Pizza

Homeslice 938 W. Webster St. 312-789-4600 Rating:  !!!! (out of four) Look for: The triangular logo with a towering evergreen tree that conveniently also looks like a slice of pizza. Thanks to stacked log booths and tree-trunk tables made from Oregon Douglas fir, the decor in this Lincoln Park pizzeria is so foresty it almost deserves its own name--Timberiffic? Logalicious? Woodtastic? It makes more sense when you find out that the hand-tossed, stone-baked pizzas are inspired by an Oregon pizzeria that the owners loved during their time living there, though they're staying tight-lipped about...

By now you have probably heard of the juicing craze that is taking over the nation. Friends, siblings and co-workers everywhere have likely bombarded you with questions such as, "Do you juice?" "Have you watched that juicing documentary?" "Skip steroids. Why don't you try a natural juice instead?" Because it's happened to me. After months of resistance, I acquiesced and decided to eliminate kettle chips and other nutritional staples from my diet. I fell victim to the juicing epidemic ... for almost three days!

The Squared Circle 2418 N. Ashland Ave. 773-904-8170 Rating: !!! (out of four) Look for: TVs airing professional wrestling seen through the front windows. Just north of the Ashland-Fullerton-Clybourn intersection in Lincoln Park, this pizza is the pride and joy of Lisa Marie Varon, aka TNA wrestler Tara, and it's named for the wrestling ring where all the action goes down. With walls covered with wood planks and shadowbox frames displaying autographed wrestling photos and sequined costumes, it's a little sauna-meets-wrestling hall of fame, but at least the sports allegiance is clear.

The average Wrigleyville bar fight is often sparked by an age-old dispute: Cubs versus White Sox. But the brawl that broke out at a neighborhood Bacci Pizzeria on a recent morning was likely over a spilled drink, according to the store owner. Video of the fight, which was shot and uploaded to YouTube on March 24, and dissected on Deadspin  on Wednesday, depicts three men dueling it out with the store's metal chairs in the early morning. The video was also linked to on the Chicago Reddit page.

Bar Toma 110 E. Pearson St.  312-266-3110 Rating: !!! (out of four) Off to a good start The scene: Spiaggia chef Tony Mantuano's new Italian bar and eatery in the old Bistro 110 space just off Michigan Avenue is a good enough reason for locals to brave one of the tourist-trappiest parts of downtown. Once inside, the toughest choice is where to eat: the stand-up espresso bar in front, the bar on the east side, the pizza bar on the west side, the four-seat mozzarella bar in back or any of the dining areas in between.

Raise your hand if you've been in this situation. You're lounging at home in your robe, and the doorbell rings. It's the pizza you ordered. You open the door and your robe slips open to reveal your birthday suit underneath. The pizza delivery guy, who looks like Ryan Reynolds, smiles at you. You toss the pizza aside and he ravages you right there on the dining room table. If your hand is now raised, you are either a liar or a 1970s porn star. However, I bet most of you have imagined that situation - or at the very least hoped the delivery person would be hot. ...

As a proud Iowa alum, I follow the university on Facebook. Today, it posed this question: "What comes to mind when you think of Chicago," presumably because the Hawkeyes take on Northern Illinois at Soldier Field this weekend for the season opener. (Go Hawks!) Among the many predictable "pizza," "Cubs" and "Blues Brothers" answers were these gems worth sharing: -Glen Ellyn... as in, some sorority girl telling me she's from Chicago when she's actually from Glen Ellyn - Lots of unemployed peeps - Pizza and that president guy - a...

BadHappy's chef and owner Tom Kern, 41, couldn't even remember the challenger's name when first asked. "I don't know his name, I wrote it down," Kern said. "Something McDonald. " He was close. And it might soon be a name he'll never forget. Jamie McDonald , a 36-year-old Connecticut native, will try to eat his way into Kern and BadHappy's memories by attempting to consume the entirety of the restaurant's menu at 6 p.m.  Friday. BadHappy,  939 N. Orleans, has a standard Triple-Double Challenge of a triple 18-ounce burger, two...

Pizza review: Pizzeria da Nella Cucina Napoletana 1443 W. Fullerton Ave. 773-281-6600 Rating: 4 (out of four) Deep dish is as authentically Chicago as Lake Shore Drive traffic, but in the past few years, Neapolitan-style pizza has given it a run for its money. A big reason for its popularity is the pies at Spacca Napoli, a Ravenswood restaurant that opened in 2006 with pies by Nella Grassano, a Naples native who started baking in her family's pizzeria when she was just 12 years old. After leaving Spacca Napoli in 2007, Grassano reappeared briefly at...

