com. —Martha Bayne

Readers’ Choice

Lou Malnati’s

Multiple locations, loumalnatis.com.

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