[Deli to go]Blast from the past with windy city pie
From my first bite, I was hooked. By the end of the party, I had eaten nearly half a large-sized pizza. As you can imagine, it didn’t settle very well in my stomach. It was a few years before I could face eating pizza again.
A few days ago, I had a flashback to that day. For lunch, I went to the Uno Chicago Grill, in the COEX Mall, southern Seoul and ordered a Chicago-style deep dish pizza set (including bread, broccoli soup, soda and coffee for 16,000 won or $17.25). The six-decade old U.S. franchise opened in Korea in 1997, along with Outback Steakhouse, but as the Autstralian chain has grown bigger, Uno’s has been rather quiet.
Their menu, like the atmosphere, was more or less like any other family restaurant chain in Korea. There were the usual steak and shrimp dishes and some weird fusion concoctions like teriyaki-sauce spaghetti. After a little hesitation, I went for their signature dish, the Uno deep-dish pizza with sausage.
The slices were approximately eight to 10 centimeters thick, with a crust tasting like French croissant or pie. After a few bites, I felt like I was back at that birthday party, eating too much. For the record, I’m don’t consider myself a particularly light eater, but this dish had everything in excess, starting with the salty sausages through too much tomato sauce and on to the greasy, tart-like crust. By the end of the first slice, I had to gobble down two glasses of diet coke just to soothe my digestion.
Now, I appreciate junk food, and, as a former Chicago resident, I am not unfamiliar with thick pizzas. However, indulging in Uno’s pizza, at least at the COEX branch, was just too much. I hope my bad luck with pizza is not a curse.
Uno Chicago Grill is located in COEX Mall, Samseong-dong, southern Seoul. The closest subway is Samseong station, line No. 2, exit 6. For more information, call (02) 551-8284 or visit www.uno.co.kr.
By Cho Jae-eun Staff Writer [jainnie@joongang.co.kr]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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