Rico’s Pizza celebrates 50 years

Having grown up in Chicago's south suburbs, we were never short on good places to order pizza from. A lot of good ones have disappeared over the years. Still, there are some that have stood the test of time and even some that have grown to multiple locations in the Chicago area and beyond.

One place that is still going strong serving up classic Chicago South-Side thin crust pizza is Rico's Pizza in Lansing. Now that I have moved to Northwest Indiana and Rico's is no longer a 5-minute drive, I realize that I under appreciated this gem when it was in my back yard. It was probably the first carry-out pizza I had when I moved to Lansing - my introduction came from noticing it next door the realtor's office when we started looking at houses in 1991 as our wedding was approaching. However, it wasn't my go-to. I don't know that I really had just one go-to pizza since there were so many good ones nearby - and what pizza we ordered often was swayed by whatever coupons I clipped out of The Shopper newspaper that week. So, we had it a handful of times a year.

Once I moved to Northwest Indiana, I realized that the area is lacking when it comes to that classic thin crust Chicago pizza that I am so fond of. Even the chains out here that I enjoyed when in the south suburbs seem to just not be quite the same. Maybe it's just that nostalgia-colored glasses make me remember the pizza of the last 30+ years as better than it was. Anyway, I haven't found anything in Porter County that I enjoy as much as I did as the pizzas I got from Rico's, Colucci's, Sanfratello's, Arrenello's, Guiseppe's, Waldo Cooney's or the Lansing location of Beggar's Pizza. I haven't tried them all, but my go-to has been Guiseppe's, which has a nice thin crust, a slightly sweet sauce that I like, a unique combo of red and green bell peppers as a topping and it's super close to home. So, now when I make my way back to my old neighborhood, I find myself drawn to the thin crust sausage and green pepper pizza at Rico's and I have to head back sometimes to relive those delicious pizza days. For the newbies, it is a carry-out establishment, so be prepared to do some dashboard dining to enjoy it while it is piping hot.

I have a friend who is a regular at Rico's who always tells me that I should order the pizza well done. He knows I am fond of the super crispy pizza served at Vito and Nick's. So on my last visit I did order mine well done. It for sure had that crisp crunch that I love, but I think in the future I'll keep ordering it the regular way - I do like having a bit of stringy pull on my cheese that was missing here. But, yes, that crunch was magnificent. 

I was curious to find out how long Rico's has been around. I've been eating it for the past 24 years. I found the obituary of the founder of Rico's, Philip Dericco on the website, which stated that he opened Rico's Pizza in 1975. That means this year, they're celebrating their 50th anniversary. That's a long time in any business, but especially in the food business. They definitely have perfected the recipe for success, and it includes a paper wrapper and RC cola - IYKYK.

If you have never tried Rico's Pizza, now is the time to take a journey to the south suburbs to try it for yourself. Happy Anniversary to everyone there who puts their heart into every pie that makes it out the door.