Daniel Zemans, our man in Chicago, checks in with another piece of intel on the Windy City pizza scene. Daniel also blogs about Chicagoland pizza with his friends on the Chicago Pizza Club blog. —The Mgmt.
Pizza Capri
962 West Belmont Avenue, Chicago IL 60657 (map); 773-296-6000; pizzacapri.com Pizza Type: Thin-crust (but not Chicago thin-crust) and stuffed
Pizza Capri has been serving up thin and stuffed pies in Chicago since 1987. I must confess going in that I probably have overestimated Pizza Capri's import to the Chicago pizza scene due to the fact that I have lived, at different times, within a mile of two of the three locations. I was actually surprised when I discovered that there are only three locations.
Pizza Capri is owned by Anan and Margi Abu-Taleb, one or both whom went to business school at the University of Chicago (which I'd guess is fairly rare among pizzeria owners). The couple has owned a number of restaurants in the Chicago area, including a Latin American spot called Maya Del Sol. When opening that restaurant, they hired Rick Bayless' former sous chef at Frontera Grill to run the kitchen. Unfortunately, it does not seem that they paid as much attention to quality when deciding who would be responsible for the pizzas at Pizza Capri.
Before this visit, I'd been to all three locations, but I'd never actually eaten the pizza. Capri actually has a decent selection (in both quantity and quality) of Italian food and sandwiches. On this trip, I was on a mission to try their pizza. I went at lunch and took advantage of one of their lunch specials, which includes an individual pizza and a pop for $6.95. I got a stuffed sausage pizza, and my dining companion got a thin-crust with spinach. In the interest of research, I tried both.
The stuffed pizza was fine. The crust did not have much flavor, but that is pretty common for stuffed pizzas. The cheese was a touch rubbery but still good, and the sauce had some seasoning, though less than I would have liked. The sausage was OK by New York standards, but subpar for Chicago—better than mass-produced prefabricated sausage nuggets, but not a high-quality piece of meat that I'd want to eat much of on its own. The stuffed pizza wasn't the best in Chicago, but any combination of wet, chunky tomato sauce, significant amounts of cheese, and some salty pork is going to be good. The personal-size stuffed pizza is six inches across, which was big enough for a filling lunch.
The eight-inch thin-crust pie was a different story altogether. This was not a Chicago thin-crust pizza. The crust reminded me of the pilot biscuits I used to eat on canoe trips. The crust actually wasn't nearly that bad, but it was inexplicably thick and inexcusably dry. If the purpose of a crust is nothing more than to hold the rest of the ingredients, then it served its function. But if the purpose is to add to the taste and enjoyment of the pizza, it failed. The spinach was fresh, which was good, and I did not notice any toughness in the cheese on the thin pie. But the pita-thick crust was so dry that it overwhelmed the rest of the pizza.
I did not try any of Pizza Capri's featured " gourmet pizzas," all of which are thin-crust pies. While I suspect the crust is the same on those, which is unfortunate, some of them sound like they could be good. If I ever go back to Pizza Capri, I'd probably try the 'Shroom (portobello, shiitake, and crimini mushrooms with spinach, gorgonzola, mozzarella, and roasted garlic) or the Four Cheese (fontina, mozzarella, gouda, and Parmesan).
I did enjoy the stuffed pizza and would be happy to eat it again, but with so many other options nearby (there's a Giordano's a block away and a Lou Malnati's six blocks south), there's no reason for me to return.
ugh, chicago pizza should definitely NOT be judged by pizza capri standards!! i avoid going there at all costs...especially when there are so many great pizza options in the city! it's gotta be giordanos or the medici for me
I'm not a diet freak or anything, but every time I see a classic Chicago style stuffed pizza, I can't help but wonder how many freaking calories a slice of one of those bad boys must be. A quarter of a pie must weight, what, ten to fifteen ounces? It wouldn't stop me from doing some damage to it, just not on a weekly basis.
@BrianPrestonCampbell: Weekly stuffed pizzas would be a bit much even for me. Well, maybe twice weekly would be too much. My understanding is that a large stuffed pizza usually weighs in at about 5-6 pounds.
When SE announced they were looking for a Chicago pizza blogger, I couldn't possibly understand how anyone could fill the position: because how can you fill--or file, I suppose--the content? This is not a bad pizza town, but there's only a dozen so places to write about, much less actually have good pizza; by week 10 or so, you'd be out of places to go to and have to resort to Pizza f'n Capri.
And here we are.
You're not really going to go to Frasca or Purgatory next, are you? You're doing a good job with these posts, but the resources are simply not available to you.
@lostfourwords: I appreciate your concern, but I think there are plenty of places left to review that I've been to and know are good, and there are even more that I've heard very good things about from people I trust. I'm not writing about these in order of preference, so you shouldn't take the Pizza Capri entry to mean that I think it's the best of the remaining Chicago pizzerias.
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The eight-inch thin-crust pie was a different story altogether. This was not a Chicago thin-crust pizza. The crust reminded me of the pilot biscuits I used to eat on canoe trips. The crust actually wasn't nearly that bad, but it was inexplicably thick and inexcusably dry. If the purpose of a crust is nothing more than to hold the rest of the ingredients, then it served its function. But if the purpose is to add to the taste and enjoyment of the pizza, it failed. The spinach was fresh, which was good, and I did not notice any toughness in the cheese on the thin pie. But the pita-thick crust was so dry that it overwhelmed the rest of the pizza.
6 Comments:
ugh, chicago pizza should definitely NOT be judged by pizza capri standards!! i avoid going there at all costs...especially when there are so many great pizza options in the city! it's gotta be giordanos or the medici for me
ChristineB at 3:33PM on 10/01/08
I'm not a diet freak or anything, but every time I see a classic Chicago style stuffed pizza, I can't help but wonder how many freaking calories a slice of one of those bad boys must be. A quarter of a pie must weight, what, ten to fifteen ounces? It wouldn't stop me from doing some damage to it, just not on a weekly basis.
BrianPrestonCampbell at 5:04PM on 10/01/08
This crap is not pizza, it should not be on slice. The first one looks something a stuntman should land on and the second looks like pizza hut.
two pizzas at 5:06PM on 10/01/08
@BrianPrestonCampbell: Weekly stuffed pizzas would be a bit much even for me. Well, maybe twice weekly would be too much. My understanding is that a large stuffed pizza usually weighs in at about 5-6 pounds.
Daniel Zemans at 5:35PM on 10/01/08
When SE announced they were looking for a Chicago pizza blogger, I couldn't possibly understand how anyone could fill the position: because how can you fill--or file, I suppose--the content? This is not a bad pizza town, but there's only a dozen so places to write about, much less actually have good pizza; by week 10 or so, you'd be out of places to go to and have to resort to Pizza f'n Capri.
And here we are.
You're not really going to go to Frasca or Purgatory next, are you? You're doing a good job with these posts, but the resources are simply not available to you.
lostfourwords at 9:50PM on 10/01/08
@lostfourwords: I appreciate your concern, but I think there are plenty of places left to review that I've been to and know are good, and there are even more that I've heard very good things about from people I trust. I'm not writing about these in order of preference, so you shouldn't take the Pizza Capri entry to mean that I think it's the best of the remaining Chicago pizzerias.
Daniel Zemans at 10:28PM on 10/01/08