"Once the bowl is cut open, the toppings, sauce, and cheese pour out onto the plate. It’s not pretty but it tastes good."
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.
On February 14, 1929, Al Capone's gang left its South Side base on a trip to the North Side for a rendezvous with Bugs Moran's gang. Moran had ordered two unsuccessful assassination attempts on Capone and had taken to repeatedly insulting Capone in the press, and Capone decided it was time to teach Moran a lesson. So a group of Capone's men headed to the S.M.C. Cartage Company, which was a known front for a bootlegging operation. Two of the South Siders were dressed as police officers, and they ordered seven of Moran's men to line up against a wall. At that point, a couple more of Capone's men came in and all of them opened fire with machine guns and shotguns. Capone was in Florida at the time and was never arrested for his involvement. Indeed, Capone remained free until Kevin Costner came along and put him away for tax evasion.
The gruesome murders are now known as the St. Valentine's Day Massacre and took place at 2122 North Clark Street. Across the street, at 2121 North Clark, on a site where a couple of Capone's men allegedly sat as lookouts 80 years ago, sits the Chicago Pizza and Oven Grinder Company, which has been serving up pizza pot pies since 1973. Yes, you read that right: pizza pot pies.
Chicago Pizza and Oven Grinder Company
2121 North Clark Street, Chicago IL 60614 (map); 773-465-0087; chicagopizzaandovengrinder.com Pizza Style: Pizza pot pie Oven Type: Gas The Skinny: Three words—pizza pot pie Price: Half-pound pot pie, $10.75; meatball grinder, $11
The first thing you’ll notice upon arrival at Chicago Pizza and Oven Grinder is the line. I got there at 12:30 p.m. on Sunday, half an hour after they opened, and there was already a 35-minute wait. By the time I was seated, the estimated wait was more than an hour. No story about entering the restaurant would be complete without mentioning the genius who serves as the host. His name is Mariano and he has worked there for about a decade. Chicago Pizza and Oven Grinder takes no reservations. And when you enter the restaurant, Mariano greets you and asks how many are in your party. You tell him, and then you are done. He doesn’t ask for a name and he doesn’t write anything down. But even when the waits are long (I once waited well over an hour), Mariano remembers the exact order of customers and how big their parties are. The man is a genius.
The pizza pot pie consists of pizza toppings, cheese, and sauce in a baking dish that is covered with the pizza crust. Chicago Pizza and Oven Grinder only has two versions of the pot pie on its menu: with and without mushrooms. They come in two sizes, one pound or half-pound. The pot pies come with sausage, but vegetarian pies can be special-ordered ahead of time.
When our server arrived at the table with the pot pie, she turned it upside-down and pried the crust off the outer rim of the bowl. When she was done, we were left with essentially a bowl made from pizza crust that was filled with a lot of sauce, cheese, and sausage. Once the bowl is cut open, the toppings, sauce, and cheese pour out onto the plate. It’s not pretty but it tastes good.
The crust, which the restaurant describes as a “triple-raised Sicilian bread-type dough,” is chewier than most crusts, but the texture works well in balancing out the fairly runny sauce, cheese, and sausage. Speaking of the sauce, it is homemade from plum tomatoes, olive oil, garlic, onions, and green peppers. The sausage is homemade from Boston butts. I didn’t taste a whole lot of seasoning in the sausage, but the meat had some good flavor to it. The mushrooms, which we opted for, are large, fresh, and uncut. The cheese is allegedly a special blend, but it tasted like mozzarella.
In addition to the pizza pot pie, Chicago Pizza and Oven Grinder also serves up, unsurprisingly, oven grinders. Since I had already gone a fair bit away from most people’s definition of pizza, I decided to go a step further and order a meatball grinder. I was wavering on whether to take that leap, but my decision was made easy when I discovered that the tomato sauce on the grinder is identical to the sauce in the pizza pot pie.
The meatball grinder, like the pizza pot pie, comes with a lot of sauce, cheese and meat. The heavy bun proved to be no match for the particularly wet tomato sauce and it soon disintegrated. The meatballs themselves were too dry, but the sauce largely fixed that problem.
Unfortunately, the sauce and cheese failed to make the meatballs taste particularly good. They weren’t bad, just not very good. This was my first grinder at Chicago Pizza and Oven Grinder and it was good enough that I’ll try a different one next time I go back. That said, I don’t anticipate going back any time soon. That’s not to say the pizza pot pies are bad. They’re pretty good and definitely worth trying for the novelty of it. But I don't think they’re worth waiting in line for up to an hour or longer for. That said, hundreds of people clearly disagree with that assessment on a daily basis.
I remember this joint being on one of the Food Network specials -- I'm usually pretty open-minded, but this pot pie barely qualifies as pizza in my mind. Sure, the ingredients are the same as pizza, but it's not pizza. A calzone or stromolo could have the same ingredients and they wouldn't be pizza. Lasagna could have the same ingredients (minus the yeast) and it wouldn't be pizza either. See what I mean?
