Clouds, Chicago Dogs, & Segways Day 4

Our fourth day became our foodie day with a brief intermission at the Art Institute. We meandered around the Magnificent Mile while we waited for our Pizza Tour to begin. Nicole had found a half price ticket deal for a deep dish pizza tour. We thought, "What a great idea! We wanted to try deep dish pizza and now we get samples from 3 pizzerias." The tour was adorable. It's a husband and wife business venture based on their shared love of pizza.

We learned lots while on our pizza tour. Pizzeria Uno is supposedly the birthplace of deep dish. The recipe isn't written down, but passed down verbally from one cook to another. At Lou Malnati's the dough is still made by hand by his mother in the pizzeria's basement. The battle for best deep dish in town is fierce. While we were there, Travel Channel was filming the showdown between Pizzeria Uno and Lou Malnati's. We ventured down to the pub where the showdown was to take place. Unfortunately, the public taste test finished early. Fortunately, the reps from Lou Malnati's were still there, and they gave us a one whole free pizza. It was delicious! Toppings on a deep dish definitely make a difference.

Along our pizza tour, our guides gave us tips for other yummy food. They mentioned that another of Chicago's signature food contributions is the Italian beef sandwich. We just had to try it! After devouring three hefty slices of pizza, we waddled back to Al's to share an Al Jr with sweet and spicy peppers. It seemed legit. They had a signed photo of P. Diddy on the wall. Mm...it would have been super tasty if they could have squeezed some of the grease out. Our food total for the day ended up being: 3 slices of pizza, half an Italian beef sandwich, 2 tacos, and one more slice of pizza.

As for our stop along the Art Institute, we got to see the transition Matisse was making in his artwork. I loved the Asian wing, particularly the Indian art pieces. It was also interesting to see American Gothic by Grant Wood. Of course, we got to see some Van Gogh and Monet paintings. I'm starting to wonder how can there be enough Van Gogh and Monets to go around.