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.
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| Risk Manager: spicy italian salami, mozzarella, calabrian honey |
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| Luis Malnati: oven-roasted tomato, mozzarella, parmesan, pecorino, spinach, garlic, pesto, oregano |
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| Tribute to the phenomenal "The Lou" at Lou Malnati's. Looks like it's currently off the menu; hopefully it comes back. |
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| Peter Piper: house-made sausage, mozzarella, banana peppers, pickled fresno chiles, jalapeño, piparras peppers |
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| Hot Daisy: vodka sauce, calabrian chiles, parmesan, fresh mozzarella, basil |
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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.
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| Funghi: panna, wild forest mushroom, roasted garlic, ricotta, pecorino, aged balsamic |
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| White Lightning: panna, mozzarella, pepperoni, pickled jalapeño, garlic, basil |
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| 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:
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| Margherita |
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| Half pepperoni, half meatball |
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| Pepperoni, mozzarella, garlic, calabrian chile, basil |
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| 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.
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| Hoosier Mama's Queen Victoria: Peanut butter, bananas, peanut butter cream, toasted marshmallow, graham cracker crust |
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| Phred approves! |
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9 comments:
Risk Manager was the biggest winner for me. Honey and salami is a unique and awesome duo. Close second was the Market Pie. Generally not a huge fan of no red sauce but the dried tomatoes really did a good job of filling the void. An honorable mention to the White Lightning. Jalapeños and pepperoni were my go to Dominoes combo in the 90s, and this one brought back some good memories. And shout out to the Colonial ale; the weirdest beer I’ve ever had. 7.5/10.
Phred pic for the win!!! Ok, that's out of my system now...
Pizzeria Bebu was great - that the pies were in close enough proximity to show up fresh was a huge bonus...that whole situation was nothing but net...hightly recommend the Moustrap-Bebu combo to all (good call Marla Collins' Husband/Phred's Dad!). My own children were hoodwinked into eating the aforementioned spicy pizza that brought laughter and joy to our host. After they calmed the heck down from that, the did seem to enjoy the more tame pizzas (sans basil leaves). I was way into the pizzas I was able to taste amid the melee of children and shared draft/bottle pours - great crust with skilled baking execution that gave the right chew throughout - crust very edible. The ingredients were all high-quality and judiciously incorporated. Again: this setup of the Off Color visit with Bebu's pizza is a no-brainer for folks with and without kiddos in tow - cool location with lots else to accomplish nearby, too. I'm going 8 out of 10 aggregate for the pies.
I'm a huge Bebu fan. It's definitely in any serious "Best in Chicago" conversation. I'd like a little more sauce on most of the red pizzas, but that's really just me looking for something to complain about. 8.7 from me.
I loved it! Wish I'd gotten more than one slice. 10/10!!!
This was my second time eating Bebu, and I'm a big fan. Hands down, the Risk Management was one of the best pizzas I've had in quite a while. Happy to be back on board with the Pizza Club.
8 out of 10!
I really liked the Market Pizza! Granted, the market is surely more bountiful in the summer, but for January, it was quite good! Other faves for me were the Lou and the mushroom pizza. The spicy ones had a little too much heat for my taste, but were still good. Overall, very good across the board. 8.5!
I really enjoyed Bebu. High quality ingredients all around, and the crust is fantastic. Just the right amount of chewy and a little crispness on the edges. Great flavor and salt level. The toppings were all great. My favorites were the Risk Manager, because that nice dose of honey worked so well with the spicy salami. And the Hot Daisy. I am a sucker for simplicity and spice, and the sauce had such a nice smooth heat in the background of a fresh and flavorful tomato sauce. (But yeah, it made my seven-year-old cry.) The mushrooms on the Funghi were also outstanding and perfectly cooked and flavored with balsamic. I could eat a meal out of those mushrooms.
8/10
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