I’ll Just Inspect Those Pizzas Now
Jun 26th, 2008 by Marilyn
This AP story of an honorable Chicagoan and deep dish-deprived soldiers brought a little tear to this former Wilmette girl’s eye.
It’s enough to make an uncoordinated girl like me want to join up. Obviously I’d be a worse soldier than Private Benjamin, but…I’m just saying.
ELK GROVE VILLAGE, Ill. - Retired Air Force Sgt. Mark Evans wanted to send a taste of Chicago to troops in Afghanistan and Iraq.
So he’s doing it deep-dish pizza-style.
The Elk Grove Village man has arranged for thousands of pizzas to be frozen, packed in dry ice and shipped to the Middle East in time for the Fourth of July. His 16-year-old son, Kent, came up with the idea.
“I think it’s good for them. They’re in too good of shape,” he joked.
Evans said DHL Global has volunteered to ship the pizzas that Lou Malnati’s Pizzeria offered at a special rate. He hopes to get as many as 3,000 pizzas to the troops with the “Pizzas 4 Patriots” program.
“It’s saying ‘here’s a taste of home,’” Lou Malnati’s spokeswoman Mindy Kaplan said.
But Kaplan suspects there might be some soldiers who won’t feel that way.
“Maybe New Yorkers won’t like it so much,” Kaplan said
Don’t worry, New Yorkers, your Chicago pals will be more than happy to take it off your hands. Props to the very kind Mark Evans and everyone involved in Operation Lou!
Maybe I grew up too far from Chicago (central Indiana) for proper loyalty, but my take on Chicago vs. New York styles is that it’s an excuse to have more pizza: “But we just had pizza Tuesday!” “Yeah, but that was New York Style. This’ll be Chicago Style.” “Oh, well, that’s all right then.” The downside: I don’t know of a good, truly Chicago-style pizza place in Wichita, so we have to have New York Style at Bartelli’s like twice a week instead: “But that was pepperoni. This’ll be sausage.”
Same thing with KC vs. Texas vs. Memphis (etc.) style barbecues, other than we have pretty much all the varieties represented.
Karen, I’m with you - more pizza is good pizza, though I’m certainly loyal to pizza served near Lake Michigan that is two or more inches high. Barbecue deserves its own debate - but it’s all good (especially KC).
There’s a Chicago theater company that is putting on a Grey Gardens soon…the Fiance is threatening to fly out for theater & pizza.
Yes, we LOVE Chicago style pizza too…it’s just fun to poke you about NYc pizza…
You tell Gordo I think that’s a fabulous idea. Order an extra-large Edie Supreme.