[Meet the Members] AJ

Screen Name: AJ

Real Name: AJ

Came out of the Oven: Evanston

Favorite toppings: Various Pork Products

First Pizza Club Meeting: June 25, 2008 (Ranalli's)

Favorite Deep Dish Pizza: Lou Malnati's

Favorite Thin Crust Pizza: Vito and Nick's

Favorite Pizza outside of Chicago: Why would I want to have pizza outside of Chicago?

Had Pizza in the Motherland? See above.

What Do You Do When Not Eating Pizza? Masquerading as and being accused of being "the man."

Personal Pizza Statement: For future wannabe CPC members, two words of advice: Fork and Knife. "Sharing" is the word and as you can see from my shameless profile picture, I was slow to learn.

[Meet the Members] Erik

Screen Name: Erik

Real Name: White Chocolate

Came out of the Oven: October 10, 1980

Favorite toppings: Sausage, Green Peppers, Anchovies

First Pizza Club Meeting: Early 2008

Favorite Deep Dish Pizza: Moretti's

Favorite Stuffed Pizza: n/a

Favorite Thin Crust Pizza: Santullo's

Favorite Pizza outside of Chicago: Garcia's - Champaign/Urbana

Had Pizza in the Motherland? Not even sure I've had pizza outside of Illinois ...

What Do You Do When Not Eating Pizza? By day I'm a mild mannered engineer. By night I'm a mild mannered engineer who plays too many video games.

Personal Pizza Statement: I think Papa John's is pretty tasty, so, like Roger Ebert, I'm a pretty easy critic

[Meet the Members] Ryan

Screen Name: Ryan

Real Name: Ryan

Came out of the Oven: Wheaton IL

Favorite toppings: Pepperoni/sausage, onion, garlic

First Pizza Club Meeting: Sorry. That memory slipped out of my left ear a couple years ago when I fell asleep on the El. If you seen it at a local pawn shop let me know. My iPod is missing too. Thanks.

Favorite Deep Dish Pizza: Pequod's.

Favorite Stuffed Pizza: Still looking. I told myself I'd never do it but I'm one spinach ricotta mistake away from posting myself on StuffedPizzaMatch.com.

Favorite Thin Crust Pizza: Cafe Florian.

Favorite Pizza outside of Chicago: Sam's Pizza - Iowa City IA

Had Pizza in the Motherland? I've had pizza on the mothership, man. It tasted like laser beams.

What Do You Do When Not Eating Pizza? After a lifetime in the Chicagoland area I recently moved to complete a Radiology residency in Miami; where they don't understand pizza, my beer gut, or my primary language. So I've been busy practicing my espanol, sitting in the dark, and sitting in the sun. I've also been eagerly waiting the release of my wife, Kelly, who is currently serving a sentence at Northwestern graduate school. If I'm not buried under a pile of requisitions in the Jackson ER you can find me on a kite board off the coast of Key Biscayne. Look for my reviews during my frequent returns to Chicago.

Personal Pizza Statement: There's no list of absolute criteria for a pizza to receive a good score from me. It just has to inspire me to use an expletive before an adjective. However, if you're looking for some Hot and Cold inspired insight into my spot-on pizza ratings, here it is:
Warmer - tangy sauce, crispy crust, innumerable toppings (amount not types), squares on thin, triangles on thick, garlic
Colder - limp crust, play-doh cheese, end in -tarian, confusable with a 3-colored block of ice cream, cotton-mouth crust, heat lamps, eaten like a taco
And a word about 'Specials'...Don't cheapen the term. If sausage and green peppers are coming to mind think a little longer.

[Meet the Members] Amanda

Screen Name: Amanda

Real Name: Amanda

Came out of the Oven: Riverdale, Georgia

Favorite toppings: goat cheese, sausage, peppers

First Pizza Club Meeting: April 16, 2008 (Pat's Pizza)

Favorite Deep Dish Pizza: Ranalli's

Favorite Stuffed Pizza: I don't know that I've had stuffed pizza yet!

Favorite Thin Crust Pizza: Coalfire

Favorite Pizza outside of Chicago: There's pizza outside of Chicago?

Had Pizza in the Motherland? Yes, but it was an underwhelming square of lukewarm cheese on forgetful bread. I'll make a better effort to get the real deal if I ever return.

What Do You Do When Not Eating Pizza? My non-pizza interests include; Puzzle Fighting, Wii Bowling, "The Law," Booty Dancing, Harold, Kumar, Cross-Stitching (Christmas Stockings Only), Lunch, A Good Hot Breakfast, Being a Non-Threatening Bad-Ass, Barbecue Nachos, Cheese Grits, and Being Alabama's Southern Bride of the Year 2009!

