George's Deep Dish [Meeting #126]

George's Deep Dish
6221 N. Clark Street (Map)
Chicago, IL 60660
(773) 801-1551

CPC brought George's Deep Dish to AJ & Amanda's house on Saturday, February 5, 2022.

Photo: George's Deep Dish

Deep dish pizza is a beautiful thing. That's been true since it came on the scene and it's even more true today when the term can be used to justify any number of variations of thick sauce-on-top pizzas. But over time, some of the legends have started to fade. Uno's was still solid when I last had it several years ago, but I don't know anyone who goes there. Gino's East is a joke these days, though it still packs in tourists and people who are able to convince themselves they're eating what they loved years ago rather than what's actually going into their mouths. Lou Malnati's and Pizano's can both still make some great pizzas, though Lou's has expanded so much that there's consistency issues. Pequod's is still plugging along and can be very good if you order right. None of this is new; it's been true for years.

Photo: George's Deep Dish

What is new is that over the last several years, for the first time in a very long time, some new deep dish places have come along to rejuvenate the scene. And what's been special about that is that people have really put some effort into the crusts, which has never been a focal point of the longtime deep dish favorites (with the important exception of Burt's Place, which is no longer what it was since Burt died (RIP)). 

Labriola was probably the first one to deliver a version of the Chicago classic with a truly delicious crust. And there have been others since. But last year, George Bumbaris, gifted Chicago with what is surely the greatest deep dish crust in the history of professional pizzerias. But wait, there's more. The sauce and toppings just as good. This is some stellar pizza.

Confession: We had to cheat a little bit with our ordering. George's only serves a limited number pizzas each night so they limit orders to two pizzas per person. Because apparently pre-teen children count as people, we had 10 people RSVP yes to this meeting. Two pizzas is not enough for that many people so we cheated a little bit by having one of us order 2 pizzas and one of us order 1. Sorry about that. Not really. Did you know we're the mother fucking Chicago Pizza Club, tasting and chronicling and rating for almost 20 years? We're special.

Anyhow, we picked up our pizzas in Wisconsin Edgewater and brought to AJ and Amanda's home to savor these delicious pizzas. 

There are 8 pre-set toppings combinations on the menu at George's, with each available in 10-inch and 14-inch versions. Each of those pies is named after a famous real or fictional George. Weasley's Spicy Red Top comes with the fantastic sausage, roasted red peppers, spicy cherry peppers and ricotta.

Clooney's ER has more of that top notch sausage along with some high quality pepperoni and beef meatballs and bacon

For our third pizza, we built a simpler one with just pepperoni and cremini mushrooms to accommodate the children, although it was so good, the adults happily ate most of it.

The toppings are so good at George's that it'd be a winner even on a mediocre crust. But this is the best bread base of any thick pizza in Chicago. According to this Instagram post, the dough uses natural fermentation and a little bit of added yeast. That means is kind of sourdoughy, but not really. A kiss of tang if you will. Texturally it's somehow tender and chewy at the same time. Just truly great stuff. 
George's is carry out only but it travels very well.

Robert's Pizza and Dough Co. [Meeting #125]

Robert's Pizza and Dough Co. 

465 N McClurg Ct (Map)

Chicago, IL 60611

(312) 265-1328

CPC's biggest group in ages invaded Robert's Pizza and Dough Co. on Saturday, July 17, 2021.

Robert's first hit Chicago in April 2016 and earned some high praise in town. But because the Chicago Pizza didn't meet for almost 4 years after our March 2016 meeting, Robert's didn't get reviewed by Chicago's most authoritative voice on pizza. Is that why Robert's closed in June 2017? No, probably not.

Anyhow, Robert's reopened in 2019. CPC started meeting again in 2020. Then things happened. Now the CPC is fully back and the city is mostly back and restaurants are open. And with former Chicagoans Andrew and Jen in town to visit, the rejuvenated CPC headed down to the edge of the Chicago River to chow down on some of what former Tribune food critic and Alinea/Next fanboy Phil Vettel said was his favorite pizza crust in town. 

