For those of you who have ever been to Madison, Wisconsin since Halloween 2001, you know Ian’s Pizza. If you haven’t been to Ian’s pizza, you haven’t been to Madison. You may have partied at the bars, and hooked up with college girls, but without getting a 2 am slice of Black Bean, Feta, and Avocado at Ian’s Pizza, you can’t say that you were ever really there. That being said, I’m pretty sure (read-positive) that in the four years I was at UW I ate more Ian’s pizza than anyone. My freshman year I ate there almost every single day, many times more than once, and the trend continued the rest of my time there. I adopted their couch when they were going to throw it out, and I got the first ever delivery from there. Needless to say, I like Ian’s pizza. So since I was returning to Chicago for a little bit, I decided that Dana and I would go get some Ian’s in Madison. But I also knew that an Ian’s had opened in Chicago. And then the idea struck. We were going to attempt the first ever Thr-Ian’s! We would eat at all three (two in Madison) Ian’s locations in one day. It wouldn’t be easy, but we were going to do it. The day started out easy with my first Ian’s in two years. Of course it was at the original. I got a Spicy Beef Taco and a Buffalo Chicken, two of my favorite slices, and I knew I was home again. Dana had a Penne Pasta to start, her absolute favorite, so much so that she asks pizza places in L.A. if they could put penne on their pizzas. None can.
I could have probably had at least three more slices, but I knew I was gonna have to pace myself. We walked around campus and State Street to get our stomachs ready for round 2. We longed for some Babcock Ice Cream and Great Dane Beer Bread, but we had to stay focused. Finally, we were ready for round two.We hit up the State Street location and zeroed in on my absolute favorite slice ever. The thing about Ian’s is that they have so many slices, they don’t offer them all at once. You go in, see what’s made, and choose from that. While most people like Mac n’ Cheese, I had finally hit the jackpot on my second stop. The elusive and amazing Guacamole Burrito. With a base of black beans and rice, there is cheese, sour cream and guacamole drizzled over the top. After I added a little bit of honey, I was ready to pick up and move back to Madison. We finished up, saw the rest of Madison that we wanted to, and headed back to Chicago to complete our goal.
Back in Chi-town I knew that I needed to get my brother some Ian’s. When he got back from the Bears game, we called up Ian’s, put in an order for a half Buffalo Chicken, half Penne Pasta pie. You may ask why we doubled up on slices we already had. To that I will answer, because they are so fuckin good I wanted more. To complete the Thr-Ian’s we had to eat our last slices by midnight the same day we started, even though they open until 2 am. I went to the store to pick up my last pie at 11:40, got home, and Dana and I officially completed the Thr-Ian’s at 11:55 pm. That’s all there is to it. The first ever Thr-Ian’s. That place is so good. Check out their site HERE
NOTE: Dana didn’t want to be in any photos. I guess I’ll take all the glory myself.
My First Two Slices in Two YEARS!
Our Second Stop at the State Street Location
The Chi-Town Finale
