PIZZERIA UNO CHICAGO BAR & GRILL

In Chicago a pizza isn't just a convenience food; it's a dining experience. Especially that Windy City favorite: the deep-dish pizza pie.

Ike Sewell, the founder of Pizzeria Uno, takes credit for creating the deep-dish pizza in 1943. (Caveat: We hear from a native Chicagoan that the line of folks making the same claim is a long one.)

Sewell's restaurant was so popular he soon opened a second one, Pizzeria Due. Today, there is a chain of more than 170 Pizzeria Uno restaurants. The Original Deep Dish Pizza continues to be a favorite, but the menu also includes steaks, pastas, sandwiches and even … whattaya gonna do? … a thin-crust pizza.

Runners-up: Aubrey's (Maryville), Bel-Air Grill (Alcoa and Maryville)