10 CPC members and one baby showed up for the meeting, which is our biggest in-person gathering since who knows when. And we did it without the CPC's first couple, El Presidente and Kate. Apparently they prioritized seeing Kate's family in from out of town. Sad to see their commitment wane like that. I kid. Kind of. I'm in a bad mood. Want to know why? Read on.

We start this review with a report on some unadulterated bullshit. Robert's does not offer free drinking water. That's not a typo. A pizzeria. In Chicago. Does not offer tap water. Want some water? Pay $5 for a bottle. What kind of fucking insanity is that? And get this - the bottles are served without caps. Was this Chicago tap water in glass bottles? Could have been because cold Chicago tap water is fucking  delicious. And it's free. Okay, I think that's out of my system. Let's move along to the very good pizza, starting with the pizza porn:

Caramelized Onion: caramelized onions, fresh mozz, tomato sauce

Roasted Vegetables: roasted cherry tomato, red pepper, calabrian chile, mushroom, caramelized onions, sauteed spinach, garlic, fontina cheese, evoo

The Funghi: wild mushrooms, thyme, driftless ricotta cheese

Fennel: braised fennel, fennel fronds, fennel salami & pollen, fresh mozz, honey

Cup & Char Pepperoni: classic pepperoni, calabrian peppers, fresh mozzarella, tomato sauce

Let's start with the crust, which is really good. I can see why Vettel described it as reminiscent of a French baguette. It's got good flavor and crackles a bit when you bite into it. I wouldn't call it the best in town or even in the top few, but it was very good; definitely the best part of the pizzas. Good flavor, good hole structure, good crunch, good chew.

The toppings were all solid to very good. I did think that a few of them - the caramelized onion, the roasted vegetable, and the funghi all would have been improved tremendously with some extra flavor - a kick of spice for the first two and maybe some balsamic for the funghi. I was also expecting a lot more fennel flavor from the "Fennel." I love fennel and was really excited about this one, but honestly if they had just called this a salami pizza, I wouldn't have thought "hey, this salami pizza has a nice amount of fennel." 

But maybe Robert is so proud of his crust that he doesn't want powerful toppings to get in the way. Who knows. Not a major critique either way. The pizza is good. I just had high expectations and I didn't walk away wowed. 

I did walk away thirsty.

Paulie Gee's and Others - CPC Goes Virtual [Meeting #124]

Paulie Gee's

2451 N Milwaukee Ave (Map)

Chicago, IL 60647

773-360-1072

Carry out only for now

Some of CPC invaded Paulie Gee's on January 9, 2021 and ate at home while others ordered from other places and ate at home.

This will be the laziest recap I've ever written. I apologize to nobody. Blogs are dead. Long live the Chicago Pizza Club blog!

With the pandemic still in full swing, we couldn't meet at a restaurant or even gather in one house. And because it was January, we couldn't meet in a park or a back deck. So we decided to combine an actual meeting with a virtual meeting - everyone who was able would get pizza from the same place and those who weren't would get pizza from further away. It worked out pretty well. Me, Andrew, Jen, Neil, Stelios and Jessica all got Paulie Gee's. Francisco screwed up and didn't order ahead so when Paulie Gee's sold out, he and Kate opted for Lou Malnati's. Adam wins the award for most dedicated member. Dude got off the plane just before the meeting started and wasn't going to make it home before it ended so he picked up a pie at Reggio's Pizza Express at the airport and checked in with us from the road. Stander checked in from the western burbs with pizza from The Original Old World Pizza in Elmwood Park. And finally, Kelly and Ryan joined us from Michigan with some supermarket Edwardo's.

I have no major thoughts on the pizza that you can't fine elsewhere. Paulie Gee's is good and it's been written up everywhere. People love the place. Their version of Detroit style is legit delicious. Their regular pies are also quite good. They've recently added NY slices. Haven't tried them. Maybe others will report in the comments on the quality of the pizza. Probably not. 