Personal Pizza Statement: I enjoy simple pleasures, and pizza is one of them. Give me a nice crust with a little tomato sauce and cheese, and I'm a happy girl. Everything is else is just details.

[Meet the Members] Chand

Screen Name: chand

Real Name: Chand

Came out of the Oven: Chicago, Illinois

Favorite toppings: Pepperoni, green peppers, onions

First Pizza Club Meeting: April 13, 2006 (Barcello's)

Favorite Deep Dish Pizza: Gino's East

Favorite Stuffed Pizza: none

Favorite Thin Crust Pizza: Nino's and Aurelio's — the pizzas of my childhood.

Favorite Pizza outside of Chicago: Some place in NYC at 3am.

Had Pizza in the Motherland? Yes, but it was at a cafe that didn't specialize in it.

Personal Pizza Statement: I love pizza! Be it sporting events, birthdays, or even breakfast, pizza is a special kind of food that completes what I (and I believe most of us) consider good times. I'm proud to be living in the true pizza capital and looking forward to exploring more of our city's delicacies as a member of the esteemed Chicago Pizza Club.

[Meet the Members] Rebecca

Screen Name: rebecca

Real Name: Rebecca

Came out of the Oven: Chicago, 1981

Favorite toppings: Sun-dried tomatoes, goat cheese, fresh basil

First Pizza Club Meeting: April 16, 2008 (Pat's Pizza)

Favorite Stuffed Pizza: Edwardo's Spinach (I know, I know, there's just something magical about it)

Favorite Thin Crust Pizza: Pat's Pizza

Favorite Pizza outside of Chicago: Pizzeria Bianco

Had Pizza in the Motherland? Yes, it was fair. Chicago has given Pizza a whole new meaning.

Personal Pizza Statement: I like to keep things simple and eat vegetarian pizza. The nuances of the cheese and other ingredients are that much more exciting without all the meat. Deal with it!

[Meet the Members] Kelly

Screen Name: Kelly

Real Name: Kelly, official photographer of the Chicago Pizza Club

Came out of the Oven: Cedar Rapids, Iowa in the year of the dragon (which one, I'll never tell!)

Favorite toppings: Garlic and extra garlic

First Pizza Club Meeting: Salerno's - Monday, February 27, 2006 (although I was there in spirit many years before, I swear!)

Favorite Deep Dish Pizza: Pequod's pepperoni, onions and garlic

Favorite Stuffed Pizza: Lou Malnati's sausage

Favorite Thin Crust Pizza: Bacino's broccoli

Favorite Pizza outside of Chicago: Beau Jo's in Colorado (mmm honey for your crust!)

Had Pizza in the Motherland? Yup, been twice in several cities. Nothing to write home about. Its fine, but authentic doesn't always mean better! Chicago has upped the ante.

What Do You Do When Not Eating Pizza?  Well… I am a full-time graduate student at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. I am working on my PhD in Cancer Cell and Molecular Biology and currently looking for a job in the Miami, Florida area (yeah, land of crappy pizza, but beautiful weather!) Outside the lab I enjoy not only Chicago Pizza Club meetings, but photography (favorite subject to photograph = Chicago Pizza Club), triathlons, softball, beach volleyball, hanging out at the pool, going to movies with my husband and anything that involves JägerBombs.

Personal Pizza Statement: I never met a pizza I didn't like. Then came along Friday, March 21, 2008, aka 'pies we tried so you wouldn't have to' night. I'm not a snob with a super refined palate or anything, but woah. If I can help save one more person from never having to eat that crap if they don't have to, then by golly, I'm down. CPC is here to stay and we are going to change the world!!!

[Meet the Members] Kate

Screen Name: kate-d.

Real Name: Kate

Came out of the Oven: Steel City aka City of Champions

Favorite toppings: Pepperoni and garlic

First Pizza Club Meeting: Barraco's

Favorite Deep Dish Pizza: OMG can't decide: Burt's/Delisi's/Malnati's and Louisa's when the crust is not soggy

Favorite Stuffed Pizza: Barraco's (spinach and ricotta, yum)

Favorite Thin Crust Pizza: Pat's Pizza

Favorite Pizza outside of Chicago: Uncle Tucker's wood-fired pizza in Cumberland, Maryland (RIP)

Had Pizza in the Motherland? Yes. Most of the pizza I have had in the North was fairly forgettable, but I have savored every bite I have had of Vera Pizza Napolitano. I love the simple elegance of the fresh ingredients, though as oft noted on this site, the sparseness of the rare garlic clove or basil leaf leaves me feeling a bit shorted. Yet as much as I can appreciate the merits of Naples's offerings in that narrow pizza category, there is no question that I prefer the diverse pizza offerings of Chicago.

