Reno [Meeting #112]

Reno
2607 N Milwaukee Ave (Map)
Chicago, IL 60647
(773) 697-4234

CPC and family invaded Reno at 5:30 PM on Sunday, January 27, 2013. Marla Collins' Husband started writing this review in early March and just finished it in mid-August.

El Presidente has two babies and a very important job so it's understandable that he did not get around to writing this review. I didn't jot down any thoughts after the Chicago Pizza Club ate most of the pizzas at Reno, but I've got one hell of a pizza memory. For the second consecutive time, we gathered early on a Sunday night in order to accommodate the early bedtimes of the next generation of the CPC. At this meeting, young Estela, Cora (first CPC meeting outside the womb!), and Hugo were joined by 6 full-fledged adult members and, for the very first time, a parent of a CPC member. That's right, three generations of the Chicago Pizza Club made a temporary home in Logan Square to eat some pizza!

Reno is the latest venture from the team that has given Chicago Webster's Wine Bar, Telegraph, and Bluebird. Of the three, I've only been to Bluebird and that was to drink while waiting for  a table to open up next door at Hot Chocolate, so I'm not sure whether Reno's pedigree should impress or not. But after eating there, I do know the pizza at Reno is worthy of a visit from anyone serious about our favorite food.


Reno had 8 pizzas on the dinner menu with predetermined sets of toppings along with a plain sauced pie to which diners can add toppings. Apparently the menu does change a bit because there was a pizza with beets and whipped tofu available when we visited that has mercifully been removed. (Note: Amanda wanted us to order the Beetza (shaved beets / hazelnuts / thyme / whipped tofu) and she should be publicly be humiliated for that). Here's the menu as of early March, which was very similar to the one we saw in late January (the Bono was not there for our visit):

Reno Mozzarella / Fresh Basil / Red Sauce —9 Add toppings & make it your own Kauliflower Roasted Cauliflower / Truffle / Parmesan / Mozzarella —14 Paulina Paulina Pepperoni / Jalapeño Pesto / Mozzarella / Red Sauce —12 Southern Edward’s Ham / Kimchi / Spinach / Mozzarella / Fried Garlic —11 Popeye Artichoke / Spinach / Gouda / Mozzarella / Pecorino —13

Hog Porkbelly Carnitas / Salsa Verde / Mozzarella / Rajas / Cotija Cheese —14 Combo Fennel Sausage / Crimini Mushroom / Smoked Onion / Mozzarella / Red Sauce —14 Butternut Butternut Squash / Sage / Gruyere Cheese / Walnuts / Extra Virgin Olive Oil —11 Bono Sweet Potato / Brussels Sprout / Corned Beef / Smoked Onion / Aleppo Pepper —16

*** As of August 17, 2013, the menu is now:

Reno Mozzarella / Fresh Basil / Red Sauce —9 Add toppings & make it your own Husker Sweet Corn Salsa / Roasted Eggplant / Grilled Peppers / Mozzarella / Basil —14 Paulina Paulina Pepperoni / Jalapeño Pesto / Mozzarella / Red Sauce —12 Popeye Artichoke / Spinach / Gouda / Mozzarella / Pecorino —13 The Meg Arbol Peanut Salsa / Spinach / Smoked Onion / Piquillo Pepper —13

Hog Porkbelly Carnitas / Salsa Verde / Mozzarella / Rajas / Cotija Cheese —14 Combo Fennel Sausage / Crimini Mushroom / Smoked Onion / Mozzarella / Red Sauce —14 Jorge Proscuitto di Parma / Asparagus / Sunny Side Egg / Rosemary / Mozzarella —16 T.O. Smoked Chicken / Arbol Peanut Salsa / Green Onion / Smoked Onion —16

As you can see, lots of changes. ***

Back to the actual meeting, which took place over six months ago. We sampled the Hog, the Combo, the Butternut, the Southern, the Paulina, a Reno that we topped with pepperoni, onion and garlic; and, because there were children present, a plain Reno.

