-Grubbing in Chicago
Tavern Thin Pizza in West Town
Chicago is a world class food town with Midwestern roots meaning no matter how many interesting places open none will gather as much buzz as a pizza or steak place. We’re in that stretch of the year where there’s been quite a few openings that seem worth checking out and per usual there’s one spot everyone is talking about more than the others. Today I’m going to give my two cents on Pizz’Amici.
Pizz’Amici opened at 1215 W. Grand Avenue right at the end of last year. One reason it’s been such a popular opening is that there’s a connection to the also popular Kim’s Uncle Pizza out in Westmont. Kim’s was spawned from Pizza, Fried Chicken & Ice Cream which was working out of Bridgeport after the people behind it became locally famous giving out free pizza via Instagram @EatFreePizza during the pandemic. According to Eater Chicago the couple behind Pizz’Amici were partners with another guy who bought them out at Kim’s Uncle Pizza and with that they opened Pizz’Amici. It’s a small space with only so many tables so it’s been tough to get a resy with doofuses like Dave Portnoy praising it. That said we walked in around opening and we were seated at the bar immediately.
I liked the atmosphere here as it feels like an old school spot despite being brand new. I’m not sure what was here before but it feels like an old Italian restaurant when you enter. The space is small with just one dining room and less than 10 tables total. The menu is also on the smaller side with Chicago style thin crust and a handful of antipasti on offer plus a couple dessert options. I was visiting with my wife who likes to start out a pizza dinner with a salad so we began with the Caesar Salad which the menu describes as "crunchy greens, pangrattato, caesar dressing, white anchovies". We both agreed that it was a very good rendition of former Tijuana resident Caesar Cardini's creation.
Caesar Salad at Pizz’Amici
The pizza all comes in one shape (thin) and one size (14") and they start at $21 with toppings ranging from $2 to $5 each. As regular readers know I'm a tavern thin pizza purist meaning I like my Chicago style thin crust with sausage and nothing else though onions and peppers or even some giardineria included can also good. But I grew up eating sausage and will never switch to pepperoni even though it seems to be more popular at these trendy transplant hyped spots. We got one sausage and one with mushrooms, onion and green pepper. The pizza looked good upon arrival and it was steaming hot so I made sure to let it rest and not regret going in too quick and leaving a sliver of skin hanging from the roof of my mouth. First things first I had to grab a corner slice. Not bad I thought but the real test comes with the second slice which is always one of the non corner crust squares. I like to fold it like a NY slice and test just how crispy it is. Unfortunately this wasn't as crisp as I hoped it would be.
Sausage Pizza at Pizz’Amici
The pizza didn't crack so to say despite being cold cured ala Pat's Pizza on Lincoln. I also thought the sausage was missing something but in fairness I always feel that way at the newer spots that insist on making it on-site despite the availability of a quality product from multiple Chicagoland vendors. My other problem was the sauce which tasted like it had too much going on. Maybe I prefer a milder sauce or maybe I'm just not used to such a heavily seasoned pizza sauce but it dominated the flavor. It might sound like I didn't like this place at all but I still thought the pizza was very good just not the best in town like some others are saying. Actually I enjoyed the veggie supreme pizza more than the sausage which was a first. The quality of the mushrooms and the freshness of the onion and peppers really worked in sync with the well spiced sauce. Overall this is a great opening for the area as there isn't anything else like it along Grand avenue there. The people behind Pizz’Amici have pushed pizza forward in Chicago and I'm almost positive the pizza is always improving as that's what perfectionists like them set out to achieve. I recently saw the backshot (the crust side) of a slice and could tell they're already making it a bit different then when I was there as the picture showed a bunch of dots and the pizza I got had a bunch of diagonal lines going thru the dough. I'll happily go back but I wont be making reservations weeks ahead as that's just not my style when it comes to getting a pizza.
Veggie Pizza
Pizz’Amici
215 W Grand Ave
Chicago, IL 60642
(312) 285-2382
Website
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