Coalfire [Meeting #42]

Coalfire
1321 West Grand Ave
Tel: (312) 226-2625

CPC invaded Coalfire Wednesday, May 30

Bittersweet pizza memories will be associated with this meeting. We bid adieu (temporarily) to Michelle, Dave, Ryan, and shortly, to official CPC photohrapher Kelly. Luckily, I think finding this new pizzeria more than makes up for their departure.

Coalfire was so internet hot that it ran out of dough a few times right after its opening. LTH and Chicagoist and the papers all stoked the flames early on. It's pretty clear that there is a market for traditional pizza in this town since DOC and Spacca Napoli are always hopping. Coalfire bills itself as a Massachusetts cum Italian style cooked with a coal oven. The oven is no artwork like what you'll find at Spacca Napoli, but it gets pretty damn hot just the same.

We ordered essentially every pizza on the menu. Size-wise, unless you're really hungry most people will have some leftover with each pizza. They're perfect for sharing with one person and still leaving room for an appetizer. Our pizzas started rolling in as they were coming out of the oven; 20 minutes after our order was placed.

Speaking in generalities, the ingredients were all fresh - no cans here except for those involved in the sauce. Bari Foods supposedly contributes to the meat toppings, a positive sign. Ingredient distribution is even on all pies. None of that business where all the toppings are on one quarter of the pizza and the rest is bare. What most people have been talking about, deservedly, is the crust. It's what makes this place a destination. The edges are burnt and sooty, the inside is soft and chewy but never soggy. It's also quite consistent. We ordered 10 pizzas and all were perfectly cooked.

Briefly, the service is quick and economical. Not much rest for a busy staff and they were able to accommodate our request for a 12 person table despite what I'm sure was an inconvenience to them on a busy weeknight. Our order had no mistakes and our water glasses were full.

To our departing CPC members, fare thee well. I'm just glad I still live in Chicago and only 2 blocks away from this place. Don't feel bad guys, I'm sure you'll find great pizza in Ohio and Miami too.

Petey gives Coalfire a score of 7.325/10.


Holy Basil!


The Pizza Club does anchovies...

Coal Fire cooked goodness

Don't let the burnt crust scare you

Michael's Pizzeria & Tavern [Meeting #41]

Michael's Pizzeria & Tavern
4091 N. Broadway Ave.
Tel: (773) 929-4149

CPC invaded Michael's on 4/17/07.

Michael's is a great place to gather with friends to watch sports on numerous flat screens spread throughout the pleasant bar/restaurant space, drink reasonably-priced pitchers of beer, and, of course ... eat pizza. The sauce is a bit sweet, and the crust is a bit dry, but the pizza is quite palatable. There is a good variety of fresh ingredients available.

We enjoyed the following pies:

• Thin crust with bacon and tomatoes (a crowd favorite)
  
• Thin crust taco pizza (B.Y.O. Doritos to add some crunch)
  
• Extra thin crust with cheese
  
• Deep Dish with pepperoni, garlic, and onion
• Stuffed with sausage and spinach

Our pizzas arrived 35 minutes after we placed our order. The service was friendly and efficient, and accommodating of our large group (which took a while to order and lingered over beer mugs even after the pizza was consumed). The food and beverage prices are reasonable, and include an array of weeknight specials. For example, we enjoyed their Tuesday night Deep Dish special with a choice of 3 ingredients, for $14.99. The ambience of Michael's is partly that of a neighborhood sports bar and partly that of a casual restaurant, with some limited outdoor seating available.

Petey gives Michael's a score of 7.67/10.

Let's eat!

Taco Piza... Doritos not pictured

Deep dish, ready to eat...

Serve it up!

More deep dish

Where it went down...

Bricks Chicago [Meeting #40; Meeting #9 Revisited]

Bricks Chicago
1909 N. Lincoln Ave. [Google Maps]
(312) 255-0851

CPC invaded Bricks on 3/21/07.

Petey has made some new friends since he first started making his rounds in the pizza circuit, so he decided to revisit an old pizza club stop. This one pre-dates the current blog, so it was a good chance to get some photos and post a review.

Bricks started in California and now has a restaurant in Chicago. It is a pleasant, dimly-lit spot located in the basement of an apartment building in Lincoln Park. The whole place has a heady aroma of garlic that will lure you into ordering more pizza than you need (see below). The service was fairly good and they will take reservations for large parties. Bricks also offers a nice beer selection with a good number of microbrews and such.