Remember that memory I bragged about at the beginning? I wrote that in early March. It's now mid-August and my memory's not superhuman, so I can't get too detailed. Look at the ingredients and the pictures and use your imagination. And take it as a major compliment to Reno that the following thoughts remain in my head almost seven months after I ate this stuff:

The crust is really, really good. It's got the whole crisp and chewy thing down pat - that was consistent in every pizza. There wasn't anything that stood out particularly about the flavor, but to the extent a test of a crust is whether it would be enjoyable to eat without cheese, sauce or toppings,  this one passes with flying colors.

In terms of the toppings,  the Hog and the Paulina really stood out. They were creative, but not just for the sake of creativity; the combinations were as delicious as they are uncommon. The Hog is just about the best Mexicanish pizza you'll find anywhere and the jalapeno pesto on The Paulina (with pepperoni from Paulina Meat Market!) was a standout topping that really ought to be bottled and sold. It makes perfect sense that those two have remained on the menu that, as you can see above, has seen some major tinkering since the CPC visited. I was also a big fan of the Combo. The sausage was studded with fennel and the smoked onion was a unique and pretty excellent twist on a fairly typical toppings' combination that a self-respecting Chicagoan would consider ordering anywhere.

Not surprisingly, at least to me, the butternut was the least successful of the night, reinforcing that the 99.99% of pizzerias that never put butternut squash on a pizza have the right idea. Update: Amanda says the butternut was her idea and that she didn't push for the tofu. The dinner was 7 months ago; she might be right. But still, public shaming for foisting butternut and sage upon us is appropriate.

That's all I've got. Hopefully some CPC members will chime in with their memories. And perhaps the best thing I can say is that coming back and finishing this review makes me realize how badly I need to get back to Reno. And not just for the pizza. We also had a sampling of desserts and they were, for me, the highlight of a delicious meal.

Lastly, a housekeeping note. There has been a coup in the Chicago Pizza Club. El Presidente has been banished to the pizza wasteland that is Orlando, Florida. There will be an election at the next CPC meeting to anoint a new Supreme Leader. I will have the only vote in the election. The winner will be me, Marla Collins' Husband the Magnificent, Prime Minister of Pizza. All hail MCHMPMP!

Nella Pizza Napoletana [Meeting #90]

Nella Pizzeria Napoletana
2423 N. Clark Street (GoogleMaps)
Chicago, IL
773.327.3400

CPC invaded Nella Pizzeria Napoletana on 12/17/09.

Nella Grassano has become a Chicago foodie superstar. After gaining much notice with her time as Spacca Napoli's original pizzaiola, she left with plans to open her own restaurant. A product of both current trends and the success at Spacca Napoli left Grassano looking at much more crowded field when she made her return to the scene. However, she has one characteristic that a lot of the newer places making Neapolitan or Neapolitan-inspired pizza lack; she's actually Italian. Not only that, but she comes from a pizza-making Italian family. She's been making pizzas since she was a child. Not only that, but she has an Italian accent when speaking English. Chicago waited with bated breath until she opened at the end of November.

With the closing of nearby My Pie, there was a pizza void in Lincoln Park for a restaurant that could seat over 100 people. As always, the oven draws your eyes and is beautifully decorated. CPC member and Slice contributor MCH has written an excellent piece on the craftsmanship of the oven. It has been open for a few weeks now and, from what we could tell, is running smoothly. They take reservations for groups of ten people or more and they have a semi-private back room by the oven that can accommodate two large groups. While you wait, enjoy their complimentary fried dough available near the entrance. We were seated quickly and gazed upon the menu. After a few drinks - they have a variety of wines and a lackluster beer list with the usual Italian offerings - we ordered the following pizzas:

