First there was Uno. Now it's "Uno Chicago Grill." When I was a kid I remember loving dinners at Uno. The walk down to the eating area, the scratched up tables... the pizza. Then I left town and reminisced for many years. Imagine my surprise one day, in Madison Wisconsin, seeing on the corner an Uno's. I dragged my then girlfriend inside. Oops. The long and the short is that it wasn't Pizzeria Uno. It was an Edwardo's or a Gino's or a Giordano's or a _____. It was not an Uno. It's part of the reason I won't recommend any place other than Unos or Dues on Wabash and Ohio... Looking at their website... www.unos.com I cringe at the language:
"The new Uno Chicago Grill menu, introduced in fall 2005, offers hip and intense new tastes that are built on Uno's history of artisanal fare."
What? The place made freakin Pizza. It wasn't an Italian gourmet restaurant. There were no wood burning ovens, no artisianal ingredients. Mozzarella. Tomatoes... a handcrafted bread we all call "crust."
The name's now Uno Chicago Grill... First off. Your place is Uno. Call it that. It means pizza. Chicago Grill means burgers. Way to lose your identity.
"True to the traditions of Chicago's famous speakeasies, more attention is being paid to the bar area."
Now it's a speakeasy? Ike Sewell opened a pizza restaurant in 1943 and now it's a speakeasy and grill with artisanal miscellany including Mexican appetizers.
So what? The bottom line is that a miracle is still happening. In
spite of the chain's complete sanitizing, the two original locations
plug away and make delicious pies. If you're visiting downtown you
really ought to go and not only see what you're missing but see what
this new franchise is missing as well.
Pizzeria Uno
29 E. Ohio
Map It!
Pizzeria Due
619 N. Wabash
Map It!
On behalf of Uno Chicago Grill, first off - thanks for being such a fan of the original Uno and Due in downtown Chicago. They are definitely special places, and deservedly famous as the birthplace of Chicago’s Original Deep Dish Pizza.
When we decided to expand Uno beyond the original downtown Chicago locations, our goal was simple – to bring the delicious deep dish pizza to diners across the country. We knew that it would be impossible to recreate the unforgettable experience of eating at the original Uno or Due, and that was never our intention. We wanted to take the essence of the original Uno – the warmth, fun, hospitality and, yes, the pizza – and create a new Uno experience for guests in markets all across America. We think we’ve succeeded.
As you saw on our website, last year we expanded our menu to go beyond pizza and incorporate lots of other great options. With the new menu, we’re offering more choices and new tastes, as well as healthier options like signature salads and soups. And we are continuing to evolve; we recently updated our menu again with new salads, flatbreads, drinks and a new Cheeseburger Deep Dish Pizza that is really terrific.
Did we get a little too enthusiastic on our web site in making the connection to Chicago? Maybe. We love Chicago. It’s known as the ‘Crossroads of America’ for a reason – because the people are friendly, the food is great and the hospitality is genuine. That’s what you’ll find at every Uno Chicago Grill.
Please give us another try. I’d love for you to taste some of the new things we have on our menu, and let me know what you think. You can email me at matt@unos.com.
Posted by: Matt on behalf of Uno Chicago Grill | June 14, 2006 at 06:54 PM
Thanks for reading Matt. I'll be happy to give Uno Chicago Grill a try. My one experience, long ago in Madison I believe was still at just Uno's.
I suppose Uno Chicago Grill is what it is. I was just surprised and disheartened to find that the "pizza" had been demoted. To me Uno's is all pizza. And Chicago pizza cache runs deep. I was also surprised to see "artisanal pizza" associated with Unos. That means wood burning ovens, grain-based crusts, rosemary and regional oddments. Unos is really just good old Chicago Pizza.
Until I taste it I can't judge the flavors and a good message is "to each their own" especially when it comes to flavors.
But my post was more directed at the marketing and presentation. I feel that it's an example of something that works being parlayed into something else. Whether that something else works or not remains to be seen.
But good luck! The more restaurants we have the better!
Posted by: Josh | June 15, 2006 at 11:53 AM
Josh, I can assure you that pizza has not been demoted - especially not in my view! Rather, we've incorporated Deep Dish into a larger selection of delicious fare.
As we've mentioned, it's important for us to grow from our Chicago roots. Roots which are firmly rooted in artisanal tradition - which we believe means approaching food as a craft and a skill only to be mastered by embracing classic styles and preparation. We are excited to continue dialogue with someone who shares our passion for food and welcome your feedback.
