Pizzeria Bebu
1521 N. Fremont Street (Map)
Chicago, IL 60642
(312) 280-6000
CPC invaded Pizzeria Bebu on Sunday, January 26, 2020.
After four years, the Chicago Pizza Club came back with a vengeance. Times have changed a bit. We're older, there are two new permanent significant others, every time you look a new child has been added to the mix. But the love for pizza and love fondness for one another couldn't be denied forever. And so it was that 8 old members, 2 new members (welcome Jen and Jess!), and 6 kids (7 if you're pro-life) got the new and improved band back together at 4:30 on a cool, wet January afternoon for some delicious pizza and beer.
The pizzeria selected for the return of the greatest and longest-lasting pizza club in the history of the internet is Pizzeria Bebu, which has deservedly gotten heaps of praise since it opened three years ago. Bebu is small and popular so a table for a group was never in the cards. Fortunately. 600 feet away sits Mousetrap, the BYOFood taproom for Off Color Brewing.
There's a pizza phone at Mousetrap for people who want to order from Bebu. While this is a fantastic service, people need to know that Bebu can get really backed up so your best bet is to do what did and order online ahead of time with a designated pickup time. When we stopped by to pick up our stack of pies at 5:00, they were boxed and ready to go.
Before picking up the pizza, we all met at Mousetrap for some beverages and some pizza snacks to get us warmed up. The kids, who all refused offers of beer, ended up eating most of the snacks. Filling up on chips when pizza is coming is such a rookie move.
Everyone seemed happy with the various beers on tap they tried (I can strongly recommend the ProCATStination), but one of the best perks of the taproom are the bombers of beer that are not available anywhere else and can't be purchased to go. We got a bottle of Chicxulub, which is basically their delicious Dino S'mores with guajillo, ancho and cayenne pepper added.
We got 9 pizzas, which I've ranked in order of deliciousness 1-7 with the two I didn't try at the end. There wasn't a dud in the bunch. The crust is fantastic, the toppings and cheese are high quality, and the topping combinations are creative. A couple of things to note. 1) All pizzas can be made half and half, even if you want half a red pizza and half a white pizza. 2) There are two pizza menus, which is easy to miss if you're ordering online.
 |
| Risk Manager: spicy italian salami, mozzarella, calabrian honey |
 |
| Luis Malnati: oven-roasted tomato, mozzarella, parmesan, pecorino, spinach, garlic, pesto, oregano |
 |
| Tribute to the phenomenal "The Lou" at Lou Malnati's. Looks like it's currently off the menu; hopefully it comes back. |
 |
| Peter Piper: house-made sausage, mozzarella, banana peppers, pickled fresno chiles, jalapeño, piparras peppers |
 |
| Hot Daisy: vodka sauce, calabrian chiles, parmesan, fresh mozzarella, basil |
 |
| . |
Fun story about the Hot Daisy. The boxes were all marked but I didn't pay attention. We'd ordered two pizzas for the kids, one of which was a margherita. I thought this was it. Spicy pizza for kids. Hilarious.
 |
| Funghi: panna, wild forest mushroom, roasted garlic, ricotta, pecorino, aged balsamic |
 |
| White Lightning: panna, mozzarella, pepperoni, pickled jalapeño, garlic, basil |
 |
| . |
 |
| Market Pizza: chef's daily creation from the market |
A note on the Market Pizza, which was good but by far the worst of the night: Ordering market pizza in Chicago in the middle of January may not have been the best idea. I trust Bebe does better when the markets are full. Here's what the kids ate:
 |
| Margherita |
 |
| Half pepperoni, half meatball |
 |
| Pepperoni, mozzarella, garlic, calabrian chile, basil |
 |
| Bebu Meatball: house-made meatball, ricotta cheese, parmesan (usually comes with giardiniera |
Desserts at pizzerias are generally subpar and we usually eat far too much pizza to care, but when you have the option of bringing your own dessert to a celebration of pizza pie, it naturally makes sense to enjoy some regular pie.
 |
| Hoosier Mama's Queen Victoria: Peanut butter, bananas, peanut butter cream, toasted marshmallow, graham cracker crust |
 |
| Phred approves! |
Posts