At Bricks, the menu includes a variety of specialty pizzas featuring creative combinations of their fresh ingredients. You can also build your own pizza. We selected the following specialty pizzas:

• brickhouse: pureed artichoke sauce, sweet red peppers, roasted garlic, mozzarella, and asiago.
• this was the only pizza we ordered that did not have any meat or tomato sauce, and that pureed artichoke sauce did a fine job of holding the pizza together.
  

• sole mio: housemade meatballs, tomatoes, spinach, fresh mozzarella, and tomato sauce
• this was a crowd favorite. the meatballs themselves were lush and flavorful, and the pizza as a whole was very well-seasoned.
  

• berzerkeley: smoked ham, artichoke hearts, sweet red peppers, tomato sauce, and mozzarella.
• the berzerkeley turned out to be probably the most humdrum of our selections, but it was still pretty good, because Bricks makes good pizza. the ham was not terribly flavorful. most members noted the similarities between this pizza and the brickhouse, and cited a preference for the brickhouse.
  

• the ditka: "all the meat ..."
• ... or so they say. there were some comments that this characterization was misleading due to the lack of meatballs on this pie, but it was meaty nonetheless. some pizza clubbers complained that there was not enough meat for a pizza that purported to be all about the meat. personally, i don't like it when meat-loving pizza piles the meat so high you feel like you're biting into a thick deli sandwich, so i found the ditka had the perfect amount of meat.
  

• petaluma club: bacon, chicken breast, onion, fresh tomato, tomato sauce, and mozzarella.
• as a pleasant surprise, this pizza was actually quite tasty. "but, of course it was," you say, "it has bacon!" true, but the chicken breast had the pizza clubbers feeling wary. however, the chicken itself was very tender and juicy, and it was sliced nice and thin. as a result, it mixed well with the other ingredients and avoided a common chicken pizza pitfall: taking over the pizza with big bland mouthfuls of dry chicken. and, of course, it had crisp bacon! unfortunately, the bacon was not spread evenly across the pizza, but the slices with good amounts were delicious.
  

The pricing for the specialty pizzas is as follows: 10" $10.50 12" $16.75 14" $19.95.

We ordered five 14" pizzas for eight people, which got us very full and was still about one pizza too many, so we all had leftovers to take home. The cost was $16/person without drinks, but including tax and tip. The pizzas all arrived hot on our table within a few minutes of each other, about 35 minutes after we ordered.

Petey gives Bricks 8.6/10.


The Ditka ... mmm, meat ...


An aerial shot!


The petaluma club


Where it went down...


One happy Chicago Pizza Club

Marie's Pizza [Meeting #39]

Marie's Pizza, Dining Room, and Lounge
4127 W. Lawrence Ave. [Google Maps]
(773) 685-5030

CPC invaded Marie's on 2/20/07.

Marie's has been around for decades and makes a popular thin crust pizza. The pizza makers hang out by the window, and the restaurant is attached to a liquor store, which you actually have to walk through in order to get to the restaurant. Why not pick up a bottle of wine? You can enjoy it with your dinner for a small corkage fee. That only goes for the wine, though. The entrance to the restaurant opens up on a bar and leads back to an ample space with plenty of tables and red booths lining the walls. Our server was friendly and seemed like she had worked there for a long time.

We ordered the following pizzas:

* thick crust, sausage and garlic
* thin crust, pepperoni and mushrooms
* thin crust, bacon

Overall, the pizza was quite good, but very greasy, particularly the pepperoni pizza. The thick crust pizza was just a bit thicker than the thin crust, but very similar. The mushrooms and garlic were canned/jarred, which is always a bit disappointing, but pretty standard for an old-school family restaurant like this.

Our pizzas came out in less than a half hour, and the cost came out to $7/person for the food, including tax and tip.

Petey gives Marie's 6.167/10.


Pepperoni!


Going fast!


Sausage and garlic


The ambience


Making your pizza


Where it went down...

Chicago Pizza & Oven Grinder Co. [Meeting #38]

Chicago Pizza & Oven Grinder Co.
2121 N Clark St. (Google Maps)
(773) 248-2570

CPC invaded Chicago Pizza & Oven Grinder Co. on 12/21/06

Well, it took two tries and we still only had three people show up, but the 38th Meeting of the Chicago Pizza Club was an unqualified success as we tasted a pizza like no other – Pizza Pot Pie at Chicago Pizza & Oven Grinder Company.

On February 14, 1929, the Valentine’s Day Massacre took place directly across the street. Rumor has it, the current home of Chicago Pizza & Oven Grinder Company was a house used as a lookout by some 1920s gangbangers. No word on whether the owner of the restaurant invented the rumor.