Personal Pizza Statement: Growing up in Pittsburgh, I was always aware that, while my hometown excelled at such things as football, perpetual road construction, and making the air smell like ketchup, there was a good chance other cities were better at making pizza. Sure, we knew how to put french fries and coleslaw in a sandwich, but the lackluster thin crust pizza joints that abounded left me dreaming of something bigger. When I left to start college in a small town outside Gary, Indiana called Chicago, the scales fell from my eyes. I learned that the Uno's franchise in the mall had not been representative of Chicago's famous deep dish pizza, and I learned that Chicago's pizza makers also know a thing or two about thin crust. I have had a lot of great pizza in a lot of great towns, and enjoyed many a delectable late night slice during my time in New York, but Chicago owns my pizza heart. Chicago has it all: deep dish, stuffed, thin crust, bar pizza, wood-fired pizza, coal-fired pizza, you name it. So in addition to regularly enjoying delicious slices, I am also here to help catalogue Chicago's pizza offerings as a service to our readers. In other words, I eat at Waldo Cooney's so you don't have to. Cheers!

[Meet the Members] Francisco, El Presidente

Screen Name: faquinteros

Real Name: Francisco

Came Out of the Oven: War-torn El Salvador in the sexy 70's

First Pizza Club Meeting: Vito and Nick's, founder

Favorite Deep Dish Pizza: Delisi's

Favorite Stuffed Pizza: Do I have to pick?

Favorite Thin Crust Pizza: Adorno's (RIP), now it would be Piece

Favorite Pizza outside of Chicago: A place in Staten Island that the GD Killer took me to visit.

Had Pizza in the Motherland: Multiple times in multiple cities, including one of the oldest places in Naples. Unimpressive.

Personal Pizza Statement: For every big name place that lives up the hype, or part of it, there are many smaller places that quietly plod along making outstanding food in near anonymity. So sprang Chicago Pizza Club. Let's systematically catalog as many places as we can and develop a wide repertoire of pizzerias we can call on when the mood strikes. In addition, I like that maybe we can become a reference for people who need some real reviews of pizzerias across the city.

When Adorno's closed, I felt that long-held Chicago rite of of passage of having your favorite place close down. I proposed to continue to expand my pizza palate and never linger and remain stale like the crusty old guys to who I'm alluding. Onward and upward.

[Meet the Members] Fred

Screen Name: N/A

Real Name: Fred

Came out of the Oven: Unknown, rescued at a young age in Chicago (Lakeview)

Favorite toppings: I love every one I've tried, but some of the spicier ones don't agree with my stomach

First Pizza Club Meeting: Chain Pizza Extravaganza, March 21, 2008; ate leftovers beginning with O'Fame Italian Restaurant, October 5, 2006

Favorite Deep Dish Pizza: Every one I've tried

Favorite Stuffed Pizza: Every one I've tried

Favorite Thin Crust Pizza: Every one I've tried

Favorite Pizza outside of Chicago: Have never tried any, but I think I'd like all of them

Had Pizza in the Motherland? No

What Do You Do When Not Eating Pizza? I sleep, I hump, I poop, and I eat. Not necessarily in that order.

Personal Pizza Statement: There is no such thing as a bad pizza. It is tied as my favorite food with: beef, chicken, fish, pork, shrimp, lamb, cheese, marshmallow fluff, pumpkin pie, cookies, yogurt, animal crackers, broccoli, ice cream, burritos, rice, grease from hamburgers, pasta, sour cream, tortilla chips, pita chips, potato chips, Trader Joe's pot stickers, Gatorade, mayonnaise, and eggs.

[Meet the Members] Stelio

Screen Name: smantis

Real Name: Stelio

Came out of the Oven: During the Golden Age of the Ford administration

Favorite toppings: Carmelized onions and sasusage

First Pizza Club Meeting: Gulliver's Pizza with me, Francisco and Dave

Favorite Deep Dish Pizza: Gino's East

Favorite Stuffed Pizza: Albano's calzone

Favorite Thin Crust Pizza: Pizza D.O.C.

Favorite Pizza outside of Chicago: Nothing to write home about

Had Pizza in the Motherland? In Rome in 2003, though it tasted like a saltine cracker with marinara sauce.

