Schnitzel and Stories: As American as Pizza Pie

(c) Todd Rosenberg

Italian immigrants heavily influenced Chicago's culinary culture, and their most significant gift is pizza! Over time, the Neoplaitan staple has evolved through the hands of many migrant cultures and access to previously unavailable ingredients. Chicago became known for its iconic deep dish, and Steve will tell us the incredibly detailed story of the passion and politics of this pizza as well as his favorite go-to staple (and lesser known) Chicago tavern.

Steve Dolinsky, a 13-time James Beard Award winner and Food Reporter at NBC Chicago, it's PIGUE – the 'Pizza I Grew Up with.' Steve has been a significant voice in the culinary world, and his knowledge and experience make him the perfect guest for our show. He hosts the 'Pizza City' podcast and wrote two books about the dish, 'Pizza City, U.S.A.: 101 Reasons Why Chicago is America's Greatest Pizza Town' and 'The Ultimate Chicago Pizza Guide.

As a wealth of knowledge of all things Pizza, you need to tune in to hear this man on a mission. Steve Dolinsky will take you on a journey to discover the history behind how a simple Neapolitan staple evolved and transformed into the ultimate American comfort food, the pizza we all know and love today.

You can follow Steve's adventures @stevedolinsky and @pizzacityusa

Get Steve’s recipe for Tavern Style Pizza here

To learn more about the history of American Pizza, check out these links in our Show Notes:

Chicago:

https://www.history.com/topics/us-states/chicago

https://www.chicago.gov/city/en/about/history.html

Immigrants to Chicago:

https://www.wbez.org/politics/2024/03/14/migrants-in-chicago-a-history-of-new-arrivals#:~:text=In%20the%201860%20and%201870,had%20also%20arrived%20in%20Chicago.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethnic_groups_in_Chicago#:~:text=community%20in%20Chicago.-,White%20Americans,language%20in%20Chicago%20behind%20Spanish.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germans_in_Chicago

https://americadomani.com/a-brief-history-of-italians-in-chicago/

Steve’s Hosting