After declaring that we both dislike deep-dish pizza, my friend Miss Tots and I headed, ironically, to Lefty’s Chicago Pizzeria for supper last week.

“Deep-dish crust is too doughy and heavy,” she winced as we made our approach.

“Thin crust rules!” I concurred.

Having pre-scanned the menu online before we visited, the thought of a Vienna Beef Chicago dog or an Italian sausage hoagie smothered in peppers and onions seemed like the inevitable choices over those famous thick-crust pies that take about 35 minutes to bake. Yet if Chicago folk consistently wait that long in pizzerias to cure their craving, then perhaps Miss Tots and I have missed out on something special by eating only those personal-size dough disks at Pizzeria Uno or, God forbid, the commercial frozen brands I’ve gagged on in the past.

Enter into Lefty’s small interior and you’re suddenly bathed in harsh fluorescent light amid a cluster of enthusiastic patrons waiting for their orders. The mood is upbeat and frenetic. A few tiny tables and a window ledge with bar stools tightly arranged are your indoor seating options. Framed pictures of the Chicago Cubs, naturally, plaster the walls. And the sight and smell of deep-dish pizzas flying out of the ovens (and available by the slice at the counter) begin to dictate your behavior.

Because of that, we skipped past the thin-crust pizzas that were also on display and augmented our order with a fat-crusted slice of deep dish crowned with golden-baked mozzarella, homemade Italian sausage and plunks of cherry-red tomato sauce on the outside. It looked way too good to pass up.

Our next step was to seize a table on the small sidewalk patio. The inside was too congested. “It’s dog-eat-dog for seating,” quipped an employee who’s part of a tight-knit clan of owners originally from Chicago. Luckily, an outside table opened up, and in what seemed like the perfect casting call for a documentary about Chicago cuisine, we ended up next to a large group of Windy City transplants visiting Lefty’s for their first time.

An outgoing and discerning bunch they were as they anxiously began their long wait for a couple of whole deep-dish pizzas, hoping Lefty’s would match the quality of a place in downtown Chicago they raved about called Nino’s.

In the meantime, we dove headlong into our slice with unexpected glee. The crust was superb – airy, crisp and yeasty, and sporting an excellent texture from the careful balance of oil and cornmeal used in the dough recipe. The kitchen also keeps their pizza ovens at a high heat (more than 500 degrees, we were told), which effectively cooks away the pastiness of dough and makes the overall pizza taste as good as it smells.

Our feast continued in irregular spurts with the arrival of a modest-size steamed Chicago dog tucked into a sesame bun and pointed up with mustard, onions, “sport peppers,” celery salt and Chicago’s classic neon-green pickle relish. Our only complaint was that the dog could have been an inch or two longer. When you’re eating something this tasty, size and girth do matter.

If you’ve never tried a traditional Italian beef sandwich, common throughout south Chicago, this is the place to start if you must do it in San Diego. The meat originates from shoulder or top round roast, gets well trimmed, and then it’s typically braised in water, beef stock and spices such as oregano, sage and onion powder until it’s tender enough to be finely chopped. Though usually a little pale in color, our Italian hoagie roll came packed with the tender beef and was made all the better with the addition of Provolone cheese and tangy sweet peppers.

Since this isn’t exactly what you’d call spa eating, we crossed the dietary line even further with an order of Loaded Fries entombed in either bleu or cheddar cheese, plus bacon, scallions and too much sour cream to speak of.

“I’ll need to go straight to the ER if I eat any more of these,” Miss Tots said as she nudged the basket in my direction. She was put off most by the cheddar cheese topping, a funky and coagulating cheese spread known as Kaukauna, which is used to form those cheesy balls and logs common at holiday parties. The pool of bacon grease at the bottom of the basket frightened her further.

Also offered (if you don’t mind waiting a full hour for them to cook) is double-crust stuffed pizza made with aged cheese and your choice of fixings, which includes a slew of meat and veggie toppings. They call these monsters, “the king of all pizzas.”

There’s also a variety of chopped salads, Chicago Polish Sausage, homemade meatball and Italian sausage sandwiches and a few pasta dishes, including Lefty’s Carbonara, consisting of spaghetti with eggs, bacon, parmesan and a splash of cream.

But it is the made-to-order deep-dish pizzas that have people flocking here, as evidenced by the continuous stream of faithful customers pouring out the door while balancing hot cardboard boxes in their hands. We counted dozens of them in our hourlong stay, which included time spent holding out until we could witness the final verdict on the pizza from our adjoining party.

“It’s good. Very good and tastes pretty much like Nino’s!” remarked a guy in the group as he shook his head up and down with a thumb pointed up. His friends obviously agreed because they fell silent and began chewing feverishly in unison.