That's it for my words. Here are some pictures:

US Pizza Cup Winner Sharp White Cheddar, Mozz, Ezzo Pepperoni Cups, Housemade Bacon Jam, Red Sauce, Ricotta, Basil, Mike’s Hot Honey

Hootenanny Vegan Pepperoni White Cheddar, Mozzarella, Pepperoni Cups, Cold Tomato Sauce, Pecorino Romano

Daniela Spinaci Shaved Parmigiano Reggiano, fresh mozzarella, sliced fresh garlic, fresh baby spinach, and olive oil

Hellboy: Fresh mozzarella, italian tomatoes, Berkshire soppressata piccante, Parmigiano Reggiano, and Mike’s Hot Honey

Adam and his bad ass quarantine beard with a meat covered pizza from Reggio's

That rare occasion when a frozen pizza looks better in real life than on the box

The Original Old World Pizza in Elmwood Park

Chicago Classic from Lou Malnati's

Professor Pizza [Meeting #123]

Professor Pizza 

3724 N Clark Street (Map)

Chicago, IL 60613

(224) 307-4820

Online ordering only

CPC invaded El Pres and Kate's back deck to eat pizza from Professor Pizza while socially distancing most of the time on Saturday, November 7, 2020.

For the first time since the Chain Pizza Extravaganza back in 2008, the members of the Chicago Pizza Club gathered for delivery pizza. We did so because 1) pickup at the right time was impossible for some logistical reasons and 2) we trusted that a guy who calls himself Professor Pizza wouldn't let delivery screw with quality too much. I won't bury the lede: this pizza was fantastic and the Professor has a flawless system in place.

Each week, pies are available for preorder for Friday and Saturday only. That's it. If you want pizza from the Professor on any other day, you're out of luck. Or you can go to Dough Bros, which he ran for a couple of years. Note: Haven't been in ages; no idea if it's still good. He's also done stints at Coalfire, and Chicago's location of Paulie Gee's. Anyhow, when ordering ahead from Professor Pizza, you have your choice of three grandma style pies that don't seem to change: pepperoni, sausage, and cheese. And each week, he has a pizza listed as "Extra Credit," which can be any number of styles or toppings combinations.

The pepperoni pizza is fantastic. A massive supply of quality pepperoni along with some decorative splotches of ricotta and some Mike's Hot Honey on the side, this thing is loaded with a flavorful kick.

Of course, for anyone who spends as much time thinking about pizza as the Professor, the crust is going to be where he wants you to focus. And for good reason, it's exceptional. Clearly fermented for a while and cooked with a nice dose of some kind of fat (probably olive oil), this bread has a whole lot of chew (but not too much) and a nice crunch on the exterior. Would happily eat the crust with nothing on top. 

The sausage pizza is even more straightforward (old school toppings done right) than the pepperoni one (no newfangled hot honey here) and every bit as satisfying. The sausage was really well seasoned and, as was the case with the pepperoni, the sauce and cheese were both really good.

As mentioned above, while the grandma pizzas don't change from week to week, the Extra Credit pies do. Sometimes they're a bit wacky (there was a Detroit style Monte Cristo pizza, complete with cinnamon, sugar and maple syrup) and sometimes they're pretty straightforward. We were definitely on the straightforward side with this 20-inch four cheese New Jersey bar pizza. The extra thin and crispy crust was topped with Grande aged mozzarella, Fontina béchamel, tallegio, and Parmigiano-Reggiano. Along with the olive oil, this was one rich and very good pizza. I didn't think it was on par with the grandma slices but they had the unfair advantage of sauce and meat.

Attendance was low at this Pizza Club meeting, but with the return of Stander after years away, we were a mighty crowd. There was not much pizza left at the end of the meal.

For the third time this year, we enjoyed some Hoosier Mama pie with our pizza. This time, thanks to some late season raspberries and particularly exceptional crust even by their standards, we got an all time great dessert. We talked about going back for one more pie. We didn't do it. That was a mistake.