Anyhow, the place takes no reservations but balances that out with a full bar. When we got there, there was no host hanging around, but there was a large crowd of people, some vocalizing their frustration about the wait. Every so often a host does stroll over. He had no pad of paper and does not want anyone’s name. He simply asks how many are in your party and no matter what you say, he tells you the wait is 40 minutes. He remembers the order in which people arrive, so there is no need to hover around the front of the line (though we did so anyhow). It seems the no name policy may be a throwback to the gangbanger days of Lincoln Park’s past – the place also accepts no credit cards. There is no record of anyone ever eating there.

The ambience was nice – fairly dark with wood paneled walls and large wooden booths. The Christmas decorations were a needless reminder that the majority of Americans believe in Creationism.

We arrived at 7:32, gave our number (3) at 7:40 and were told it would 40 minutes. 50 minutes later, we were seated and handed menus. Service was fast and friendly. We sat at 8:30, ordered at 8:35, and got our salad at 8:40.

That’s right, salad. In a break from Pizza Club tradition, we ordered the Great American Salad - lettuce, delicious smoked ham, provolone and Swiss cheese, onions, green peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, artichoke hearts... tossed with freshly grated Romano cheese. Topped with creamy garlic dressing, sweet and sour poppy seed dressing, fresh ground pepper, and/or an interesting mix of largely unidentified seasonings, the salad was quite tasty.

If one goes to Chicago Pizza & Over Grinder for pizza, the choices are limited. There is only Pizza Pot Pie, no regular pizza. There was some debate as to whether a meatball oven grinder could fall into a broad definition of pizza, we opted not to open that door. Within the pizza pot pie genre, we were given the options of wheat or white, with or without mushrooms, meat sauce or tomato sauce, and ½ pound or full pound. We got three ½ pounders, 2 wheat and 1 white, all with meat sauce and all with mushrooms.

And none of the Pizza Clubbers were able to resist the Adam’s Apple, a delightful warm libation made of red wine, apple cider, whiskey, brandy, raisins and a cinnamon stick.

The pizza itself was good. Not great, but good. I enjoyed the meat sauce and both the wheat and white crust were good. I was expecting more of a pastry type crust as is commonly found in pot pie, but the crust was more of a chewy pizza crust. There was nothing extraordinary about the pizza – no wacky ingredients beyond the “doorknob size” mushrooms which were far smaller than any doorknob any pizza club member has ever laid eyes on. The meat sauce, while good, was also unlike any pizza sauce we’d ever tasted.

All in all, this was a pretty unique place which was good, but not great. The long line will forever remain a mystery. The pizza was good enough that I would not write it off as a gimmick, but not good enough to wait almost an hour for ever again.

Petey gives Chicago Pizza and Oven Grinder a 6.6/10.


Waiting for our "number"


A salad at Pizza Club?!?? Yes, it happened


Salads gone, let's get down to real business!


Pizza Pot Pie, ready to serve


Being born


Where it went down

Pizza Metro II [Meeting #37]

Pizza Metro II
925 N. Ashland Ave. (Google Maps)
(773) 772-3267

CPC invaded Pizza Metro II on 12/7/06

Is there anything better on an arctic-cold evening than nice hot pizza with friends? I sure as hell don't think so, and I'm sure the members of the Chicago Pizza Club who braved the cold weather last night will agree with me.

Pizza Metro II is (as the name implies) the second location of the popular East Village pizzeria, Pizza Metro. Their 2nd location boasts an expanded seating area and a larger menu with more pasta items. But dammit, we were there for the pizza and we wasted no time in ordering up three hot pies to warm our chilled innards. After careful study of the menu—which boasts several unusual ingredients as corn, peas, and potatoes—we made our choices. Pizza Metro serves rectangular thin crusts pizza which are quite large and hover somewhere in the realm of 'not quite a thin crust' and 'not quite a pan pizza.' Our selections were as follows:

• Pepperoni & Garlic
  
  
• Italian Sausage & Basil
  
  
• Potato & Rosemary

Since Pizza Metro II offers you the option of ordering by the whole pizza, by the half pizza, or by the slice we ordered two whole pizzas and a half pizza of the Potato & Rosemary. Our pizzas came about 20 minutes after we ordered. And yes, they were all quite tasty. They all hide a nice crispy crust that wasn't too dry, and I remember enjoying the cheese quite a bit too. The Pepperoni & Garlic seemed to be the favorite of the group, with them using what we all agreed was just the perfect amount of garlic. The Sausage & Basil was also pretty satisfying as well. And I remember being initially impressed by the unusual flavor of the Potato & Rosemary pizza, but after a few more slices it soon lost it's lustre. We made the right decision in ordering that pizza as a half.

