Chicago Style Pizza - No, Not Really

Chicago Style Pizza - Not Really

Back in late February this year, I attended the national Halloween trade show in Chicago, Illinois. Once inside the convention center, you are pretty much at their mercy when it comes to breakfast and lunch. To leave the building for lunch would take too much time so we conventioneers dine under the roof.

This year, the convention offered very few choices for sustenance. Choosing the lesser of several evils, I ordered a piece of pizza and a diet Coke. Now I know some of you are thinking, hey, you are in Chicago, home of the famous Chicago style pizza. It has to taste fabulous right? It's Chicago!

Well, as you can see, this piece of pizza had absolutely no style. The only positive was that the pizza was warm. Not hot, but warm. heat lamps were doing their job that day. The crust was flat, a little doughy, and bland. The cheese was present, and that's all I have to say about the cheese. The sauce, well, there was red and orange fluid on the pizza which I guess could substitute for pizza sauce. The taste, well, it was filling and curbed my hunger allowing me to photo more sexy Halloween models in skimpy costumes. The cost, $5 dollars. Per slice. To put that in perspective, an 8 slice pizza would cost $40 dollars.

The Grassy Knoll Diner scores 1.5 out of 5 shots and under regular circumstances would never recommend this pizza. However, with very few food options inside the convention center, we recommend Chicago's Rosemont Convention pizza for lunch.

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A Vile Breakfast In Chicago

Chicago Rosemont Convention Center Breakfast

While at the Chicago Halloween show I was actually on time to stop in and have a quick breakfast before the show started. I decided on the Cafe inside the convention center. That was a big mistake.

I ordered scrambled eggs, hash browns, and sausages with orange juice. The eggs were dry and overcooked. The hash browns were soggy and cold. The sausage had an orange taste to them. The orange juice was warm, no ice and glass. Just a little carton. All this for just under 10 bucks……

The Grassy Knoll Institute does not recommend the Chicago Rosemont Convention Center Cafe for breakfast. It’s begrudgingly awarded 1 shot out of 5.

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Carver Turkey Sandwich - Rosemont Convention Center

Trade Show Convention Food

Anyone that has attended large trade shows and conventions know about the so-called cuisine served there. Its terrible. And whats worse, the food is expensive. An example is a regular hot dog costs $3.50 each. And if you want ketchup or mustard, its an additional 50 cents per packet. A twelve ounce beverage, Coke, Pepsi, water, is $3.00 per beverage. Pizza is $4.00 a slice. You get the gist. And I guess it wouldn’t be so awful a price if the food was good, or at least edible.

However, a saving grace is a little known secret at the convention centers around the nation. Its called Carver Food Service. Carver is at the Rosemont Convention center in Chicago and the Sands Exposition center in Las Vegas. In Vegas, its downstairs and out of the mainstay of the garbage food passed out. Those that don’t venture downstairs never see Carver. In Chicago, its all the way in the back with curtains blocking most of the entrance.

OK, to the critique. The lunch costs $12.00 either in Chicago or Vegas. You get your choice of turkey, roast beef, or ham on a roll, chips or slaw and a cold pepsi.

The turkey was real turkey, not processed lunch meat. It was hot, juicy, and smelled great. Several chefs are on hand to carve your turkey fresh. They do serve an ample amount. The roll was fresh and large. The chips were standard fare and the pepsi, although I prefer Coke, was cold with enough ice. All this on a cardboard carrier.

Grassy Knoll Institute rates Carver of Chicago 4 out of 5 shots for its value compared to other venues and its taste which is superior to other convention food.

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