Kylie's Chicago Pizza goes deep

Good Chicago-style deep-dish pizza is hard to come by in Seattle, but there's a tasty new choice in the city: Kylie's Chicago Pizza.

The Fremont restaurant has been open for less than a year and is taking a risk in an area of Seattle that is partial to Neapolitan and New York pizza. But at a time when virtually everyone is stretching their budgets, Chicago-style pizza arguably provides more value — and calories — for your money: One thick slice and you're full.

Then there's the crust. Oh, that crust is decadent. Firm, buttery and kissed with cornmeal.

The menu: It's wonderfully simple. Three appetizers and eight pizza variations, either deep-dish or thin-crust style. Or build your own pizza, choosing from more than 20 toppings. There are two sizes, the 10-inch small and 12-inch large. No pizza by the slice here.

What to write home about: You can't go wrong with the Chicago Classic deep-dish pizza ($17 small, $23 large). The crust is loaded with cheese, sweet fennel sausage, onions, green peppers and mushrooms, then covered in a chunky tomato sauce. We added jalapeños to spice things up. Extra toppings are $1.50 for small pies and $2 for large pies. Kylie's menu says the large feeds three to four people; I think some with smaller bellies would say five or six. The small mixed-green salad ($6) we ordered was huge, too.

What to skip: Quite honestly, we didn't find anything to dislike. We didn't try the thin-crust pizza; it wasn't what we came for.

The setting: A cozy, low-lit space, Kylie's serves dinner only. (After eating deep-dish in the dark, all I wanted to do was sleep.) Our server was friendly and attentive to our needs.

Summing up: In a city with few good choices for Chicago-style pizza, Kylie's is a welcome new addition. Our two-person party split a small mixed-green salad ($6) and a deep-dish pizza ($25; half Chicago Classic with jalapeños and half Mediterranean with artichoke hearts, red bell peppers, green olives, onions and feta). With tax, our bill was $34. We had enough leftovers for three more meals.

Sanjay Bhatt: 206-464-3103 or sbhatt@seattletimes.com