• Bufalina - tomato sauce, buffalo mozzarella, olive oil, and basil
• Diavola - tomato sauce, mozzarella, olive oil, basil, spicy salami, red chili flakes
• Funghi e Salsiccia - tomato sauce, mozzarella, mushrooms, sausage, olive oil, and basil
• Mare e Monti - tomato sauce, mozzarella, porcini mushrooms, baby shrimp, parsley, and olive oil
• Napoli - tomato sauce, anchovies, olive oil, mozzarella, and olive oil
• Vesuvio, a layered stuffed pizza - ricotta, tomato sauce, mozarella, mushrooms, arugula, prosciutto, parmesan, basil, and olive oil
• The special, which was the Sorrentino (white pie with arugula, olive oil, cherry tomatoes, basil, and buffalo mozzarella) with sweet salami added

As you would expect, the pizza comes out rather quickly and uncut. They provide you with pizza cutters so you can cut it as you wish. I wish they had just been cut for us, but it was nice to appreciate it before it was cut and also to have the option to cut it as we wished. Perhaps they gave it to us because we were in such a large group.

I'll comment on my favorite pizza, the Diavola. It features an incredibly tasty salami that would be a great meal with just some bread. It is generously distributed across the pizza with chunks of fresh mozzarella cheese. The crust has a buttery/oil flavor and just a hint of salt. This noticeable role of a fat in the crust is what made it so great. It was perfectly cooked and didn't overwhelm any of the toppings. It was crisp on the outside, soft and airy on the inside with balanced texture. This pizza is surprisingly spicy and as a fan of spicy food, I loved this departure from the usual flavors of Neapolitan pizza. Her sauce is just tomatoes with a small amount of salt. The San Marzano tomatoes don't really need much else to be an excellent acidic counterpoint to the cheese, bread, and meats on her pizza.

The Vesuvio is her foray into "stuffed" pizza. Probably my least favorite pizza, it had some solid components that didn't come together. It's a mix between a calzone and pot pie. Essentially, the stuffing becomes a soupy mixture that is difficult to eat. I can overlook that, but it was also my least favorite topping combination. The ricotta and mozzarella became very clumpy. Also, ours was very asymmetrical. This is not typically a big deal, particularly in this style of pizza, but it did cause the crust to cook unevenly at different parts. We did not get the expected puffy pizza which would be popped at our table. Rather, we got a semi-deflated pizza topped with a drizzle of olive oil. I do wish I had tried the calzones, because at La Madia I prefer the lunchtime calzones to their excellent pizza. I suspect Grassano's calzones are likely on the same level of quality as her pizza.

The Bufalina deserves some mention because it is essentially her margherita with buffalo mozzarella substituted for regular mozzarella. The more prominent flavor of the buffalo cheese worked well with the other simple ingredients and crust. This was probably my second favorite pizza of the night because she lets the melted cheese and sauce, which were all over the pie, be the showcase.



The service was attentive and non-intrusive during our 90 minutes at the restaurants. We ordered a variety of desserts including the canoli, pana cotta, tartufo, and profiteroles. I only tried two of them, but they were outstanding and a great cap to the evening. I think most people with a healthy appetite can eat one entire pizza by themselves. On a night with a restaurant at capacity, our food was at our table within 10 minutes of ordering. Anticipating a favorable response to the first location, a second restaurant is already in the works for Taylor Street.



Nella Pizzeria Napoletano is an excellent restaurant with some great pizzas outshining a few other offerings. They do have a liquor license and feature a nice selection of wines and a passable beer list. I felt that the Vesuvio is a mis-step on an otherwise solid menu. However, the best pizzas here were almost flawless and I plan to come back to try more pizza as well as some of their pasta and appetizers.

Antica Pizzeria [Meeting #89]

Antica Pizzeria
5663 N Clark St [GoogleMaps]
Chicago, IL
(773) 944-1492‎

CPC invaded Antica Pizzeria on 12/9/09.

The Andersonville neighborhood on Chicago's Northside is no stranger to good restaurants. In October 2008, native Sicilian Mario Rapisarda opened Antica Pizzeria and it competes with the best Andersonville has to offer, including the much-lauded Great Lake a few blocks away.

Our group of ten was comfortably seated in the small dining room. While the furnishings are non-descript, the wood-burning ovens give a warm honey glow which was especially welcome on a snowy winter night. We could actually see our pizzas cooking in the ovens.

