Places: Zachary’s Chicago Pizza
I’m traveling in the NorCal area this week and I wandered by Zachary’s Chicago Pizza in Pleasant Hill. As a native Chicagoan, I naturally had to stop in to see if Zachary’s lived up to the deep dish name.
Highlights: Chicago Pizza (duh), Restaurant Soundtrack
For starters, I cannot emphasize enough how wonderful the soundtrack is in this place. Perhaps I just caught ’em on a good night, but anytime I can hear Otis Redding’s “Sittin’ on the Dock of the Bay” and the song that De La Soul samples in “Me, Myself, and I” in one sitting, that’s a good day.
You’re probably more concerned about the food, though, as most restaurant-goers are. And Zachary’s doesn’t disappoint in that regard, either. I don’t really like to layer too many toppings on my deep dish pizza because that can turn everything into a soggy mess, so I kept it simple with a 10″ personal with pepperoni and mushrooms and a glass of Cabernet Sauvignon. Wine is such an underrated complement to pizza. After about a 40-minute wait (I always forget how long deep dish takes, but such is life), they brought out a beauty. Just look at that crust!
In fact, it’s that crust that elevates Zachary’s deep dish game. As I mentioned earlier, it’s pretty easy for deep dish crust to get soggy. After all, that poor crust is holding about 18 pounds of cheese, marinara, and various other add-ons. That can get cumbersome. But somehow, Zachary’s crust doesn’t fall victim to that sogginess. Each bite produced a crisp, crunchy crust that was almost reminiscent of thin crust. It was really quite the balancing act.
With a moderate appetite, I ate four out of six slices (they even dished out the first slice for me, how polite!) and don’t currently feel horribly ill, which is sometimes the case after gorging.
I also applaud the final act of the meal, the bringing of the check. Included with my bill? A lollipop. Blowpops notwithstanding, I’m not sure I’ve had a lollipop this decade, let alone this calendar year. But I had a sweet flashback to my childhood when I popped that sucker into my mouth, not unlike the best scene from Pixar’s Ratatouille:
It’s comforting to know I can have the tastes of home, even when I’m thousands of miles away. If you’re in the Bay Area, check out Zachary’s Chicago Pizza for a lovely deep dish experience.
