A taste of Chicago in the Valley

You can move away from Chicago, but you can never leave your palette behind. Even in the United States' farthest corners, McAllen included, native Chicagoans still yearn for hometown meals. In the past few weeks, a pair of Chicago-style pizza joints has sprung up in the Downtown Entertainment District.

There are now five Chicago-style cuisine peddlers within a few minutes drive of that area --- Mama Mia's, Crazy Guido's, Mama's Pizzeria, Doggie's and Chicago East.

Festiva has assembled an esteemed panel of native Chicagoans to review the food and lay down a beginner's guide for those with no Windy City experience.

Watch this video of the panel's reactions and vote in the poll at the bottom left.

THE CONTENDERS

DOGGIE'S 104 N. Bicentennial Blvd., McAllen | (956) 683-8116

HOURS: Sunday through Thursday 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., Friday and Saturday 10 a.m. to 12 a.m.

THE PANEL SAYS: The atmosphere makes Doggie’s taste better; it’s not the same when you take it to go.

BEST OFFERING: The Chicago-style hot dog, available in three sizes: regular, jumbo and foot-long.

THE EXTRA MILE:  The decor. Doggie’s boasts the best Chicago decorations. They’ve got more than just photos of the skyline. The owner has framed newspaper articles of great Chicago sports victories.

OVERALL SCORE: 3 out of a possible 5 Michael Jordans

CRAZY GUIDO'S 1613 Chicago Ave., McAllen | (956) 213-8279

HOURS: Tuesday through Friday 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and Wednesday through Saturday 7 p.m. to 3 a.m.

THE PANEL SAYS: Of all the deep dish contenders in the Valley, this one takes the crown. It’s not perfect, the guys complained about the sauce being a bit sweet, but it’s damn close. They raved about the quality of the crust.

THE EXTRA MILE: Customers can scribble on the wall, just like at Chicago deep dish mainstay Gino’s East. Crazy Guido’s also picked a great location amid McAllen’s Downtown Entertainment District, and it wisely stays open until 3 a.m. on the weekends.

BEST OFFERING: The deep dish pizza, one of the only true Chicago-style pies in the Valley.

OVERAL SCORE: 3 out of a possible 5 Sears Towers.

MAMA'S PIZZERIA 401 N. 10th St., McAllen | (956) 687-7492

THE PANEL SAYS: The pizza is identical in every way to Mama Mia’s, but there’s just something about the hot dog that they love. It won the most points for taste and authenticity.

THE EXTRA MILE:  Mama’s boasts the most comfortable restaurant atmosphere of the bunch. With outdoor seating and elaborate trimmings, it beats the competition for dining in.  

BEST OFFERING: The Chicago-style hot dog, which our panel picked as the best in town.

RATING: 4 out of a possible 5 Coach Ditkas

MAMA MIA 100 E. Business 83, McAllen |  (956) 664-2671

THE PANEL SAYS: Both the Italian beef and Chicago-style hot dog scored well. There’s still room for improvement, and the same goes for the pizza. While the guys said Mama Mia’s thin crust isn’t bad it doesn’t come close to the stuff in the Second City.

THE EXTRA MILE:  Mama Mia is a McAllen staple. This restaurant sold beefs and pizza here before the owners of most of the competition moved to South Texas.

BEST OFFERING: Our panelists loved the Italian beef.

RATING: 3.5 out of a possible 5 Lake Michigans

CHICAGO EAST 115 S. 17th St., McAllen*

OUTLOOK: This place will sell pitchers of beer, and most Chicagoans will tell you that’s a must with a deep dish pie. The decorum inside already does a great job of setting the tone. The owners have lined the place with photos of old Chicago’s Al Capone era. If plans continue unchanged, Chicago East will be more sports bar than anything. Owner Edith Garza has some solid ideas about hosting sports video game tournaments. Plus she has seven top end televisions. It could become one of the best places to grab dinner before a night of partying on 17th Street. We’ll see.