When they flip it over, it's pretty much just like a deep dish pizza! More sloppy and not a crispy crust, but pretty close.
It really is tasty, though, and that's what matters. Call it whatever you want. I think THEY call it an oven grinder, IIRC. Haven't been there in years.
I tried this place out when I was a poor intern in Chicago and had the same experience-- enjoyed it for the novelty but was underwhelmed by the actual pizza as well as the hour-long wait. I was also skeptical and surprised that the owner could remember the order of waiting parties with no names-- definitely a talent.
Apparently the thing to order is the Mediterranean bread. Next time I'm in the windy city I'm planning to give this place another try during off-peak times.
@gaffer: I was a little surprised at the meatballs. They weren't terrible, but they were way too dry. As I said, though, the sauce more than made up for the dryness.
@BPC: This is definitely getting away from anyone's definition of pizza, but in my book the pot pie is close enough and interesting enough to merit a review. The oven grinder, not so much, but since I was already there and there was so much overlap in the ingredients, I decided to add that.
@Mooner: The pizzaish thing is a pizza pot pie; the sanwiches are oven grinders.
@Koreanita: People love the Mediterranean bread, but I've never had it. I can, however, vouch for their mountainous salads.
being a new yorker I was sure I wouldn't like this place, but it is actually very good. Nothing like what is done in nyc or italy for that matter, but definately tasty.
There's a place in Seattle called Wallingford Pizza House that's been doing pizza this way for years. They call them pizza domes. In fact, their slogan is "Home of the Dome."
I wouldn't necessarily consider them Chicago pizzas but they're pretty good nonetheless.
I've eaten many bowls at Chicago Pizza & Oven Grinder. Of course it qualifies as pizza, the crust is buttery and fabulous and all the flavors and textures qualify it as a deep dish (reversed, I suppose). CPOG is a Chicago institution, has been around way way longer than Wallingford Pizza House, by the way (I live in the Seattle area now).
You can make these at home as well, and I recommend that you try. We used Corelle cereal bowls, layered with cheese first, meat/mushroom filling second topped with sauce, then the crust draped over the top. It works like a charm. You'll need to experiment with the time and temp but I'm guessing 10 minutes at 375-400?
Still I would much rather eat them there. Maybe for tourists the idea of "pizza in a bowl" seems more like a novelty, but the locals have kept this place in business forever, and the food is delicious. The restaurant itself is really cool inside as well.
Also to recommend: The Mediterranean Bread and family style salad with the homemade creamy garlic dressing. (Those together make a fine meal all their own.)
I have been coming here for years, and I believe I have figured out Mariano's secret.....
I believe that there is a camera right above the host stand and he is wearing a earphone. Someone must be taking down descriptions of people and then letting him know when to seat who.
My sister and I took our two boys to Chicago last August and stayed downtown. We took the L to from downtown to Wrigley Field and then the bus to Oven Grinders. It took over an hour to even get there but we thought it would be fun. The food was very good. We had the Mediterranean Bread and Pizza Pot Pies. But "Mariano" kept seating people ahead of us and when we questioned him it was because he wanted to keep the booths for parties of two. I wasn't thrilled with him to say the least. We didn't want a table and we didn't really want to keep waiting but it was getting late and we had two boys to get back to the hotel. We waited over an hour while others were served ahead of us. It was already 9:15 pm and where else were we going to eat? We got back to our room after midnight.
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On February 14, 1929, Al Capone's gang left its South Side base on a trip to the North Side for a rendezvous with Bugs Moran's gang. Moran had ordered two unsuccessful assassination attempts on Capone and had taken to repeatedly insulting Capone in the press, and Capone decided it was time to teach Moran a lesson. So a group of Capone's men headed to the S.M.C. Cartage Company, which was a known front for a bootlegging operation. Two of the South Siders were dressed as police officers, and they ordered seven of Moran's men to line up against a wall. At that point, a couple more of Capone's men came in and all of them opened fire with machine guns and shotguns. Capone was in Florida at the time and was never arrested for his involvement. Indeed, Capone remained free until Kevin Costner came along and put him away for tax evasion.
In addition to the pizza pot pie, Chicago Pizza and Oven Grinder also serves up, unsurprisingly, oven grinders. Since I had already gone a fair bit away from most people’s definition of pizza, I decided to go a step further and order a meatball grinder. I was wavering on whether to take that leap, but my decision was made easy when I discovered that the tomato sauce on the grinder is identical to the sauce in the pizza pot pie.
The meatball grinder, like the pizza pot pie, comes with a lot of sauce, cheese and meat. The heavy bun proved to be no match for the particularly wet tomato sauce and it soon disintegrated. The meatballs themselves were too dry, but the sauce largely fixed that problem.
