Chef Justin Sutherland is a smart guy. Since taking over culinary operations at Madison Restaurant Group, he’s been transforming those properties one by one, tweaking the concepts and updating the decor.

His latest project was the former Fitzgerald’s, now simply known as The Fitz.

I always thought the pizza at the Cathedral Hill restaurant was the best thing on the menu, so I was not surprised when Sutherland said he was ordering a wood-fire oven so they could focus on pies, in particular the Chicago deep-dish variety.

In fact, chef Graham Messenger, who is in charge of the kitchen at The Fitz, has created a super solid, obscenely cheesy, crisp-chewy crusted Chicago deep dish that my entire family devoured on a recent visit.

Seriously, these pies, which use focaccia dough as the base for the crust, are worth every second of the 45-minute time they take to cook. (On the night we visited, it was more like an hour. They were busy.)

If you don’t have that kind of time, the globally inspired thin-crust pizzas are also delicious. There’s everything from New Orleans, with mortadella and giardiniera; to Puebla, mounded with chipotle chicken, red onions, cotija cheese, crisp radishes and more; to Athens, a vegetarian version that is slathered with spicy harissa and is mounded with so many artichokes, roasted red peppers, oil-cured olives and feta crumbles that you’ll forget all about the meat.

The menu includes a few sandwiches, too, including my favorite from the Fitzgerald’s menu, a Philly cheesesteak with house-made Cheez Whiz, some well-made salads and bar-snack type appetizers, including dry-rubbed wings with house-made ranch that are currently ranking among my favorites in the Twin Cities.

The cocktail menu is themed after explorers (yes, there is a Dora drink), and leans tropical, in an upscale way. There is an expansive tap beer list, and a decent wine-by-the-glass list as well.

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Restaurant updates: Jameson’s Irish Bar debuts, Tria and others reopen for dining Overall, the makeover is a massive improvement, and the busy dining room is a testament to that. Thankfully, the restaurant takes reservations, so it’s easy to plan around the crowds.

THE FITZ

Where: 173 N. Western Ave., St. Paul

For more information: 651-219-4013; thefitzstpaul.com

Prices: Appetizers, $6 to $14; sandwiches, $12 to $16; pizzas, $13 to $17; deep-dish pizzas, $26 to $32