I was visiting friends in Chicago for the first time and they recommended pizza. Pizza in Chicago? Heck yes! It just seems like the right thing to do.
Our little reunion called ahead because we were bringing in a group of about 20. There is a party room, which sounded like a good idea. Plus, since we were ordering a few deep-dish pizzas, we were hoping to save some time.
Upon arrival, we were ushered into the party room, which felt like walking into a cooler, and there was next to zero atmosphere -- no music, a giant unused exterior sign laying on the floor... So we felt stashed in a cold, sterile side room. Evidently, the call-ahead wasn't enough to get them to pre-heat the room... or our pizzas. In spite of ordering ahead (over an hour before we arrived), we still waiting a loooong time for our pizzas. And when they finally arrived, the thin crust pizzas were no longer hot. (This is next to the cardinal sin in the Pizza-verse.) The whole service process could best be described as chaotic. That didn't stop the management from adding automatic gratuity to our check, and then giving us the encouraged opportunity to add to that.
So, in all of that, how was the pizza? Good pizza will forgive a lot of sins. It was decidedly *MEH*. Honestly, I've had better frozen pizzas than I had that night. Was it terrible? No. Did it represent Chicago well? Heck no. Would I ever go back? No way. Did I even eat my leftovers? I can hardly bring myself to type this, but no. (Unheard of for me.) There's more I could say, but I'm cutting them some slack (read: not a one-star review) because our local friend who organized the group *may* have played a part in some of the confusion, but that doesn't excuse Giordano's from poor planning, and lukewarm dull pizza.