Michael, if you go to one of my other favorite baking forums, pizzamaking.com, there are a number of discussions about making deep dish in a cast iron pan. I have yet to try it but some there have had great luck. The website is an excellent resource (as is this one). There are some extremely knowledgeable posters there, who have made a science of pizza crust. PJH, there is a Lou Malnati's on State Street near Grant Park. I don't think there is a Nancy's. Please correct me if I am wrong, Chicagoans. I am from a couple hours south of the city originally and have not lived in Illinois for quite a while. The oil in the pan is necessary to get the crust right. Real deep dish crust is fairly oily - the crust pretty much fries in the oil in the pan, giving the distinctive texture. It will still be good pizza with less oil but the real stuff is downright decadent. If you are really into pizza, don't limit yourself to just deep dish when in Chicago. The thin crust in the Midwest is great too. It is cut into squares rather than wedge shaped slices and is thicker and crisper than the pizza I have had out East, and has a more bread-like texture than the biscuit-like deep dish. This is the type of Midwestern pizza where you will find cornmeal, to prevent sticking to the peel, rather than as an ingredient in the crust.

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