Once upon a time, at the intersection of North, Halsted, and Clyborn there stood a little building that housed the escalators down to the red line North and Clyborn subway stop. Also in that little building there was a Currency Exchange. But the neighborhood grew (aka gentrification) and nothing says bad, poor neighborhood like a Currency Exchange. A Crate & Barrel moved in next door. Ditto on a Borders. And so the Currency Exchange was forced to leave. But what to put in it's place? Ah ha! Pizza! And so, Pizza Ria was born. Ta da!

At the tiny corner pizzeria you can buy either full pizzas, or by the slice, available in everything from Malibu style (ranch dressing, chicken, and mozzarella, which I'm sure no one actually living in Malibu would eat) to something called Big Meaty (which sounds fairly obscene, and consists of pepperoni, sausage, ground beef, and bacon). And if you'd like some caffeine to go with your grease, they also proudly serve Seattle's Best Coffee.

As for the taste, it's not half bad. The pizza had a very distinctive Parmesan taste, saving time (and wrist effort) for those of you who like to shake a lot of the stuff on your slice. The crust was a bit crispy, but overall not bad. I like my crust soft, what can I say?

I have to admit I was a bit shocked when I walked out of the restaurant and opened the box, my beautiful slice was once again cut into two pieces just so it could fit into the box. Is there a pizza revolution going on? Are slices getting bigger? If so, I think someone should start making bigger boxes. And I think Kate and I are just the people to bring those large boxes to the masses! But I suppose...one step at a time.

Parmesaned, Josh

Pizza Ria
2255 W North Ave.
Chicago, IL 60647