Take note Pizza Clubbers, these pizzas are BIG! The five of us who did manage to make it out last night found ourselves intimidated by the amount of pizza we ordered, but on the whole, too much pizza is never considered a problem. Overall, these pizzas didn't disappoint, but they didn't exactly blow minds either. I'd refer to this place as that "ole' dependable" kind of neighborhood joint that you'd support if you lived nearby, but not the kind of place you'd exactly go out of your way for. Rock-solid, but not outstanding.

Pizza Metro II is BYOB and also has a small cooler of sodas in bottles, cans and 2-liters. The seating area is fairly small (I'm curious to see the original Pizza Metro's seating area if this place is considered "expanded"), and last night it was a bit chilly in their restaurant, but we were soon warmed up with our pizzas. The prices were fairly average, with beverages and a LOT of leftover pizza to take home it came to about $14 a Pizza-Clubber. Since we probably had enough pizza left for another 4 members, it would have been less than $10 had more people shown up. The staff were all very helpful and friendly as well.

Petey gives Pizza Metro II a 6.75/10.


Italian Sausage & Basil to warm us up...


Potatoes on a pizza?! Yes, it's true


The crowd-pleasing Pepperoni & Garlic


Where it went down

Big Cheese [Meeting #36]

Big Cheese (Closed)
2554 W. Diversey Ave. (Google Maps)
(773) 227-1122

CPC invaded Big Cheese on 11/08/06.

Big Cheese is a family-run business that originated in Rhode Island in 1965. Returning to their Chicago roots, the family recently opened up a restaurant in Logan Square. The restaurant occupies a large space that formerly contained a night club. Those dining in the restaurant typically order from the counter, but it was pretty quiet when we were there on a Wednesday night and the friendly servers came to our table of ten. The delivery and take-out folks were bustling in and out.

Big Cheese focuses on crisp and crunchy thin crust pizza. Everything is made fresh daily from fresh ingredients. They offer white and wheat crusts, and their pies are 6", 10", and 14".

We only delighted in the pizza offerings, but Big Cheese also serves up various appetizers, pasta dishes, calzones, sandwiches, and salads - not to mention salad dressing that has earned awards from the Boston Globe. Petey may have to go back and try that some time when he's off the clock.

Big Cheese is BYOB as of this writing.

CPC ordered the following pizzas:

• Tomato Pie w/ Wheat Crust
• No cheese! What were we thinking?! Probably that the pie only cost $5.

• Three Cheese Specialty Pizza
• A blend of mozzarella, cheddar & feta topped w/ sliced tomato & garlic. This was a great blend of flavors and a crowd favorite.
  

• Chicken Artichoke Specialty Pizza
• Strips of chicken tenders, marinated artichoke hearts, black olives & sliced tomato, w/ mozzarella & parmesan. This was probably the least popular of the pizzas at our table. The chicken did not have much flavor and the ingredients did not really come together convincingly.
  

• Pizza Gardiniera Gourmet Pizza
• Fried breaded eggplant, marinated artichoke hearts, sweet roasted peppers, w/ mozzarella & feta. The fried eggplant was nice and crispy.
  

• Mediterranean Gourmet Pizza
• Greek style pizza w/ chopped tomato, spinach, feta, cheddar, and special sauce.
  

• Wheat Crust Pizza w/ Genoa Salami & Italian Pepperoni

• Regular Crust Pizza w/ Sliced Meatballs & Sweet Roasted Peppers
  

And as a bonus, we got a free and delicious dessert! The owner brought us four plates of a delicious chocolate calzone, a new menu item. It was filled with hazelnut and walnuts, and sprinkled with powdered sugar.

As you can see, we ordered a number of pizzas and they all came out burn-your-tongue hot as they were ready. The first pizzas were brought to our table about 20 minutes after we placed our order, and the rest of the pizzas came out over the course of the following 20 minutes. The cost came out to $12 /person and we had a bit leftover to send home with the club photographer.

Petey gives Big Cheese 8/10.


The interior


Where's the cheese?


The "Med"


OMG... Meatball Pizza!


The chicken artichoke pizza


Here comes the pie...


The owner with desert!!


Chocolate Calzones!


Where it went down

Chicago's Pizza [Meeting #35]

Wednesday, October 18th
Chicago's Pizza
3006 N. Sheffield (GoogleMaps)
773.755.4030

CPC invaded Chicago's Pizza on 10/18/06

Come judge harshly indeed.

Chicago Pizza Club meeting #35 has come and gone, and those who attended are probably most happy about the "gone" part. The general consensus was that this was the most mediocre of mediocre Chicago pizza, and one can't help but wonder if they truly deserve to besmirch our good city's name.