We ordered nine pies:

• Fattarosa (Italian ham, hard-boiled eggs, English peas, mushrooms, and fresh mozzarella)
• Homemade Fennel Sausage
• Pistachio and Prosciutto
• Margherita (fresh mozzarella, basil, tomato sauce)
• Asparagus and Mushroom
• Funghi (white pizza, fresh mozzarell and mushrooms)
• Parma (fresh mozzarella, shaved parmesan cheese, cherry tomatoes, fresh arugula, prosciutto de Parma)
• Padania (caramelized onions, tomato sauce, fresh mozzarella)
• Daily Special, which was the Pizza Maldonado, featuring fennel sausage, marinara sauce, mushrooms and salami.

The first three came out about ten minutes after ordering, and the remaining pies came shortly thereafter two or three at a time. The pizzas are Neapolitan style, about 12-inches in diameter. The crusts generally had some charring along the outer edges, but not as much as you might find at other places. The crust was thin, but still had a noticeably chewy texture that became much softer toward the middle.

Although all the pizzas were good, a few were standouts: the Caramelized Onion, the Fattarosa, and the Pistachio and Prosciutto. The Caramelized Onion pizza had caramelized onions, whole roasted garlic, and pancetta. The onions were likely sauteed in a vinegar which really brought out the flavor of the onions, but also added an interesting dimension to the pizza overall. I was afraid that the bold use of garlic might be overwhelming, especially on such a thin crust pizza, but it was very well-balanced.

The Fattarosa was the first time many of us had seen English peas or eggs on a pizza. The yolk of the hard-boiled egg tasted wonderful when combined with the spicy and sweet marinara sauce, and added an almost creamy texture. The peas make the whole dish seem a bit more virtuous.

Also noteworthy was the Pistachio and Prosciutto. Again, this was the first time many had seen pistachios on a pizza. The pistachios were halved and roasted. The sweetness of the pistachios provided a nice contrast to the salty prosciutto. They also provided an occasional crunch, which is a rare feeling when eating pizza.

Finally, I would be remiss if I did not mention the house-made fennel sausage. This sausage was a crumbly sort of sausage -- not sausage balls. It seems like you get more sausage this way, as there is sausage in every bite. It has a strong fennel flavor, but because it's crumbled it doesn't overwhelm your palate like chunks of it might.

Overall, Antica Pizzeria is well worth a trip to Andersonville. You can expect a high-quality pizza, with fresh and unique ingredients. It has been BYO thus far and there are no plans for a liquor license currently. And no, we did not forget the link to their website. Antica is living up to its name by not having one thus far.

The CPC gives Antica Pizzeria a score of 8.4.

Pizza Art Cafe [Meeting #87]

Pizza Art Cafe
4658 N. Rockwell St. [GoogleMaps]
Chicago, IL 60625
(773) 539-0645

CPC invaded Pizza Art Cafe on 10/28/09.

Pizza Art Cafe is tucked into a quiet block of Rockwell Street in Ravenswood, just north of the Brown Line el tracks. The first thing you see when you walk inside is the wood-burning oven to the left. The air is thick with a pleasant garlic aroma, and the dim overhead lighting and candle-lit tables create a warm atmosphere. Some sections of the wall are brick, some wood panels, some drywall, and there are a few curious pieces of three-dimensional art featuring things like high heels, jewelry, and what looked like dried meat. The service is friendly, but can be a bit slow.

In addition to 24 gourmet pizza offerings, the menu includes a variety of Italian and other Mediterranean dishes. There are also a few Bosnian dishes such as cevapcici to reflect the owner's Bosnian roots. One key feature of the menu to note before making plans to eat here is the invitation to BYOB.

