Lefty's Chicago Pizzeria

There's a sign on the window of Lefty's Chicago Pizzeria that warns you not to eat here if you're looking for chain pizza taste. "Lefty's in an independent, family owned and operated pizzeria". They strive to give you a little bit of Windy City, here, in America's Finest City. Do they deliver? Well, even if they don't literally deliver pizza, they come pretty close to replicating a deep dish Chicago style pizza that tastes pretty darn good. Their sauce is tomatoey fresh and their crust works very well for their thick crust pizzas. However, they also make a thin crust pizza and the crust comes out more like a cracker on this style of pizza. My recommendation is if you have to have a thin crust slice, run around the corner to Bronx Pizza which does a much better job with that style of crust.

Lefty's unusual pizza toppings selections set them apart from their competitors and run above the norm. They offer grilled chicken, grilled eggplant, fresh chopped tomato, pesto, giardiniera, and elephant garlic, just to name a few.

In addition to a deep dish pizza, Lefty's makes a stuffed pizza that they call "The mother of all pizzas". Requiring an hour to make, this two crusted monstrosity is a double crusted pie encased with any number of their delicious toppings from grilled chicken to giardiniera to more traditional toppings such as pepperoni baked within two pizza crusts with cheese and sauce, sort of like a giant calzone.

While pizza is Lefty's signature dish, they also offer other Windy City favorites such as the classic Chicago style hot dog served with all the traditional toppings you would expect like mustard, relish, chopped tomato, peppers, and onions, and celery salt. They serve it on the traditional poppy seed bun.  They have a Classic Italian Beef sandwich with roasted peppers that is tender, moist, served on a good roll that is perfectly crusty on the outside and tender on the inside making a delicious sandwich. They also serve a respectable meatball sandwich. Their fresh cut fries at $2 for a small a bag are a bargain. They come in a basket, rather than a bag. But hey, who cares!

Lefty's lives up to their claim that you won't get pizza chain taste when you dine at one of there restaurants. While it's not gourmet dining, their food is fresh and it shows that someone in the family is paying attention and cares about the quality of ingredients. While they don't do home delivery, you can phone ahead and order take-out.

 

There are two Lefty's locations to choose from.

 Mission Hills-4030 Goldfinch Street 619-299-4030

 North Park 3448 30th Street. 619-295-1720

Both locations are closed on Monday.

www.leftyspizza.com