By now you have probably heard of the juicing craze that is taking over the nation. Friends, siblings and co-workers everywhere have likely bombarded you with questions such as, "Do you juice?" "Have you watched that juicing documentary?" "Skip steroids. Why don't you try a natural juice instead?" Because it's happened to me. After months of resistance, I acquiesced and decided to eliminate kettle chips and other nutritional staples from my diet. I fell victim to the juicing epidemic ... for almost three days!

Popular Wrigleyville pizzeria Dimo's is preparing to open a second larger - and boozier - location on the border of Wicker Park and Bucktown this spring. The second Dimo's Pizza will be located inside a new building at 1615 N. Damen Ave., just north of Six Corners. In addition to being three times as large, this location plans to serve booze rather than go BYOB like the original, said founder and CEO Dimitri Syrkin-Nikolau. “[The new location] a little bit more suited for a liquor license and we have a little bit more space to do that,” said Syrkin-Nikolau.

Homeslice 938 W. Webster St. 312-789-4600 Rating:  !!!! (out of four) Look for: The triangular logo with a towering evergreen tree that conveniently also looks like a slice of pizza. Thanks to stacked log booths and tree-trunk tables made from Oregon Douglas fir, the decor in this Lincoln Park pizzeria is so foresty it almost deserves its own name--Timberiffic? Logalicious? Woodtastic? It makes more sense when you find out that the hand-tossed, stone-baked pizzas are inspired by an Oregon pizzeria that the owners loved during their time living there,...

The Squared Circle 2418 N. Ashland Ave. 773-904-8170 Rating: !!! (out of four) Look for: TVs airing professional wrestling seen through the front windows. Just north of the Ashland-Fullerton-Clybourn intersection in Lincoln Park, this pizza is the pride and joy of Lisa Marie Varon, aka TNA wrestler Tara, and it's named for the wrestling ring where all the action goes down. With walls covered with wood planks and shadowbox frames displaying autographed wrestling photos and sequined costumes, it's a little sauna-meets-wrestling hall of fame, but at...

Pizza House No. 1647 1647 W. Cortland St. 773-252-3500 Rating:  !!! (out of four) Look for: The gigantic wooden door under Pizza House's sign, which you will inevitable try to open before realizing that it isn't actually the entrance to the restaurant. That'd be the door on the left side of the storefront, which is tucked between Cortland's Garage and Jane's just west of where I-90 crosses over Ashland Avenue in Bucktown. “I always admired this little strip of Cortland because it's really the gateway to Bucktown,” said owner Bobby Paladino,...

Pizza review: Flour & Stone 355 E. Ohio St. 312-822-8998 Rating: 3.5 (out of 4) When Flour & Stone opened in Streeterville last week touting "Chicago's Brooklyn-style pizza," I wasn't sure quite what to expect. I spent a few pizza-eating years as a poor 20-something in Brooklyn and remember my local joint, Mario's Pizza, serving the same oversized, foldable slices as corner pizzerias in Manhattan. If the borough had established its own standout style, it was beyond my detection.

Jet's Pizza will be handing out pure bliss, a.k.a. free pizza slices, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday. The giveaway will be happening at all 12 of the chain's Chicago locations, and the first 50 people to each restaurant will receive a Jet's pizza T-shirt as well. Jet's serves Detriot-style pizza, deep dish with a crunchy crust and cut into only eight square pieces, so everyone can have a piece with crust. Customers can "flavorize" their crust too, meaning they can get one of eight flavors on there for free: butter, poppy seed, Parmesan, garlic, Cajun, Romano, sesame seed and...

You always remember your first time. It's sweaty, awkward; you don't know what to do with your hands. The first experience with flip cup is so memorable. The game's nothing without the iconic red Solo cup though, right? Have you ever tried to play with some other kind of cup? It just doesn't feel right. The company that makes the landmark plastic drinkware (based in suburban Chicago, don'cha know) is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year, and since I'm the only Pulitzer-winner* on staff, I took a crack at a composition in honor of the occasion.

Thousands of people - young, old, men and women united in their love of one pork product - packed the UIC Forum Saturday to sample a veritable cornucopia of bacon drinks and dishes at Baconfest Chicago. This is the fourth event and its biggest ever, proving the city's ravenous appetite for all things bacon hasn't dimmed. "In our fantasy world, [Baconfest would be this huge], but we had no idea," said Seth Zurer, one of the organizers. "When we first started talking about it, it was a joke: 'We're going to do the Burning Man of bacon.'" It's no joke now, or,...

Ashvin Lad knows exactly how it happened: He was leaving a Cubs game in Wrigleyville and he was hungry, so he tweeted that he was on his way to Dimo's Pizza. When he got there, there was a slice waiting for him out on the counter. “That was when I fell in love with Dimo's,” Lad said. The good news is, the feeling seems to be mutual. Dimo's has been selecting a “Crustomer of the month” every month since it opened, and Lad is January's--but they're also doing something else to celebrate Lad's devotion to Dimo's: They're naming a pizza for him. “I reached out to...