The pizza is of the Neapolitan variety, with each thin pie quickly cooked and (usually) lightly charred in the wood-burning oven. The pizzas are each about 12" across, and they range in price from $8 to $13 depending on the toppings. We tried the following six pizzas, which seemed sufficient to sate the eight pizza clubbers in attendance:

• Margherita - tomato sauce, mozzarella, fresh basil
• Funghi - tomato sauce, mozzarella, sliced mushrooms, parsley, garlic
• Siciliana - tomato sauce, mozzarella, sliced assorted roasted peppers, house-cured smoked beef, mushrooms
• Diavola - tomato sauce, mozzarella, salame, hot green peppers
• Pizza Lasagna - tomato sauce, mozzarella, ricotta cheese, ham
• Pizza Art - shrimp topped with homemade cheese sauce and parsley
  

We found the crust to be very inconsistent from pizza to pizza. Some were crisp and a little too burnt, and some were thick and chewy. The sauce tasted fresh and simple. Pizza Art can be heavy-handed with the cheese, which is a good or bad thing depending on your preferences. The toppings really stand out because they are fresh, they include high-quality cuts of meat such as ham and salame, and they offer lesser found seafood options such as smoked salmon. The Margherita really captured the essence of what Pizza Art Cafe is striving for, though some members found the cheese too plentiful. The Funghi was interesting because the mushrooms and garlic were almost raw, which was nice to try with respect to the mushrooms but a little overwhelming with respect to the garlic. The meat toppings were well-received for the most part, though the signature house-cured smoked beef was quite dry and too smoky for some. The Pizza Art, the restaurant's namesake, was probably the least popular pizza because some folks just don't like shrimp on their pizza, and because others found the cheesy/yogurty sauce off-putting.

Overall, Pizza Art Cafe offers some inventive Italian cooking in a cozy, date-friendly space. But some of us could have done with a little less invention and a little more consistency.

The CPC gives Pizza Art Cafe an average score of 5.6.

Frasca Pizzeria & Wine Bar [Meeting #86]

Frasca Pizzeria & Wine Bar [Google Maps]
3358 N. Paulina St.
Chicago, IL 60657
(773) 248-5222

CPC invaded Frasca Pizzeria & Wine Bar on 10/07/09.

Frasca Pizzeria and Wine Bar is a self-described "contemporary Italian" restaurant, located in Roscoe Village just a block off the Paulina Brown Line stop. It is brought to us by the same people who gave us Dunlays and Smoke Daddy, but both the menu and the ambiance of the restaurant differ greatly from both. Although the word "pizzeria" is in the name of this establishment, the menu contains a variety of Italian-inspired dinner items beyond pizza, along with brunch on Saturday and Sunday. Frasca takes great pride in its wines, with a long list offering by the bottle, glass or flight; it is also worth taking note that on Tuesdays they offer 1/2-price bottles.

For the Chicago Pizza Club Meeting #86, we chose to go to Frasca on a Wednesday, to take advantage of their 2-for-1 pizza deal.

The following are the pizza combinations we tried -- all were from the menu except for the sausage & goat cheese:

• prosciutto - olive oil, mozzarella, arugula, prosciutto
• capone - tomato sauce, wood roasted onions, fennel sausage, fresh mozzarella
• caponata - tomato sauce, eggplant, goat cheese, mozzarella, red peppers, mushrooms, artichokes
• rustica - diced prosciutto, oven dried tomatoes, mozzarella, basil pesto
• shrimp + bacon - bechamel sauce with mozzarella, wood fired onions, evoo
• margherita - tomato sauce, fresh mozzarella, sliced tomatoes basil
• soprano - hot capicola, sausage, pepperoni, sopressata, mozzarella and red peppers
• pepperoni - tomato sauce, oregano, mozzarella
• quattro formaggi - mozzarella, gorgonzola,ricotta, provolone
• sausage and goat cheese

Having never patronized Frasca's 2-for-1 night, it was a surprise for me to see the restaurant as busy as it was, and I am glad that we made reservations for our large group. But while it was busy, our pizzas started coming out in a timely manner, about 20 minutes after we'd sat down. And the temperature was perfect on all the pies -- I didn't have a cold slice the entire night, and no one scorched the roof of their mouth.

