Review: Kylie’s deep dish pizza is a toothsome strata

I had a craving for pizza and ordered the 12-inch Chicago Classic at Kylie’s Chicago Pizza in Fremont. Two of us finished it within 16 hours and were hankering for more. They say their 10-inch pie feeds 2-3 people, the 12-inch, 3-4 people. Disregard that, and go big. You definitely won’t regret it (unless you tell your cardiologist).

A chunky tomato sauce is slathered thickly on top of the pizza, under which the toppings — sweet fennel sausage, mushrooms, onions and green olives (a special request to replace the green peppers) — barely peek through. Below that, a layer of melted cheese separates the toppings from the cornmeal crust. It’s amazing, and something that I couldn’t even come close to replicating.

The difference between thin-crust New York-style pizza and deep-dish Chicago-style pizza reminds me of the regional differences of a savory Japanese pancake called okonomiyaki.

In the Osaka area, shredded cabbage is mixed into a loose flour-egg batter and then cooked like a pancake or omelette, with pork or seafood incorporated during the cooking. In Hiroshima, the ingredients are the same, but are layered by ingredient, first usually a layer of batter, then cabbage, pork and any other toppings. It’s the Japanese equivalent of the thin pizza vs. deep dish rivalry, but with alternative toppings of squid, octopus and dried fish flakes. Get your red pepper flakes outta here.

Anyway, I’ve digressed. But do go to Kylie’s for a slice of deep dish that even a pledged thin-crust lover can enjoy.