June 14, 2021
Chicago, IL
Our second stop in Chicago was Bonci. Yes, the same Bonci that we went to in Rome right before the pandemic in 2019. The pizza is the same al Taglio style, but there were no crazy lines here like there were in Rome for lunch!
Bonci came to Chicago back in 2017, and made the list in 2018, reappearing in both 2019 and 2020.
There were a lot of similar pizzas that we remembered from our last trip to Bonci, but not as many pies to choose from at the counter. We ordered a slice of the mushroom, arugula and sun-dried tomato, and roasted pepper. These pizzas were also cut with scissors and weighed, just as they are in Rome. They tasted the same, too! We only missed the chaos a little bit.
The crust of these rectangular pies is so different from a heavy square (Sicilian) slice that we’re used to. It’s light and fluffy from the heirloom flour left to rise for 2 or 3 days. The toppings are so fresh, you feel like you’re back in Italy. I’m actually surprised that there wasn’t more of a line here for lunch, but it could have been because we were technically still in the middle of the pandemic.
It is interesting that Bonci took his first pizzeria outside of Italy to Chicago. I think it is a smart choice not being in NYC or LA, which is where everyone seems to go, and there is more competition. Chicago is one of the biggest pizza cities in the US, and not everyone likes deep dish. It looks like they have rights to expand around the US, as well as other countries. Personally, I wish they’d come to NYC, because then I could try more of his 1500 invented pizzas!
To visit:
161 N. Sangamon St.
Chicago, IL
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