Some people malign it as casserole. Others simply love to hate it. But as a native Chicagoan and lifelong enthusiast of all variations on the tomato pie, I don’t care what people say: I’m here to defend my city’s most infamous dish. Scratch that: I’m here to sing its praises, because Chicago deep-dish pizza is a towering, molten, glorious gut-bomb that deserves some serious love and respect.

Don’t believe me? Well, you’ll just have to try a bite. Don’t worry, I’ll wait. Sure, it might look a little different than the pizza you’re used to, but who doesn’t love a pile of bread, melty cheese, and bright, sweet-tart tomato sauce? Chicagoans (or most of us, at least) don’t eat deep-dish very often, but when we do, it’s an occasion unto itself, one where we’re happy to sit together and wait for 40 minutes in anticipation, either with out-of-town visitors, or to satisfy a craving for something comically fun—and comforting—to eat. What’s not to love about a food that’s really a party? We don’t fuss, we just call it pizza.

Of course, like any food, not all deep-dish pizza is created equal. I set out on a quest to taste all of Chicago’s most celebrated pies, hunting for the ones most worthy of occupying your stomach’s valuable real estate.