The Beer Temple (pizza by Middlebrow) [Meeting #142]

The Beer Temple (pizza by Middlebrow)

3173 N. Elston Ave (Map)
Chicago, IL 60618
(773) 754-0907

CPC invaded Bungalow by The Beer Temple to eat pizza by Middle Brow on Tuesday, January 20, 2026.

Borrowed from The Beer Temple's website

For years, The Beer Temple has probably been the second best beer bar in Chicago (behind Hopleaf obviously). And for most of that time, they were a BYO Food establishment, which was great, especially with Carniceria Guanajuato across the street. But then, presumably realizing how much money they were leaving on the table, The Beer Temple started cooking and serving food. I never tried and don't think I know anyone who did. Apparently I wasn't the only one (or maybe they were just tired of the extra work), and The Beer Temple pivoted again, this time bringing in the bread geniuses at Middlebrow in to make pizza for the beer drinkers. Pizza and beer. What a concept!!!

Also borrowed from The Beer Temple's website

All 4 readers of this weblog (a number that includes members) surely remember our glowing praise about Middlebrow. TL;DR lots of places make two syles of pizza, but almost none do both well. Well, not only does Middlebrow make some of the best artisan thin crust pies in Chicago, they also make, only on Tuesdays, some of the best Chicago thin crust AKA tavern style pizza in town.

Well, the Chicago Pizza Club is here to report that Middlebrow has done it again. This is the best Detroit style pizza in Chicago by a decent margin. The sourdough crust, the umami-rich bright tomato sauce, and the quality toppings are all great - zero flaws to report. And yes, they use classic Detroit brick cheese along with mozzarella. Here's what we ate:

Unlike Chicago, where sausage reigns supreme, pepperoni is the topping of choice for Detroiters. The pepperoni pizza at Middlebrow/The Beer Temple would make any Detroiter happy. Actually it might make them a little sad because this crust is just a better piece of bread than the ones at the legendary Detroit spots.

Chicago meets Detroit. This one is topped with sausage on the whole thing and giardiniera on half. I'm not sure who's giardiniera they're using, but this is a very good clean rendition with a nice kick. 

The mushroom pizza comes with oyster mushrooms, caramelized onions, and mushroom cream. Delicious. Vegetarians are not an afterthought here.

The youngest Pizza Club member insisted on a cheese pizza so we added this towards the end. I was full but I forced myself to try half a slice in the name of science. I'm not going to lie and say it was better than the other pizzas, but it held it's own. 10/10 would eat again.

The End.

Bad Johnny's [Meeting #141]

Bad Johnny's

1612 Irving Park Road (inside The Long Room) (Map)
Chicago, IL 60613
(773) 665-8210

www.badjohnnys.com

CPC invaded Bad Johnny's on Wednesday, December 10, 2025.

The Chicago Pizza Club was supposed to meet at The Beer Temple to enjoy the delicious Detroit style pizzas from the pizza masters at Middlebrow. Sadly, turnout was super light so the truly committed among decided to save the heavier pies for another night. Instead, we headed to The Long Room, where Bad Johnny's has a permanent residency on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday nights.

Both of these pictures were found online. Thanks to whoever took them.

Bad Johnny's is probably better known for the portable wood-fired oven that shows up at events around town, but the pizzas they're making with gas at The Long Room hit the spot.

We got a salad. It comes with Red Leaf Lettuce, Radicchio, Sweet Red Apple, Watermelon Radish, Herbs, Toasted Pumpkin Seeds, and Honey-Cider Vinaigrette. It was tasty.

Up first was the Plain, which Johnny's says is an ode to the New York slice and its condiments. It has tomato sauce, fior di latte, fresh garlic, chili, fresh oregano, and 2-year aged Parmigiano Reggiano. This was a delicious pizza. 

The pepperoni was another really tasty pie despite it crossing the line from charred to burned in a couple of places. In addition to the swine, this one comes with tomato sauce, fior di latte, toasted arbol chiles and buckwheat honey.

The Brussels & 'Nduja comes with, you guessed it, Brussels sprouts and 'nduja (the latter made by Chicago Salumi) along with smoked gouda, ricotta, and lemon. It was pretty but it was also too salty and too smokey and woefully light on the 'nduja. We wouldn't recommend this one.

So there you have it - an excellent cheese pizza; a would-have-been-excellent-if-not-burned-but-still-excellent-in-the-non-burned-parts pepperoni pizza; and a bad Brussels sprouts pizza. Like Meatloaf says, 2 out of 3 ain't bad. Throw in the general vibe of The Long Room and Bad Johnny's is a winner overall.

We skipped the drinking at The Long Room because we had to make our way over to Half Acre to try a few variants of Catching Hell. They do a shitty job keeping their menu up to date and there were only two benthics available and one of them (Marabi Benthic) wasn't good. But the 2x4 Benthic was delicious and the Double Bourbon Barrel Generational was very good so a good end to the Chicago Pizza Club meeting #141.

Will we get to #150 in 2026? Probably not but a boy can dream.