As is often the case, my favorite pizzas were the ones with sausage. The sausage itself had an abundance of flavor without being overly fatty, and I especially loved it paired with the sweet wood-roasted onions of the Capone. What really stood out for me, though, were those pizzas whose ingredients I otherwise usually dislike on pizza. Until having it at Frasca, I had never had an arugula pizza I liked. It's just personal preference, but I think salad greens should stay in salad, and away from pizza. However, Frasca did an excellent job with the combination of prosciutto and arugula. There was just the right amount of prosciutto to not be overwhelmed by the arugula, and the arugula was sauteed, which I think took a lot of the harshness out of its flavor, and helped it to complement the other ingredients. The other unexpected delight of the night for me was the Rustica, most notably its pesto. Other pizzerias could learn a lot from the use of pesto at Frasca. It was fresh, bursting with flavor -- (you can really taste the sharpness of the basil and get a good crunch from the nuts) -- and it was distributed in delicious dollops, without making the pizza a greasy mess.

As mentioned in the reviews (see comments), the pizzas' biggest let-down was the crust. In Chicago we are spoiled with our wood-fired thin crusts, and have come to expect some high quality dough when we see an oven like the one at Frasca. Most people didn't like how chewy it was, but what most disappointed me was the inconsistency of the crust from pizza to pizza. Some of the pizzas had the nice dough bubbles that delight me, but some were over-cooked. The pepperoni especially had been in the oven for too long. I like a little bit of burn on the crust, but at a certain point you are just eating burned pizza and that's not really a good thing.

Overall, Frasca offers decent pizza, especially when it's 1/2-price. Besides the crust, I enjoyed all of their ingredients, notably how fresh they were and how well thought-out were the combinations.

Union Pizzeria [Meeting #83]

Union Pizzeria [Google Maps]
1245 Chicago Avenue
Evanston, Illinois 60202
(847) 475-2400

CPC invaded Union Pizzeria on 7/9/09.

Review submitted by AJ

Haute pizza is the new “it” food and any self-respecting town with aspirations of legitimacy requires a vendor. For years, Evanstonians have been underserved in this critical respect and have been subjected to a variety of pizzamongers (with the exception of Lou Malnati’s), primarily catering to the college crowd. However, Executive Chef Vince DiBattista of Campagnola, Evanston’s rustically-elegant Italian comfort food spot, has overseen the “coming out” of its swanky-urbanite kid sister, Union Pizzeria. Originally dubbed Wild Geese, Union Pizzeria opened to much fanfare and praise in February 2008 and has been serving up Italian-style, oak-fired, thin-crust pizza ever since. On this mild summer’s evening, Chicago Pizza Club took the Purple Line north and took a look/see and taste for ourselves to determine if the “it” food had finally arrived in Evanston.

Upon entrance, CPC noticed the trendy ultra-lounge vibe, exemplified by its loft ceiling, artsy exposed brick walls, micro-lighting fixtures, large 25-seat bar and 25 tables. Welcoming patrons is a comfy lounge featuring low sofa sectionals and glass tables. The bar boasts a large selection of German and Belgian microbrews and 20-plus beers by the bottle, plus a diverse wine list of 50 bottles under $50. Inconspicuously tucked behind the bar is a lovingly-made, dome-shaped brick oven, which reminds one and all that kid sister may have some cool, but she knows her roots.

The brick oven deserves a mention as Union Pizzeria noted that it is the only true dome brick oven in the Chicagoland area. The oven burns oak, cooks at about 700 degrees and can hold 10 pizzas at a time. It also features a unique ventilation system that prevented the space from smelling of campfire … a definite plus for those looking for a date spot or a starting point for an evening out.

The service was very good. Water glasses were always full, drink orders always ready to be taken and the pizza delivered together without much wait. On peak evenings, CPC would suggest a few drinks at the bar to offset the 45-minute wait for a table.

We ordered all of the pizzas offered, but for the “mozzarella cheese and tomato sauce.”

