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[title]Depending on which pizzeria you dial for delivery, what you get and how quickly you get it varies wildly: Some pies arrive hot and on time, others are delivered cold as a yeti—and late to boot. To find out how some of the most popular pizza joints handle house calls, we ordered a large thin-crust pie with pepperoni, mushrooms and tomatoes from each place. Here’s how they stacked up.
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Connie’s Pizza
(2373 S Archer Ave, 312-266-6437, conniespizza.com)
From dialing to hanging up Someone took our order and gave us our total in 2 minutes, 58 seconds.
From hang-up to door We ordered at 4:45pm on a Saturday and the pie was at the doorstep at 5:28, 15 minutes less than the hour we were quoted.
Cost $25.53 (including $3.50 delivery charge)
Upon arrival Nice and hot. The crust was crispy and the cheese was gooey. The mushrooms were especially great—fresh-sliced, not canned.
Tasty tidbit In business since 1963, this was and still is the place Bridgeport goes for festive occasions. The owner of Connie’s Pizza was one of the main witnesses in the recent Calabrese mob trial, testifying that he paid the mobster nearly $275,000 in protection money.
Renaldi’s Pizza Pub
(2827 N Broadway, 773-248-8903, renaldispizzachicago.com)
From dialing to hanging up One minute, 18 seconds
From hang-up to door One hour, 3 minutes at 8:45 on a Tuesday night. They said it would only take 45 minutes.
Cost $28.69, not including tip. A $30 pizza! The good news is the pizza was huge, enough for four meals. Too bad we didn’t want to eat it for four meals.
Upon arrival Definitely not hot. We would have rather thrown a Tombstone in the oven—at least it would have been a lot warmer.
Tasty tidbit The square-pan “Spingione” pizza is neither thin-crust nor deep-dish: It’s built like a thin-crust, but with a chewy, bready, crisp-bottomed crust.
Laurie’s Pizza
(5153 N Broadway, 773-784-4949)
From dialing to hanging up About four minutes (three of which were spent on hold listening to a message saying a “representative” would be right with us)
From hang-up to door 36 minutes, not bad for a Friday night. Plus the deliveryman looked like Moses with a ponytail and lower-back problems, trudging up our stairs as if it were an arduous hike up Mount Sinai.
Cost $23.76, not including tip
Upon arrival Piping hot, with no cheese stalactites hanging from the box. Crust was sufficiently crispy and the pie was heaped with toppings. Only gaffe: canned mushrooms.
Tasty tidbit Drunks, rejoice: Not only is Laurie’s attached to a liquor store and can therefore deliver booze with your pizza, it can do so until 3am.
My Pie
(2010 N Damen Ave, 773-394-6900, lilguysandwich.com/mypie)
From dialing to hanging up Four minutes (dialed at 8pm on a Friday night)
From hang-up to door 26 minutes
Cost $22, including delivery charge
Upon arrival It was nice and hot, courtesy of an extra-heavy box and deliveryman’s insulated bag.
Tasty tidbit My Pie only delivers until 10pm, and pizzas are available square-cut or pie-cut. The special feature is an herb-and-spice blend that’s sprinkled on top of every pizza. It’s tasty, but it makes you instantly thirsty.
Marcello’s
(2475 N Milwaukee Ave, 773-252-2620, marcellos.com)
From dialing to hanging up Two minutes at 7pm on a Sunday. The man who took the order repeated every word of it back, giving us the happy feeling that there’d be no surprises.
From hang-up to door 35 minutes—so why’d they tell me it was going to take an hour? Liars.
Cost $25, not including tip
Upon arrival Very warm, but not hot, with the cheese just beginning to revert from gooey to chewy. The tomatoes were canned but tasty and the mushrooms were fresh.
Tasty tidbit Marcello’s used to be called Father & Son, and most old-timers still call it by its former name.
Caffe Florian
(1450 E 57th St, 773-752-4100, florianchicago.com)
From dialing to hanging up Three minutes, but we blame our crappy cell service
From hang-up to door 45 minutes at 7pm on a Tuesday
Cost $24 (it would’ve been $20 if we were charged for the thin-crust pie we ordered but didn’t receive)
Upon arrival Hot, heavy and…deep dish. They don’t skimp on the toppings on each giant, cheesy pie.
Tasty tidbit When we phoned about the snafu, they explained, “When you say regular we think you’re talking about the crust—as in, not whole wheat—and assume you want deep dish. Doesn’t everyone want deep dish?”