"Fine" Dining6 Aug 2025

Gino's East of Chicago: Graffiti, Deep Dish, & a Biscuit Crust

🍕 Gino's East of Chicago: Graffiti, Deep Dish, & Biscuit Crust 🧱

This week, we take a bite out of the legacy of Gino's East of Chicago — a deep dish pizza joint started by cabbies and made famous by its buttery biscuit crust and graffiti-covered walls. With a flavor profile heavy on cornmeal and sausage (sometimes too much sausage), it's one of Chicago's big four pizza spots — but is it the GOAT?

Joining me is actor and comedian Jacquis Neal (Dropout, Last Week Tonight) as we dig into this crusty cornerstone of Chicago culture, debate sausage autonomy, and marvel at how many cab drivers it used to take to buy property.

Plus, Jacquis pitches his dream soul food/Chicago fusion restaurant, and we read some absolutely wild Yelp reviews — one featuring a "phat boi" pizza and another featuring a man's descent into customer service madness.

🏙️ Born from Taxi Drivers with a Building They Didn't Know What to Do With
🧀 Biscuit Techniques & the Quest for Sausage Autonomy
🎨 A Deep Discussion on the Urge to Graffiti Bathrooms
📍 From Mag Mile to LA to Singapore
📦 Frozen Pizzas, Flopped Franchises, & a Surprise Comeback
🍕 Deep Dish vs. Tavern Style vs. NY Slice: The Ultimate Pizza Debate
🎶 A Soul Food Spot with Yacht Rock Vibes (Jacquis's Dream Restaurant)
🌟 Yelp Reviews That Involve Slithering Pizza & An Argument with the "Manager "

💬 COMMENT BELOW: What's your go-to Chicago pizza joint — and how much cheese is too much?

📢 SUPPORT THE SHOW & JOIN THE COMMUNITY:
🎉 Patreon (Bonus episodes, full Yelp segments & more): https://www.patreon.com/finediningpodcast
💬 Discord (Food talk, memes, cursed Yelp): https://discord.gg/6a2YqrtWV4
🎥 Watch full episodes: https://www.youtube.com/@finediningpodcast
🔗 All links: https://www.linktree.com/finediningpodcast
🎤 Jacquis on IG: @jacquisneal | Website: jacquisneal.com

Patreon Producers: Sue Ornelas & Joyce Van

👉 NEXT WEEK: We dig into our actual meal at Gino's East. Did Michael's cheese phobia survive? Or did deep dish change his life forever?

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