Uno Chicago Grill for "Legendary Pizza"

Uno Chicago Grill started out in 1943 as a single restaurant in 1943 and grown to a franchise operations with 200 restaurants in 32 states.

Back in 1943, Americans ate pizza primarily as a snack. Ike Sewell, who opened the original Uno at the corner of Ohio Street and Wabash Avenue in downtown Chicago, figured that he could make pizza into a hearty meal. He combined some of Italy's old, authentic recipes with large quantities of fine meats, fresh cheeses, ripe vegetables and flavorful spices, and put them into a deep dish crust. Pizza was transformed from snack to meal. Filling deep dish pizza became an American tradition.

In the mid 1990s, Uno broadened their concept to offer dishes that diners would expect from a high quality, full service restaurant.

The new Uno Chicago Grill locations are larger, with a "Chicago warehouse" look, for a unique and interesting dining environment. Their Chicago style bar's have a speakeasy atmosphere and serve a full menu of drinks.

We visited the Uno Chicago Grill in Gurnee, Illinois. Gurnee is a suburb located north of Chicago. Attractions in the Gurnee area include Six Flags Great America and Gurnee Mills Outlet Shopping Mall.

We were greeted at the door by a welcoming host who led us to a heavy wooden table booth in the restaurant. The walls had a worm brick, warehouse look, that gave the environment a comfortable, interesting appeal.

The server greeted us at the table and we ordered Margarita's . The Margarita's were served in cold glasses with salt around the time. The drinks, were tart, cold and refreshing.

The pizza's, which the menu says are made from scratch everyday, come in specialty flavors including: Prima Pepperoni, Spinoccoli, Cheese & Tomaso, Four cheese, Bianco, Shroom, Chicago Classic, Bacon Cheeseburger, Chef's choice, Farmer's market and Numero Uno. The Numero Uno pizza consists of sausage, pepperoni, onions, red and green peppers, mushrooms, Uno's chunky tomato sauce, mozzarella and grated Romano cheese.