Restaurant Review: Come for the pizza, stay for the mozzarella sticks! Deep dishing at Streeterville’s Gino’s East

Recently, my sister from another mister and I attended the family reunion of a friend of mine at Gino’s East,162 E. Superior Street.  I hadn’t been there in several years, and I wanted to see how the rustic building, replete with indoor graffiti, had changed since my last visit.

In a phrase: It’s BETTER!!

Gino’s East didn’t create the deep-dish pizza in Chicago. That honor belongs to Pizzeria Uno, founded by Ike Sewell and Ric Riccardo along with chef Rudy Malnati and cook Alice Mae Redmond, in 1943. 

However, Gino’s East has built on what Uno’s started. Since 1966, they’ve perfected the art of making deep-dish pizza the way Chicago wants. Their ingredients are fresh…from the fresh olives and spinach leaves in one of their pizzas, to the sausage and ground beef. 

There’s something amazing in their buttery, deep-dish cornmeal-like crust (there’s some question about whether it’s wheat flour/beta-carotene or cornmeal) in the way it blends smoothly and effortlessly with the sweet, tart marinara pizza sauce. Often, pizza crusts, especially deep-dish, can feel heavy and sink like a stone to the bottom of your stomach. Or, they can be too dry and end up choking you as try to chew and swallow. 

Not Gino’s East! 

The pizza crust is loaded with buttery taste that contrasts well with a liberal amount of mozzarella cheese and fresh, chunky tomatoes in their marinara sauce. 

My personal favorite is their Spinach Margherita deep-dish, made with fresh spinach, cheese blend, cherry tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, and basil. The cherry tomatoes add a surprising sweetness and the basil blends well to create a satisfying balance of savory- sweet. 

My sister from another mister had the sausage deep-dish, which she proclaimed to be “very good!” and the sausage “not fatty, and very flavorful!”

I was also bowled over by their Famous Hand-Rolled Mozzarella Sticks. Dousedin marinara or Buffalo sauce, the mozzarella sticks are like none other. Twice to three times larger than other mozzarella sticks, their secret is in the hand-rolled cornmeal dough that surrounds the stringy, piping-hot mozzarella. The crispy, fried crust is lightly seasoned, and for me, the best part was dipping and double-dipping in the marinara sauce.

There’s also Legendary Handrolled Spinach Sticks, which are recommended by other reviewers, with spinach, wholemilk mozzarella, crispy panko, and marinara.

If you can’t decide on an appetizer, Sticks & Dip is for you! You’ll get  four garlic bread sticks, four mozzarella sticks, and four spinach mozzarella sticks. They’re served with your choice of three dipping sauces, including ranch, marinara, giardiniera ranch, blue cheese, BBQ, buffalo, caesar, spicy caesar or garlic butter.

With all the carbs and dairy we consumed, we needed a nice, light salad to balance out. Gino’s House Salad has romaine and arugula lettuce, cherry tomatoes, red onions, Kalamata olives (I’m a big fan!), and croutons, with your choice of dressing. May I suggest that you add some Parmesan cheese? It’s delicious. 

Also, their Harvest Salad is a sweet mix of shredded lettuce, arugula, Granny Smith apples, radishes, white cheddar, candied walnuts, dried cranberries, parsley, and Gino’s house dressing.

Other pizzas worth mentioning are the Meaty Legend, weighing in with pepperoni, Italian sausage, Canadian bacon, and regular bacon, available in thin crust and deep dish. The Chicago Fire is worth all of the NBC Wednesday night lineup, with hot and spicy, patty-style sausage, fire-roasted red peppers, and red onions. Their Spinach Artichoke Pizza has white sauce, spinach cheese blend, chopped artichoke hearts, and lemon (note: no tomato sauce) for a zesty, tangy taste.

They’ve got some mighty fine Chicago sandwiches as well. Italian Beef is served on a crusty french roll, with your choice of roasted sweet peppers or giardiniera, and wet, dry or dipped. (If you don’t know what that means, ask your friendly server!) I recommend dipped, but that’s me. It’s served with your choice of fries, a side house salad, or a side kale caesar salad. Eggplant Parmesan hascrispy breaded eggplant on a french roll with marinara and melted mozzarella cheese, served with your choice of fries, side house salad, or side kale caesar salad.

For dessert, try the Ice Cream Sandwich…homemade cookies with ice cream in a handheld dessert sandwich. 

Gino’s East also has a location in the South Loop in Chicago. In Streeterville, their hours are Sunday- Thursday, 11am-9pm, and Friday-Saturday, 11am-10pm. Reservations are recommended, and can be made by clicking here, or  calling (312) 266-3337.

Alison Moran-Powers and Dean’s Team Chicago