*Chicago East opened just after our review deadline. Check back in the coming weeks for a full review.

MEET THE PANELISTS

THE CHICAGO 'STACHE a.k.a Brian Sandalow
Brian looks like a guy you'd find at Wrigley Field, clutching an Old Style beer in one hand and a Chicago dog in the other. He'd probably have mustard in his ‘stache and some grumbling to do about Steve Bartman, or the White Sox, or having to wait until next year. Sandalow's love for Chicago pizza shows on his scorecard for this project. It's smeared with sauce.

• Occupation: Monitor sports writer
• Lived in Chicago for 22 years. Moved to the Valley in 2007.
• Favorite Chicago-area restaurants: Giordano's Pizza, Wrigleyville Dog and Michael's (for Italian beef)

THE SOUTHSIDER a.k.a. Henry Jones
Henry Jones grew up in Gary, Ind., on Chicago's southeast side. He has lived in the city and in northwest suburb Schaumburg. Jones had no problem joining the panel. He says Doggie's, Mama Mia's and the other joints are his normal lunch time choices anyway. Unlike the rest of the guys, Jones is a White Sox fan. It was tense in the judging room for a moment, until talk turned to football and the greatness of Da Bears.

• Occupation: Maquiladora manager/business consultant
• Lived in Chicago until 1998, when he moved to the Valley on business.
• Favorite Chicago-area restaurants: Home Run Inn and Portillo's

MR. MAXWELL STREET a.k.a. Agustin "Augie" Lozano Jr.
Agustin "Augie" Lozano Jr. is an old school Chicagoan. He remembers the glory days of Maxwell Street, The Second City's infamous flea market. Augie also remembers the excellent Polish Sausages, atmosphere and street jazz and blues music. He's also a devoted Cubs fan. Of our three panelists, Lozano has lived in the Valley the longest. And he says, in general, the Chicago-style offerings have improved in recent years.

• Occupation: Finance manager at Bert Ogden McAllen Motors
• Lived in Chicago as a child and young man.
• Favorite Chicago-area restaurant: Portillo's

WHAT YOU HAD TO SAY

"1) Doggies has the best prices on combos and the most authentic and colorful food I've seen thusfar. You can't beat them on speed of service either. And they have a great happy hour and wing special! 2) Mama Mia's is tasty, though they can get slow and crowded and charge for ranch dressing! Plus they use canned spinach. 3) Mama's is a fun location, and I prefer to go to it during off peak times. However, they do charge for ranch dressing and use fresh spinnach. ...So I'd eat at the establishments in that order but I enjoy them all for lunch."  --- Nathan Gower Schwarz via Festiva's Facebook at 1:42pm July 8

"love mama's pizza. Mama mia's is no longer what it it used to be." --- Dina Garcia via Festiva's Facebook at 2:32pm July 8

"I enjoy both Mama Mia's & Mama's Pizzeria. Same family, although I prefer Mama's. I just really love the pizza. I've actually been to all of them (except Chicago East) looking for the best Italian beef. I liked the Italian Beef at Crazy Guidos but will not likely go back there again for a long while as they have odd operating hours." ---  Jeannie Gregory via Festiva's Facebook at 2:43pm July 8

"i dont even know why mama's and mama mia's are considered 'Chicago'. isn't the Scalise family that owns it Mexican-Italian?" --- Elizabeth Niland Hamilton via Festiva's Facebook at 2:59pm July 8

"I prefer Mama's over Mama Mia's for the atmosphere-both have incredible food. I used to be in love with Doggie's but their amazingly horrible service (not waitstaff, but management) tied together with overpricing means I won't go back. I really, really wanted to try the two new spots downtown this past weekend and both were CLOSED!!" --- Kelly Houlihan Leonard via Festiva's Facebook at 3:42pm July 8

Agree with what these Festiva readers had to say? Which is your favorite Chicago-style restaurant in town? Are Da Bears a great football team or the greatest football team? Give us your two cents in a comment below.