In no particular order, the pizzas sampled:

• Pepperoni & Sausage - mozzarella & Sicilian oregano
• Sausage - sweet pepper, onion & Sicilian oregano
• Wild Mushroom - béchamel, fontina & sage
• Artichoke - Sweet peppers, Gaeta olives, fresh mozzarella & garlic
• Prosciutto & Arugula - béchamel & Parmesan
• Margherita - tomato sauce, fresh mozzarella & torn basil
• Lamb Sausage - Pinn-Oak lamb, eggplant, Gaeta & rosemary
• Asparagus - goat cheese, cherry tomatoes & scallions
• Quattro Formaggi - mozz., fontina, Parmesan & provolone
• Shrimp - Nueskes bacon, béchamel, basil & cilantro

The complete menu can be found here: www.unionevanston.com/menu.html

In general, the sauce and cheese ratio was even. I never felt myself wanting more of one or the other, which is an admirable quality. Union Pizzeria uses locally-grown and organic products whenever available and we had no doubt. The toppings were all top-notch quality, with each piece obviously handled, whether it was flora or fauna, with the utmost care.

Moreover, the crust was well-executed, but lacked distinct flavor. Given the brick oven, the lack of burn on the crust was surprising. There was definitely some engineering involved in the baking process and we commend the chef and crew on that consistency. However, the inordinately high number of crusts left uneaten on CPC plates was the most telling criticism. This is not something that CPC does with any regularity.

In order to avoid pizza review ad nauseum, I will mention three pies that were particularly noteworthy:

1. Lamb Sausage - The general consensus was that the lamb sausage pizza was the best of the evening. Upon delivery, I was presented with the glorious waft of wonderfully fragrant herbs. At first bite, the sausage tasted pleasantly rich, a good balance of fat and protein, which had excellent interplay with the cheese and sauce. I could have used a bit more kick in the sausage, perhaps even a merguez, but as is, it was safe, appropriate and pleasant.
2. Proscuitto and Arugula – Skip the salad. Added post-bake, the arugula was refreshing and poignantly accented by strategically- placed parmesan shavings (near the center, noticeable on first bite). The prosciutto melted in my mouth and provided a nice hint of protein to the pie. For those not wanting the fatiness of sausage or the brashness of pepperoni, prosciutto is the definitely the way to go.
3. Shrimp – The dark horse and this reviewer’s favorite of the evening. The béchamel, cheese, shrimp and bacon fat make a sublime quartet. The interplay between the shrimp juices and fats created a transparent seafood roux that I will not soon forget. This pizza only got better as it cooled, allowing the roux to settle over time.

If great pizza were not enough, Union Pizzeria doubles as a music venue, featuring live music most every night of the week. The venue is completely separate from the restaurant/bar space and is located in the rear section of the building. One can only hear the music by getting close to the venue doors. Cover charge for the evening’s Talking Heads cover band = $15. One CPC member noted the lack of a bike rack, which would have been useful.

The pizza was very good, the execution excellent, the attention to detail very admirable and the overall experience memorable. Union Pizzeria has done a wonderful job of combining old-world tradition with modern sophistication. Evanston … welcome to the “it” club.

CPC gives Union Pizzeria a score of 6.8

Pizza By Alex [Meeting #70]

Pizza By Alex [Map]
5044 W Montrose Ave
Chicago, IL 60641
(773) 427-8900‎

CPC invaded Pizza By Alex on 12/01/08.

From deep dish pizza to stuffed pizza to the pizza puff, Chicago has been at the forefront of pizza innovation for over 50 years. But we at the CPC are not regional chauvinists; we can appreciate additions to the pizza world that did not originate here. One such welcome addition came from the California-based movement that began at Chez Panisse in 1980. When Alice Waters started putting then-goofy toppings like goat cheese and artisinal sausages on pizza, she started a movement that was soon copied by multiple California chefs. Ed LaDou was a San Francisco chef who copied Waters's pizza style while the chef at Prego. Wolfgang Puck had one of LaDou's pizzas and hired him to work at the not-yet-opened Spago. The founders of California Pizza Kitchen hired LaDou away in 1985 to create their menu and a new national pizza phenomenon was born.

