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 2019? 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