15 Comments:
The grinder looks delicious. How hard is it to make good Italian meatballs? My local joint does them great
gaffer at 6:51PM on 03/03/09
I remember this joint being on one of the Food Network specials -- I'm usually pretty open-minded, but this pot pie barely qualifies as pizza in my mind. Sure, the ingredients are the same as pizza, but it's not pizza. A calzone or stromolo could have the same ingredients and they wouldn't be pizza. Lasagna could have the same ingredients (minus the yeast) and it wouldn't be pizza either. See what I mean?
BrianPrestonCampbell at 7:30PM on 03/03/09
When they flip it over, it's pretty much just like a deep dish pizza! More sloppy and not a crispy crust, but pretty close.
It really is tasty, though, and that's what matters. Call it whatever you want. I think THEY call it an oven grinder, IIRC. Haven't been there in years.
Mooner at 7:46PM on 03/03/09
I tried this place out when I was a poor intern in Chicago and had the same experience-- enjoyed it for the novelty but was underwhelmed by the actual pizza as well as the hour-long wait. I was also skeptical and surprised that the owner could remember the order of waiting parties with no names-- definitely a talent.
Apparently the thing to order is the Mediterranean bread. Next time I'm in the windy city I'm planning to give this place another try during off-peak times.
Koreanita at 7:47PM on 03/03/09
Nope, I'm wrong. The oven grinder is something different completely. They call it Pizza Pot Pie.
Mooner at 7:50PM on 03/03/09
This kind of looks good. I bet it would be easy to create at home. Where's that dough recipe of mine? ...
Adam Kuban at 7:52PM on 03/03/09
@gaffer: I was a little surprised at the meatballs. They weren't terrible, but they were way too dry. As I said, though, the sauce more than made up for the dryness.
@BPC: This is definitely getting away from anyone's definition of pizza, but in my book the pot pie is close enough and interesting enough to merit a review. The oven grinder, not so much, but since I was already there and there was so much overlap in the ingredients, I decided to add that.
@Mooner: The pizzaish thing is a pizza pot pie; the sanwiches are oven grinders.
@Koreanita: People love the Mediterranean bread, but I've never had it. I can, however, vouch for their mountainous salads.
Daniel Zemans at 10:27PM on 03/03/09
Their pizza is definitely interesting. But the Mediterranean bread and the poppyseed salad dressing are what I love from there.
valry at 4:22PM on 03/04/09
with and without mushrooms -- not tomatoes.
anysuchname at 5:39PM on 03/04/09
They have a 300 gallon sauce maker!
Mooner at 9:06PM on 03/04/09
being a new yorker I was sure I wouldn't like this place, but it is actually very good. Nothing like what is done in nyc or italy for that matter, but definately tasty.
hungrymamma at 10:33AM on 03/07/09
There's a place in Seattle called Wallingford Pizza House that's been doing pizza this way for years. They call them pizza domes. In fact, their slogan is "Home of the Dome."
I wouldn't necessarily consider them Chicago pizzas but they're pretty good nonetheless.
JWdude at 2:34PM on 03/08/09
I've eaten many bowls at Chicago Pizza & Oven Grinder. Of course it qualifies as pizza, the crust is buttery and fabulous and all the flavors and textures qualify it as a deep dish (reversed, I suppose). CPOG is a Chicago institution, has been around way way longer than Wallingford Pizza House, by the way (I live in the Seattle area now).
You can make these at home as well, and I recommend that you try. We used Corelle cereal bowls, layered with cheese first, meat/mushroom filling second topped with sauce, then the crust draped over the top. It works like a charm. You'll need to experiment with the time and temp but I'm guessing 10 minutes at 375-400?
Still I would much rather eat them there. Maybe for tourists the idea of "pizza in a bowl" seems more like a novelty, but the locals have kept this place in business forever, and the food is delicious. The restaurant itself is really cool inside as well.
Also to recommend: The Mediterranean Bread and family style salad with the homemade creamy garlic dressing. (Those together make a fine meal all their own.)
BuzzFood
http://buzzfood.blogspot.com
BuzzFood at 12:32AM on 03/09/09
I have been coming here for years, and I believe I have figured out Mariano's secret.....
I believe that there is a camera right above the host stand and he is wearing a earphone. Someone must be taking down descriptions of people and then letting him know when to seat who.
mofojo1977 at 4:44PM on 03/19/09
My sister and I took our two boys to Chicago last August and stayed downtown. We took the L to from downtown to Wrigley Field and then the bus to Oven Grinders. It took over an hour to even get there but we thought it would be fun. The food was very good. We had the Mediterranean Bread and Pizza Pot Pies. But "Mariano" kept seating people ahead of us and when we questioned him it was because he wanted to keep the booths for parties of two. I wasn't thrilled with him to say the least. We didn't want a table and we didn't really want to keep waiting but it was getting late and we had two boys to get back to the hotel. We waited over an hour while others were served ahead of us. It was already 9:15 pm and where else were we going to eat? We got back to our room after midnight.
queenvic at 1:32PM on 07/24/09