We’d just packed down a bunch of food at two places and were fighting to stay awake at Gino’s East. The lethargy in which we were entering this meal might have made a sloth hurry us along. Thinking back to the state I was in as I waited 45 minutes on some uncomfortable metal lattice deck chairs outside, I don’t understand why I didn’t just take a nap on the table. Here’s what I remember:

– Took a family photo of a Korean family from Texas and shot the shit with them about Mexican food and the Architecture Tour
– Stared at a really hot Indian (or Pakistani, or Sri Lankan? What’s the proper terminology?) girl in line for Gino’s
– Wondered why anyone was in a half-hour line to sit inside when there was so much patio seating available and it wasn’t the worst day to be eating outside

– Decided that the average NYC girl is 20-25% more attractive than the average Chicago girl
– Watched four local women out to lunch sit down at the table beside us for lunch and all get individual pies. These things are a bit much when you’re planning on working for the rest of the day
– Went inside to the bathroom and wondered why there was graffiti all around the restaurant but there were huge signs in the bathroom warning that it was a graffiti free zone. Huh?
– Took a picture of Lawrence taking a picture of the pizza

– Made fun of kids who were wearing t-shirts bedazzled with the Bon Jovi logo made by their fortysomething groupie moms
– Made fun of the moms for being proud of the shirts they made for their kids (they were terrible)
– Made fun of one of the kids for being proud of his shirt he bedazzled himself (this kid was about 16 years old – I shudder to think of the retarded stuff I did in the name of cool at 16)
– Observed how thick and yellow the crust of the pizza was. Why would pizza be made of corn? I put aside my disbelief for a moment – it looked like a cornbread crust, but there’s no corn in it. Whatever it was, it was satisfyingly crisp. I remember saying that I liked Uno’s crust more the day we had it, but right now, if I had to choose, I’d take Gino’s.

As I’m typing this, I am overwhelmed with the desire for pizza and I go downstairs to grab a slice.

I’m back.

– Complained to Lawrence that I needed to find a Verizon Store with a Droid X to buy before the next day
– Borrowed Lawrence’s phone to find Verizon stores nearby
– Called other retailers I thought might carry Verizon phones and found that either they didn’t carry Verizon or they didn’t have the phone
– Cursed at my old phone
– Admired how thick the layer of toppings, cheese, and sauce were on our Meaty Legend Pizza

– Noted that the “Legend” moniker was no joke. There’s a half pig full of meat on this mother
– Wished we had the meat lover’s pizza (or whatever it’s called) at Uno’s so I could compare.
– Finished a quarter of the pie
– Thought about going back to get another bag of free homestyle macaroni and cheese from Kraft (they were giving these out near the Tribune building; I made it and it was pretty damn tasty)
– Packed up the pizza to Lawrence’s surprise. I don’t know what he wanted to do with it, but I was planning to finish it later
– Saw an attractive girl looking at me from across the street get into the line at Gino’s and hold her gaze. Within minutes, she came over and asked me in a seductive voice, “Are you leaving soon?”

– Didn’t take an upskirt pic. Like I said in the Uno’s Review, the upskirts on pan pizzas are all the same, so I didn’t bother to take the shot.

I went back to the hotel and took a well-deserved nap.

Please don’t fire me; I was tired. I had a lot to eat.

Gino’s East Pizzeria
162 East Superior Street
Chicago, IL 60611-2916
(312) 266-3337