Today, nontraditional toppings are commonplace throughout the land, but there is room for so much more variety, particularly if pizzerias choose to combine pizza with other ethnic culinary traditions. Pizza By Alex has done its part to fill that gap for the past five years, offering a number of Mexican-influenced options in addition to more traditional toppings. And it was the CPC's quest for chorizo pizza that brought us to Pizza By Alex for this meeting in Portage Park.

Alex Pinega learned the pizza business while working at Caponie's, where he started as a dishwasher in 1992 and quickly worked his way up to general manager in just three years. After developing his pizza-making expertise there, he founded Pizza By Alex as a carry-out pizzeria in 2004. He did well enough there that he expanded to add a sit-down restaurant in the early part of 2006.

Greeting customers who enter the restaurant is a large brick wood-burning oven that not only made pizzas, but provided us with some additional heat on what was the coldest night so far this winter. The thin crust pies, which includes their 8 special pizzas, all cook in the 500+ degree fire in that oven, while the deep dish and stuffed pies cook in a gas oven in the kitchen.

Ordinarily, the Chicago Pizza Club tries each style of pizza offered by every restaurant we visit, but we were so enamored with some of the specialty pies that we went with four thin crust pizzas one deep dish. We were not disappointed.

The crust was cooked well and had noticeable charring on the bottom. The texture was a little crisp and a lot of chew, which I think was a reflection of it being a touch thicker than is typical for wood-burning over/Neapolitan-style crusts. The extra girth was necessary to support the very generous amounts of whole milk mozzarella, fresh vegetables, and wide variety of meats.

Up first was the Pizza By Alex, which features Italian Beef, mushrooms and onions. There was ample meat which was good, but the fresh mushrooms actually had the strongest flavor. There was a very thin layer of tomato sauce on the pizza that some of us thought had little to no flavor, but others thought had a light tanginess to it.

The Pizza di Pastor had steak pastor with grilled onion and pineapple, and came with a choice of red or green sauce. We didn't specify the sauce and the pizza came with a spicy green tomatillo salsa, which was definitely the right call. The sweet pineapple provided a good balance to the spice from the salsa, and with the grilled meat made one of the more popular pizzas at the table.

The Pizza Ranchera featured chorizo, pinto beans, mushrooms, onions and a homemade chipotle sauce. The chorizo was crumbled and there was some disagreement as to how much flavor came from the meat and how much came from the chipotle sauce. Wherever the epicenter of spicy goodness was, this pizza made many Pizza Clubbers very happy. The soft pinto beans did an excellent job tempering the kick from the chipotle while adding a flavor that more than a couple of us thought was surprisingly good.

Carne Enamorada, which means in love with meat, had a whole lot of pig on it: The pizza came with bacon, ham, pepperoni, and chorizo. Italian sausage is an optional replacement for chorizo, but given how important chorizo was to the decision to go to Pizza By Alex, no serious consideration was given to Italian Sausage on this pie. As was the case with the Pizza by Alex, there was very little sauce on this one. An interesting twist to the pizza construction was that the bacon, chorizo and pepperoni were all on top of the pizza, while small pieces of ham were spread out under the cheese.

We also got one deep dish pizza - with roasted red peppers and onions. The crust, which was not thick at all, was firm and had a lot of chewiness to it. It was topped with a good inch of cheese that was filled with the onions and meaty red peppers. The sauce has more seasoning and is a little thicker than the red sauce on the thin pizza. There was a lot more sauce on the deep dish pie, but compared to other deep dish pizzas, there was very little. The deep dish pizza was well-received, but most of us were so focused on trying the different thin crust pies with the unique toppings that most people did not get to it until the latter part of the meal.

One more important detail worth noting about Pizza by Alex that is not advertised on their website: it's BYOB. And for your convenience, there's a liquor store around the corner, albeit one with a limited wine selection.

Petey Pizza gives Pizza by Alex a 6.972.