Vito & Nick's Pizza

Vito & Nick’s is said to be the king of Chicago-style thin-crust pizza. That certainly sounds intriguing. So, when I find myself on the South Side with some friends, we decide to investigate.

Vito & Nick’s has been serving pizza since 1949, and the dining room makes that easy to believe. It looks a little like an old basement, with walls divided between carpeting and wood-laminate paneling. Sicilian banners and assorted trinkets cover the remaining space - a great sign for quality.

You must be 21 -or accompanied by an adult - to enter. Nearly everyone is drinking Old Style, and most of the customers are dressed and groomed as though their life goal is to be mistaken for Mike Ditka. So, you could say the place has some character.

Vito & Nick’s serves spaghetti and other Italian food, but nearly everyone orders the pizza. The pies have cracker-thin crusts and are cut tavern-style into a great many small squares. We keep things basic, ordering one pepperoni and one sausage - here referred to as "saaaaaa-sidge"

The crust is extremely thin but remains firm and crisp. Vito & Nick’s goes light on the sauce, but the proportion works. It is slightly sweet and flavorful without overwhelming the rest of the pizza. The pepperoni and sausage are both good and applied generously, though the menu does not offer an enormous variety of toppings.

The pizza has a vivid, concentrated flavor that works especially well in the nearly bite-sized squares. It is easy to keep eating one small piece after another until an alarming amount of pizza has disappeared.

Vito & Nick’s makes some excellent Chicago thin-crust pizza and is well worth visiting the next time you find yourself in West Lawn.