Mac ‘n’ Cheese Pizza Up to Bat in Wrigleyville

By Sarah Freeman

When Ian’s Pizza closed in Wrigleyville, the people were not happy. Drunken girls’ faces were stained with mascara-tainted tears and belligerent dudes punched walls in desperate pizza plea.

How were they going to get their nacho pizza fix? Who would satisfy those 2 AM Philly cheesesteak pizza cravings? Most importantly - where would they eat mac ‘n’ cheese pizza?

It was a dark time, but as quickly as Ian’s disappeared, two new quirky pizza joints opened their door in the land of the Cubs. First it was Dimo’s Pizza in the same location as Ian’s, then at the other end of Clark, Big G’s Pizza opened their own 3 AM pizza spot.

Let’s break down the statistics of these two teams.

In the Dimo’s bullpen are the same unconventional pizza toppings such as chicken parm, BBQ chicken pineapple and steak nacho. What makes these toppings unique is some of them - including rresh basil, rosemary, mint and jalapenos - are gown in an adjacent garden.

Up to bat for Big G’s are Jack Daniel’s pulled pork, chicken penne alfredo asiago and a gyro rendition. Behind the pizzas are Jeronimo Gaytan and Jaime Gamez, who met while attending elementary school in Highland Park. They have the sentimentality factor in their favor, but Dimo’s has Ian’s location and fanbase.

At both restaurants diners can have burrito pizza for lunch or dinner and s’mores pizza for dessert. But we are here to debate a single pie. The concept behind the mac ‘n’ cheese pizza is simple -  substitute the combination of cheese and sauce on traditional pies for a cheesy sauce used in mac ‘n’ cheese. While these culinary mad scientists were at it, they threw some noodles on that crust too. The result is a crispy yet gooey slice.

Time for these two contenders to step up to the place, but we want you to decide which slice hits a homerun. Does Dimo’s or Big G’s serve the best mac ‘n’ cheese pizza? Or does a write-in underdog take the title? Leave you vote in the comment section.