John's Pizzeria Ristorante & Lounge [Meeting #81]

John's Pizzeria Ristorante & Lounge [GoogleMaps]
2104 N. Western Ave.
Chicago, IL 60647
(773) 384-1755

CPC invaded John's on 5/27/09.

Review submitted by Chand.

John (who according to the manager didn't give his last name out) immigrated from Sicily bringing with him his family's secret recipes. This formed the basis of the pizzeria he established in the West Bucktown area in 1957. His sons Tony & Larry continue the tradition since John's passing, operating the sole establishment for 15 years now.

You can spot John's driving down Western by the large green and white sign. Walk inside and welcome back to 1957. The interior is truly lounge-style, replete with vinyl seating and table coverings and nostalgic posters of Italy. Low, worn tulip lights add to the time-warp atmosphere. To your left there's a diner-counter and on the right a small dining area. The main dining room is in the next room along with a small bar in back. They also provide cute puzzle paper place mats that even so-called adults are drawn too.

The menu is extensive with classic appetizers such as onion rings and an assortment of garlic bread. There is just about every type of pasta, "tasty" sandwich and random stuff you can imagine (click on the website link to peruse their full menu).

This is my first time at John's, and since I had come across a 2007 Timeout list ranking it top 5 thin crust bar pies in Chicago, we chose the following:

• Roman Pizza (Sausage, Onion, Garlic, Basil & Tomato)
• Meat-zza Pizza (Bacon, Sausage, Hamburger & Pepperoni)
• Taco Pizza (Lettuce, Tomato, Hamburger, Onion, Taco Seasoning & Jalepenos on the side)
• Veggie Pizza (Mushroom, Onion, Bell pepper & Black Olive)
• Margherita Pizza (Tomato, Basil & Mozzarella)

John's mostly uses fresh ingredients, including sausage delivered daily. The thin crusts came out with a fair amount of carmelization and generous toppings. Greasiness was above average, however according to reviews on yelp and other sites, this is what's expected when you're ordering from Johns. While the outside crust was crispy, it definitely got soggier as you worked your way toward the center. The cheese was chewy, but not overly so. Perhaps I waited too long for my slices, but I felt they were lukewarm too. Most people enjoyed the Meat-zza, which meshed together well without losing the distinct flavors. The taco pizza had stronger taco seasonings, which prevented it from the usual devolution into a salad pizza. The Roman was a pleasant variation of a frequent CPC combo of sausage, onion and garlic, with added basil and tomato to mellow it out. My impressions of the Veggie and Margherita were positive, but neither particularly stood out, however I heard a few people say they liked the Margherita. A football 14"x22" pizza is also trumpeted, but we elected not to try that. One note about the service: even though we had a large 15 person group, it still was rather lackadaisical. Nobody greeting you at the door, among other things like having to track down the waitress to get the check. That being said, perhaps what makes up for that was the bill being a recession-friendly $7 per person. People were enjoying themselves, and the locals consistently give it high marks on review websites. Overall, John's is a decent place if you're wandering down Western Avenue, looking for solid value.

Chicago Pizza Club gives John's Pizzeria a 6.6