-The other Chicago-style pizza: Tavern Style
Back in April I took a trip to Burbank to try out a longtime favorite pizza spot of the locals and also a BBQ buddy of mine. I was with two of my boys and we weren't starving since we hit up another place to be featured but wanted to try a pizza from here since that was the original plan. We made our way over and before getting in the parking lot I spied a Hawaiian shaved ice spot that I made a mental note of that was right around the corner from the pizzeria/bar/barber shop trio that's been around since the 70's. There also happens to be a model train shop next door to the trio so this place is indeed pretty damn old school.
Locals favorite in Burbank, IL
In the trio of the barber shop/bar/pizza place both the pizzeria and the bar are connected. The ordering area for Little franks has no seats and is used for pick-up, delivery and anybody who wants to eat a pizza at the bar next door. We went with a large thin sausage pizza and told the people at the SRO ordering area that we'd be eating the pie at the bar next door. So we hopped on in to watch a little baseball (it was early in the season, Cubs still had hope) while we waited. It already started right with the fact their special that night was a large pizza and pitcher of beer (the usual cheap ones from USA) for $12, still you cant beat that. It took about 20 minutes and then the bartender brought us out the pizza.
Large sausage pizza from Little Frank's
It came out piping hot so we gave it a good five minutes before we digged in. The pie wasn't as thin as Marie's or Pat's and other spots like that but still thin. It reminded me of Rosangela's on 95th in Evergreen Park more than anything. This was some really good bar food and they had some great specials like two for one pizza night etc...
Sideshot
Overall the pie was great for what its there for, bar patrons and neighborhood people. I thought the best part was the sausage. Like usual in Chicagoland it was very good and the best part of it. I also liked the sauce, nice and tangy. It's a good pizza to have if your at the bar next door and for anyone from the neighborhood to have as their go to pizza place. I enjoyed the trip and loved the leftovers I chowed down at room temp later on that night.
Piece of tavern style thin from little Frank's
Rating Scale 5/5
crust: 3
sauce: 4
toppings: 4
Crispness: 3
Score: 14/20
The best part of the meal wasnt even ordered and came from a stereotypical Harley riding Vet. He had the gut, beard and bikers outfit as your picturing in your head right now along with the Veteran baseball cap. He was a regular at the bar named Gordo who stopped by to tell a few jokes, that were pretty damn funny, and to offer us up some of his homemade super spicy peanut brittle. It was a wonderful treat that went from sweet to super hot and then back to sweet. He was a really nice and also funny dude and even gave us a bagful that he insisted we take upon leaving. All he asked was that we come on back. That I will next time I'm in the area.
Gordo's Spicy peanut Brittle
My mouth was feeling the heat from the brittle and I went around the corner to check out the Hawaiian shaved Ice spot and see what was up. It wasn't anything crazy authentic according to my buddy who goes to Hawaii every year, but it did the trick of cooling down my steaming mouth and I still quite enjoyed it since I have always loved shaved ice and its a great summertime treat, especially after some of Gordo's brittle.
around the corner from little Frank's in Burbank
The machines can be rented out for parties
cantaloupe/watermelon Ice
______________________________
Little Franks Pizzeria
6355 West 79th Street
Burbank, IL 60459-1149
(708) 598-8660
Back in April I took a trip to Burbank to try out a longtime favorite pizza spot of the locals and also a BBQ buddy of mine. I was with two of my boys and we weren't starving since we hit up another place to be featured but wanted to try a pizza from here since that was the original plan. We made our way over and before getting in the parking lot I spied a Hawaiian shaved ice spot that I made a mental note of that was right around the corner from the pizzeria/bar/barber shop trio that's been around since the 70's. There also happens to be a model train shop next door to the trio so this place is indeed pretty damn old school.
Locals favorite in Burbank, IL
In the trio of the barber shop/bar/pizza place both the pizzeria and the bar are connected. The ordering area for Little franks has no seats and is used for pick-up, delivery and anybody who wants to eat a pizza at the bar next door. We went with a large thin sausage pizza and told the people at the SRO ordering area that we'd be eating the pie at the bar next door. So we hopped on in to watch a little baseball (it was early in the season, Cubs still had hope) while we waited. It already started right with the fact their special that night was a large pizza and pitcher of beer (the usual cheap ones from USA) for $12, still you cant beat that. It took about 20 minutes and then the bartender brought us out the pizza.
Large sausage pizza from Little Frank's
It came out piping hot so we gave it a good five minutes before we digged in. The pie wasn't as thin as Marie's or Pat's and other spots like that but still thin. It reminded me of Rosangela's on 95th in Evergreen Park more than anything. This was some really good bar food and they had some great specials like two for one pizza night etc...
Sideshot
Overall the pie was great for what its there for, bar patrons and neighborhood people. I thought the best part was the sausage. Like usual in Chicagoland it was very good and the best part of it. I also liked the sauce, nice and tangy. It's a good pizza to have if your at the bar next door and for anyone from the neighborhood to have as their go to pizza place. I enjoyed the trip and loved the leftovers I chowed down at room temp later on that night.
Piece of tavern style thin from little Frank's
Rating Scale 5/5
crust: 3
sauce: 4
toppings: 4
Crispness: 3
Score: 14/20
The best part of the meal wasnt even ordered and came from a stereotypical Harley riding Vet. He had the gut, beard and bikers outfit as your picturing in your head right now along with the Veteran baseball cap. He was a regular at the bar named Gordo who stopped by to tell a few jokes, that were pretty damn funny, and to offer us up some of his homemade super spicy peanut brittle. It was a wonderful treat that went from sweet to super hot and then back to sweet. He was a really nice and also funny dude and even gave us a bagful that he insisted we take upon leaving. All he asked was that we come on back. That I will next time I'm in the area.
Gordo's Spicy peanut Brittle
My mouth was feeling the heat from the brittle and I went around the corner to check out the Hawaiian shaved Ice spot and see what was up. It wasn't anything crazy authentic according to my buddy who goes to Hawaii every year, but it did the trick of cooling down my steaming mouth and I still quite enjoyed it since I have always loved shaved ice and its a great summertime treat, especially after some of Gordo's brittle.
around the corner from little Frank's in Burbank
The machines can be rented out for parties
cantaloupe/watermelon Ice
______________________________
Little Franks Pizzeria
6355 West 79th Street
Burbank, IL 60459-1149
(708) 598-8660
Tropical Sno
7905 Narragansett Avenue
Burbank, IL 60459-1807
(708) 430-8604
1 comment:
That pizza looks so tasty. Never move away from the area. Your blog constantly reminds me what a food wasteland exists outside of Chicagoland. What most people fail to realize is that the culinary landscape of any given town isn't about the high end, named-chef places: it's about the ready availability and omnipresence of the everyday eats that matters--the pizza, burgers, dogs, gyros. Here in NC, someone will say, "But so-and-so downtown does a Chicago dog," as if a single place, 20 minutes away, makes up for the otherwise lack of such places. I would want to pass six such places on the way (not to mention all the other great places in-between as well). The gyros here suck--I think we're beyond the distribution reach of the major players. And pizza? Don't even get me started.
I'm going up to see my folks in NW Indiana in a couple weeks and am already planning my food strategy.
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