Lou Malnati’s deep dish pizza and Portillo’s Italian beef made a baby and it’s name is “Italian Beef Deep Dish Pizza.” It might be one of the most Chicago things that has ever happened! You can get it right now in one of two flavors, either sweet peppers or hot giardiniera. It’s available exclusively through the Tastes of Chicago – https://www.tastesofchicago.com/ .

The pizza has a “buttery pizza crust, vine ripened plum tomatoes and Wisconsin cheese, topped with Portillo’s slow-roasted, thin-sliced Italian Beef. Each nine-inch deep dish pizza is made from scratch by Lou Malnati’s, then flash frozen to preserve its hot-out-of-the-oven freshness before it’s shipped directly to your doorstep, ready to bake and enjoy whenever you want it.” We want it now Dick Portillo and Lou Malnati, NOW! I’d probably only be able to scarf down two slices since there’s so much there, but I’ll try for three. It’s worth it.

But now I’m wondering if Lou Malnati and Dick Portillo are really friends? Do they hang out? According to their website, the answer is, “Yes. We get together on Tuesday nights for Bunco.” And thus the pizza/hot beef idea was born. -Ali