Pequod’s named best pizza in Illinois

• In the News
• Pequod's Pizza

Are you in Chicago and looking for some good deep dish pizza? Are you looking for the best deep dish pizza? Then look no further than Pequod’s on Clybourn Avenue. Recently named the “Best Pizza in Illinois” by The Daily Meal, Pequod’s has been serving up Chicago’s signature pizza for 25 years.

What sets Pequod’s deep dish apart from the others you might ask? Pequod’s famous “caramelized crust,” which the Daily Meal described as “chewy, crusty, quasi-burnt cheese crust that forms the outer edge of this cheesy casserole.”

The Daily Meal set out several criteria for their rankings. The rankings looked at over 800 restaurants across the nation whose menu was entirely pizza or had a section completely dedicated to pizza. They then had a panel choose the best location in each state.

This isn’t the first time Pequod’s has been recognized, either. In 2015, the Food Network named Pequod’s one of the top five pizza places in the entire country.

Whether you’re in the mood for pizza, pasta or an Italian beef sandwich, Pequod’s is the neighborhood place to fill up with family. For more information about what Pequod’s locations have to offer, you can visit their website here.

Flashback Friday: First Europeans arrive in Peoria

Tomorrow marks the 343rd anniversary of European involvement in Illinois. On Good Friday in 1674, Jesuit priest Fr. Jacques Marquette declared possession of a Kaskaskia village near present-day Ottawa and named it the Mission of the Immaculate Conception. It was the first Catholic mission in Illinois.

Fr. Marquette and his guide, Louis Jolliet, were the first Europeans to have contact with the Illiniwek nation Indians when they met with leaders in a village on the Illinois River in 1673, about a year prior to founding the mission.

After initially meeting the leaders of the Peoria and Kaskaskia tribes, two of about a dozen tribes in the Illiniwek Confederation, Marquette and Jolliet left the village to return to their base near Traverse City, Michigan. Local leaders sent the two Frenchmen off with a feast of corn porridge, fish, buffalo and dog (which the Europeans declined). The tribal leaders wished them well and encouraged them to return.

When they returned the following April after having waited out the winter of 1673-74 in a small hut near what would become Chicago, they were welcomed with open arms by the Illiniwek villagers. Historians suspect that the Illiniwek were so gracious because Marquette and Joliet told them that the French had vanquished their enemies, the Iroquois, with the help of the Christian God.

The establishment of the Mission of the Immaculate Conception is an important event in the history of Illinois. Only a few years later, the French established Fort Crevecoeur near the mission on the east bank of the Illinois River. A permanent settlement would later spring up around the fort and the mission and grew into what is now the city of Peoria.

Park of the month: Garfield Park

Located on the West Side of Chicago, Garfield Park is a jewel in the “emerald necklace,” a ring of parks and tree-lined boulevards built around what was the western edge of the city in the middle of the 19th century. The goal of this development was to make urban living more active and healthy. Covering about 185 acres of land with recreation facilities, green space, Prairie-style buildings and its famous Conservatory, Garfield Park remains true to the vision put forth by its founders in 1869.

Garfield Park is best known for its conservatory, which has been described as “landscape architecture under glass.” The Garfield Park Conservatory is about two acres in size. It is designed to resemble a haystack, a nod to the Midwest’s agricultural tradition and connection to nature.

The month of April is the height of The Garfield Park Conservatory Spring Flower Show, a yearly exhibition that runs from mid-February to mid-May. In honor of the Chicago Cubs’ recent World Series victory, this year’s theme is “Spring Training.” The exhibition, which features azaleas, tulips, snapdragons and camellias, is decorated with homages to baseball in Chicago. The conservatory is open seven days a week from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. with the exception of Wednesdays, when the conservatory stays open until 8 p.m.

With its rare plants and expert landscape design, the Conservatory has drawn people to Garfield Park since it opened in 1908, but there are numerous other attractions and amenities. Garfield Park is home to several statues and monuments, baseball fields, boxing, basketball, gymnastics and fitness facilities, football and soccer fields, multiple playgrounds, a lagoon for fishing and much more. While the conservatory closes early, the park is open from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. every day.

As the weather warms and green leaves return to trees, the emerald necklace begins to take on the green hue that has made it popular for nearly 150 years. There is perhaps no better time to take advantage of all that Garfield Park has to offer.

In the news: Springfield man applauded for kind deed

To those that call the state home, it almost goes without saying that the people of Illinois are some of the kindest, most industrious people in the world. Still, when Illinoisans go above and beyond what is expected of them to help others, they deserve to be commended and thanked.

This week, Springfield resident Johann “Joe” Thomas went viral for doing the right thing while working a shift as a server at a local IHOP, where he has been taking care of his regular customers for over 11 years.

Keshia Dotson, who was eating at the IHOP one Saturday in March, witnessed Thomas helping a woman with Huntington’s disease eat her breakfast. Huntington’s disease is a genetic disorder that makes ordinary tasks like eating impossible as it progresses.

The viral incident was not the first time that Thomas helped the woman. She and her husband are regulars at the Springfield IHOP. The server noticed that her husband would usually assist her as his own meal became cold. One day, Thomas sat down at their table and offered to help while the man enjoyed his meal. They have followed the same routine ever since.

Joe Thomas’ coworkers have nothing but positive things to say about his kind demeanor and willingness to go the extra mile for IHOP guests. “This is no big deal to him,” one coworker said. “He does this every time. He’s a great coworker.”

Thomas agrees that this sort of thing is second nature for him.

“I really treat people like I want to be treated,” Thomas told CBS news. “I have a soft heart. Everything I do is honestly just natural, besides the way my parents raised me. I don’t think about it. I just do it.” He hopes that people will follow his lead and “pay it forward” by doing good deeds for others.