A South Loop tradition, Pat's Pizzeria tosses a mean thin crust pizza to perfection, loaded with a number of unusual and unique choose-your-own toppings, from cauliflower to BBQ chicken to Genoa salami. The take-out/delivery service, housed in a small, unassuming building on Clark, brings appetizers like fried calamari, chicken wings, rib tips and fried ravioli to neighborhood fans from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily (and locals know those hours by heart).

Pat's also offers a number of Italian-themed entrees, from the shrimp dinner to the New York strip steak. Each comes with soup or salad and Pat's delicious garlic bread, as do its many pasta offerings, which include the make-your-own, where you select a pasta type (traditional styles or meat, spinach or cheese ravioli) and sauce (marinara, meat, olive oil and garlic or, for $2 more, pesto).

Sandwich lovers will delight in Pat's many offerings, from Italian beef and sausage sandwiches to eggplant parmigiana with baked-on cheese and a hearty meatball. They top out at around $9 with the New York Cut Steak sandwich.

Desserts like spumoni and tiramisu are also offered, but Pat's is really about the pizza, which was voted best in Chicago more than a decade ago (it tastes just as good now, though). In addition to traditional pies, Pat's offers a cheese lover's (Quatro Formagi) pizza, with ricotta, parmesan, gorgonzola, mozzarella and garlic in place of red sauce, along with pan and stuffed pizza in addition to its famous thin crust variety.

Average cost: <$10

Centerstage Reviewer: Erin Brereton