The Chicago Pizza Club invaded Chicago's Pizza on North Sheffield last night and ordered up our pies just before 8pm. Our selections this week were:

• the Garlic Lovers Pizza: With fresh sliced tomatoes, roasted garlic, fresh basil and mozzerella cheese, brushed with olive oil. (This was from their 'Gourmet Pizza' menu).
  
  
• The Chicago Special Stuffed Pizza: Sausage, mushrooms, green peppers & onions.
  
  
• Thin crust pizza with pepperoni: This one is self explanatory.

Our pizzas took about 40 minutes to arrive, and worked out to $9 per person (paid in advance, including soft drinks) for the 8 Pizza Clubbers that we had in attendance (side note: we managed to order the perfect amount of pizza for 8 people). The Stuffed Pan Pizza was probably the best pizza of the three that we ordered, the sauce was pretty interesting but in the end I think it was mainly responsible for the massive heartburn I had when I woke up at 4 in the morning. The thin crust pepperoni pizza was pretty standard and nothing really to speak of, other than to say, yes, it faired better than a Domino's pizza. Their 'Gourmet' Garlic Pizza was probably the most maligned of our order, though I do know of at least one member who liked it.

As for this restaurant's atmosphere? Well, I think you'd find more atmosphere floating in space in an orbit around Pluto (I still can't get used to their only being 8 planets, but that's neither here nor there...). This was storefront seating, and the restaurant's modus operandi at this location seemed to revolve around carryout, delivery and pizza by the slice. Though I was presently suprised when they brought us out real plates and silverware. And, they did let us turn on the baseball playoffs, and that was nice.

In the end, this pizza wasn't worth the effort of our trek, parking in this neighborhood is extremely difficult, and even more so when the Vic Theatre across the street is attracting hippies like nobodies business for a concert. I'm guessing this place bases their business on locals who eat there out of convenience.

Petey gives Chicago's a 4.55.


Here comes our pizza


Maybe it's the Garlic Lover's, maybe it's not...


Thin-crust pepperoni


The pan pizza, looking a little worse for wear


Where it went down

O'famé Italian Restaurant [Meeting #34]

O'famé Italian Restaurant
750 W. Webster (GoogleMaps)
(773) 929-5111

CPC invaded O'famé on 10/05/06

O'famé is a family-run Italian restaurant boasting recipes that have been handed down through several generations, after originating within the neighborhood food businesses of Chicago's Taylor Street. Though inconveniently located in the center of a spiritless neighborhood calling itself "Lincoln Park," the restaurant itself is in a warm and simple two-room space. They accommodated us with a large table for twelve by the window, and the servers were friendly and attentive. A very nice touch for the squinting crowd: reading glasses at a table by the entry to help tired eyes peruse the menu in the dim lighting.

O'famé has a broad selection of pastas, salads, and sandwiches, but clearly the Chicago Pizza Club was there for the P to the I-Z-Z-A. They serve thin, pan, and stuffed pizzas, all topped with mozzarella and aged parmigiano cheese. We did not notice a big difference between the pan and stuffed varieties, though the pan pizza was certainly doughier, and at least the one we had was a bit soggy, but still pretty good. O'famé offers a variety of fresh ingredients, including their own homemade Italian sausage, ricotta cheese, roasted red peppers, and all the staples.

We enjoyed the following pizzas:

• Pan pizza: O'famé Specialty Pizza - Ricotta and Tomato with Basil
• We added basil to this specialty pizza and it went well with the ricotta and tomato. The dough of this pizza was a bit soggy, but it was also soft in a good way, going well with the delicate flavors of the ricotta and other ingredients.

• Stuffed pizza: homemade sausage, roasted red peppers, garlic
• The crumbled homemade sausage in the stuffed pizza was really good, and evenly sprinkled throughout each slice. The roasted red peppers were also nice. The stuffed pizza was soft like the pan pizza, but not quite as soggy.
  

• Thin crust pizza: bacon, artichoke hearts
• Both thin crust pizzas were nice and crispy. This pizza was topped with long, crispy slices of bacon, just like you make for breakfast.

• Thin crust pizza: O'famé Specialty Pizza - fresh garlic, oil, tomato
• This specialty pizza was the crowd favorite. The crust stayed thin and crispy and had a good amount of salt to complement the delicious fresh ingredients.

There was more than enough pizza to go around, and the cost without alcoholic beverages came out to $12/ person. Petey forgot his watch, but all of the pizzas came out hot at the same time (stuffed pizza lagged just a few minutes) after what seemed to him like about 45 minutes.

Petey gives O'famé a 6.8 / 10.