It’s official. My winning pizza from Giordano’s First Pie-Off will be on the menu starting July 11th until the end of August at the Andersonville location.
Last month, three other Instagrammers (@bestfoodalex, @adamsoko, and @christinaslaton) and I battled it out for a chance to be featured on Giordano’s menu. We all designed our own pizza creations, and then our fate was in the mouths of the attendees and the guest judges. Check out the press on DNAinfo, Chicagoist, and RedEye.
The esteemed judges included Morgan Olsen (Redeye‘s Eat and Drink Editor), Josh McGhee (DNAinfo‘s Andersonville Reporter), and Katie Cahnmann (Chicago Woman magazine’s Food & Drink Editor). Guest votes were worth 1 point while the panel of judges were worth 5 points each.
I was inspired by my recent trip to Italy, where each city or region I visited had an ingredient they specialized in. I took all the flavors and combined it together to build my ideal pizza. The “Za Za Zest” has basil oil, mozzarella cheese, grilled chicken, arugula tossed in lemon vinaigrette, baby heirloom tomatoes, shaved Asiago cheese, balsamic drizzle, and lemon zest, all on a Giordano’s tasty thin-crust.
Instead of the traditional marinara sauce, I used basil oil and mozzarella cheese as the base – a combination that holds and flavors the grilled chicken beautifully. The slight bitterness of the arugula is offset by the sweetness of the balsamic and tanginess of the lemon. Also, the tomatoes give it a nice texture and freshness for the ultimate summer pizza. The Asiago cheese adds a delicious nutty flavor with a slight sharpness. You can’t forget about the lemon zest. It brightens up the pizza and gives it an extra zing.
{Location}
Giordano’s (Andersonville)
Andersonville || 5207 N Clark St, Chicago, IL || P: (773) 989-7449
{Price}
Small: $18.25
Medium: $22.75
Large: $27.25
I can’t wait for you to try it! Tell me what you think below.
Live the Fab Food Life,
Soo
Erin @ Erin's Inside Job says
Congrats girl! This sounds so amazing and I’m sad I wasn’t able to go! Guess I can still get it though huh? 🙂
Carolyn Rose says
Congrats, Soo! That sounds like a super tasty pizza.