Posted by: Matt on behalf of Uno Chicago Grill | June 20, 2006 at 11:20 AM
Matt,
While I’ve tried to understand how the corporate line at Uno's was to "broaden" the offering to the masses. What I find utterly sacrilegious is the absolute loss of quality and consistency that accompanied the successful chain growth of the "Chicago Grill" concept.
In short, the company sold its soul to become a marketplace competitor of Applebee's, TGI Fridays, etc. by offering outrageous priced appetizers, deserts and mediocre quality food items and no longer being America’s premier Pizzeria. And that's not a good thing!
My experience is further heightened by the fact that I work downtown and visit the original location often, while I live in Gurnee by one of the horrible "Chicago Grill" concepts. So the obvious comparisons are inevitable for me. But the thing that bothers me most is the history of the expansion and where the Uno's ship got lost in the night.
When Uno's began expanding to the markets outside of Chicago in the '80s & '90s the new Uno's chains did everything possible to try to make fresh high quality pizza and actually attempted duplicate the QUALITY of the original. Some did it very well, like Dallas, Cincinnati, Boston & Houston. And some weren’t so great, like Toronto & Honolulu.
Back in those days my wife and I were on a quest; to ride every roller coaster in the country, and then finish off the fun day with an Uno's pizza. And if it was anywhere within 50 miles driving distance of the amusement park we were there!
No question about it, we hit allot of Uno’s restaurants then, but in the mid 90’s a strange phenomena started to slowly happen, the chains all started to suck. The pizza was “off”, the crusts were soggy and had an aftertaste, the veggies were no longer crisp and the cheese, well it was like going to pizza hut!
What happened we wondered? Why the decline? Who would spoil such a great thing as the most perfect food on earth? The truth was that the pizzas tasted par-baked, assembled frozen and oven finished, cooked to order. It was no different than the frozen pizzas from my grocers’ frozen food section, and cooked in my oven. The reason to eat at the chains was now lost and certainly not enjoyable any more. This my friends, was NO longer Uno’s! A disservice to the food world and Chicago had been perpetrated.
My most favorite pizza place on earth was now a disgusting chain with waiters wearing “flair” and themed with garbage & crap on the walls, photos of party people who had never even ate at that location (and questionably ever been to any Uno’s for that matter) graced the walls. They now featured lousy typical chain restaurant “American fare” like select grade steaks, grilled chicken and burgers rather than the pizza, and the bar is a centerpiece.
I loath what Uno’s has become, and I sadly reflect on the fact that as a Chicagoan, I see that one of my flagships of the Chicago Pizza world, has now become to many American’s an inferior product that no longer represents the original and cant even be spoken in the same sentence by any pizza aficionado. If that was the goal, then at the cost of achieving mediocrity the goal was surely attained.
Posted by: Burt | December 06, 2006 at 11:31 AM
I was told that the recipie at the chains is different from that of the original Uno & Due. I was told this by an employee of the company.
So, that information in hand, I found it quite disturbing today to hear a commercial on the radio talking about the original Ike Sewell recipie and how it's still used today across the country. That's a total lie!
Posted by: Scott | July 11, 2007 at 05:10 PM
I've never eaten at a Pizzeria Uno (or any of the other varying names) but next week we're going into Chicago for a Cubs games and afterwards we're heading downtown for the ORIGINAL. But of the 2 downtown locations, I can not determine which location is actually the original. I'm guessing at these 2 locations the food quality is the same but which building was the original Pizzeria Uno in? Is it the 29 E. Ohio or 619 N . Wabash location? The current Uno's website says the original was at the corner of Ohio & Wabash (which one is that?). Other websites put the original on Wabash and others put it on Ohio. Can someone tell me which location is the ORIGINAL building where Pizzeria Uno began? Thank you.
Posted by: Dave | July 14, 2007 at 08:58 AM
I always thought Uno was the first and Due was their expansion...
maybe that's just logic influencing me.
Either way they both serve great pies.
Josh
Posted by: josh | July 14, 2007 at 11:03 AM
Unfortunately, I ate at the original Uno's location tonight in downtown Chicago. It was just like the Uno Chicago Grill restaurant's pizza back home. What I discovered is I really do not like Chicago pizza. I am not knocking it, just finding out that I don't like it at all. To sum it up, to me both the original location and the expansion restaurants serve the same product.
Posted by: Greg | July 08, 2008 at 08:31 PM