Considering the fact that Highland Park is only twenty-odd miles away from Chicago you might expect the city to be known for Chicago-style pizza, but it's not. Highland Park is known for thin crust pizza and thin crust is the type of pie that's prevalent on the menus of the pizzerias here. Thin crust is one of the more traditional types of Italian pizza that's been being baked for generations. In Highland Park, though, you will find pizzerias offering the Americanized version of a thin crust which is New York-style pizza. Thin crust is the most common pizza baked around the Italian capital and the surrounding areas. It is basically the same as a thick crust apart from the fact it has considerably less dough in the base which makes it crispier when cooked.

Best delivery pizza in Highland Park, Illinois

Ask anyone local which pizzeria has been baking the best delivery pizza in Highland Park for the past fifteen years and they'll tell you Judy's. Judy's Pizza is a pie-making business that first opened in Chicago in the late 1970s and then moved to Highland Park in the early 1990s. That's a considerable amount of pizza-making practice over the years and the experience shows in the pies they produce. Judy's Pizza has a modern premises on Deerfield Road. It's not overly large - there's just room enough for half a dozen tables - and most of the rest of the space inside is taken up by the kitchen and the pizza ovens. Judy's specializes in thin-crust pies and have a real flair for baking what can only be called a good-looking pizza. They're so good looking in fact, any pie from Judy's will make you sigh with delight when you open the delivery box.

Best takeout pizza in Highland Park, Illinois

If you've been hiking the trails in Sunset Woods Park and are having a sudden attack of hunger pangs, you're only another two minutes walk from where you can get the best take-out pizza in Highland Park. Head over to 2nd Street and you'll find a pizzeria called New York Slices where you can grab a bite of New York-style pizza baked in a brick oven. New York Slices is housed in a single-story brick building alongside some other eateries, but bypass those and go straight through this pizzeria's door. It looks like a typical, old-fashioned fast food joint inside with the proverbial metal-legged chairs and formica-topped tables from the 1970s, but don't let that put you off. New York Slices pizzas are totally of the 21st century unless you go for a Sicilian, then you'll need to pre-order as that type of pie takes around two hours to prepare – just the same as in the old days.

Best pizza near Highland Park, Illinois

Kenosha

Take a forty-minute drive north from Highland Park and you'll have crossed the Illinois state border with Wisconsin as well as be arriving in Kenosha. Kenosha is a city on the shores of Lake Michigan where there's no shortage of interesting things to do. Museums are plentiful in Kenosha. Kids will love the Dinosaur Discovery Museum with its t-rex skeleton and adults the Civil War Museum or the Kenosha History Center. The whole family will enjoy a stroll along Simmon's Island Beach to see the lighthouses before going to eat pizza at Giordano's on Green Bay Road.

Chicago

What isn't there to do in Chicago would probably be quicker to mention than going through all there is to do there. The good thing about living or visiting Highland Park is that it is only a short drive away. For a touch of deluxe entertainment and incredible views of the Chicago skyline, the Navy Pier is a must-do. If you have time to fit in anything else into your day then the Art Institute of Chicago, the Shedd Aquarium, and the Museum of Science and Industry are all great. It goes without saying that taking a selfie in front of Cloud Gate in Millennium Park is an essential souvenir snap. Trying a Chicago-style pizza is something you shouldn't miss out on either and you can do that at The Art of Pizza on North Ashland Avenue.

Lake Forest

Escape from all the city mayhem by making a trip just six miles north of Highland Park to Lake Forest. There's no shortage of things to do in Lake Forest itself, but skip them all and head for the Middlefork Savanna Forest Preserve. It's a tranquil twenty-five-acre parcel of land with tallgrass savannas, sedge meadows, and wetlands. Running through the preserve there's around five miles of gravel-covered trails as well as four miles of cycle paths. It's a super peaceful spot where you'll have nothing but the beauty of nature around you or at least nothing more until you head into Lake Forest for a pizza at Lou Malnati's Pizzeria on Waukegan Road.