Personal Pizza Statement: The three things I love in this world: baseball, girls and Pizza Club (not in that order).

[Meet the Members] Andrew

Screen Name: Andrew, Stu

Real Name: Andrew

Came out of the Oven: Lake Zurich, IL

Favorite toppings: Bacon and non-mozzerella cheeses

First Pizza Club Meeting: Pequod's (it was quite a while ago...)

Favorite Deep Dish Pizza: Burt's Place

Favorite Stuffed Pizza: Barcello's

Favorite Thin Crust Pizza: Vito and Nick's

Favorite Pizza outside of Chicago: I do enjoy New York style slices when I'm in the Big Apple

Had Pizza in the Motherland? I haven't, but I love the Naples style pizza I've had in Chicago

What Do You Do When Not Eating Pizza? I get paid for my Graphic Design skills (see the lovely Chicago Pizza Club logo and mascot... and hell, this website for that matter), when not at work or pursuing Pizza-related quests I like to be drinking, watching movies, reading funny-books and not-so-funny-books, as well as going to baseball games and cursing the inevitable onslaught of Chicago winters.

Personal Pizza Statement: The Chicago Pizza Club has opened my young eyes up to such a wide variety of pizza. I tend not to have a preference for any specific style of pizza, as long as it is well made it doesn't matter to me if it is naples style, a calzone, stuffed, thin crust or pan pizza, pizza puff or even a pizza pot pie. As of right now I'm anxiously looking forward to a Chicago Pizza Club return to Burt's Pizza, which has been, hands down, my favorite Chicago Pizza Club experience thus far.

[Meet the Members] Marla Collins' Husband

Screen Name: Marla Collins Husband

Real Name: Daniel Zemans

Came out of the Oven: Chicago (Hyde Park)

Favorite toppings: Sausage and mushrooms

First Pizza Club Meeting: O'Fame Italian Restaurant, October 5, 2006

Favorite Deep Dish Pizza: Lou Malnati's

Favorite Stuffed Pizza: Bacino's

Favorite Thin Crust Pizza: Vito and Nick's

Favorite Pizza outside of Chicago: Pizzeria Bianco in Phoenix

Had Pizza in the Motherland? Yes, in Rome, and it was a dry cracker with too little cheese, too little sauce, and too few toppings.

What Do You Do When Not Eating Pizza? My time away from pizza is divided between the Cubs and figuring out what to do with my life. I'm still technically a lawyer, but most of the work I do does not require a law degree. I work at home, which gives me lots of time to research pizza and stare lovingly into the eyes of my favorite pizza club member, Fred. Oh, I also have a blog.

Personal Pizza Statement: Growing up in Hyde Park, I was aware of three pizzerias: Giordano's, Edwardo's and Medici. In my mind, the stuffed pizza at Giordano's and Edwardo's was the definition of Chicago-style pizza. They both served (and still serve) thin crust pizza, but I don't think I've ever had it. Medici serves a pan pizza and a thin crust (again, never tried it). I was not a big fan of Medici. I did like going there once a year to make my own pizza, something I got to do because the owner's daughter was in my elementary school class, but compared to stuffed pies, the pan pizzas had no chance. I had heard of Lou Malnatti's because they used to advertise on the back of Bulls tickets in the early 80s, but I don't ever remember having pizza in Chicago outside of Hyde Park. I do remember when I was eleven and visiting relatives in southern California who insisted on taking us to their favorite pizza place in LA. I was served a large pile of ass, beginning my realization that the best pizza on the planet was in my hometown.

I didn't try a more traditional deep dish pizza until a friend visited Chicago during college and wanted to try Gino's East. I thought it was good (especially the amount of sausage), but found it didn't have enough cheese. After college in Minnesota where the only pizza I had was a local late night delivery place, and a year in St. Louis, home of provel cheese pizza, I returned to Chicago and worked two blocks from a Lou Malnatti's. I ventured over there one day for lunch and my pizza worldview was changed forever. I still like stuffed pizza, but Lou Malnatti's is the pie I crave the most.

After foolishly leaving Chicago to spend three years in New York, I was forced to start eating thin crust pizza. New York has plenty of good pizza and whole lot of bad pizza. That said, the city did open my eyes to the possibility that thin crust pizza could be a satisfying meal, but I was content limiting my pizza intake to deep dish and stuffed.

Since joining the Chicago Pizza Club, my pizza passion and palate have both increased exponentially. I actually crave thin crust occasionally, but my heart belongs to pizzas that are at least two inches thick.