1518 W Chicago Avenue, Chicago IL 60622 (Armour Street/Greenview Avenue); 312-929-3615; paulaandmonicas.com The Skinny: Worthy newcomer with an unusual "Combo" hybrid pie that combines Italian beef and pizza Price: 10-inch Combo, $10; 14-inch Combo, $17
As happens every spring in the midst of the NBA, NHL, NCAA sports championship hoopla, mayors in every major city hunker down and waste public tax dollars trying to feed the PR machine with cheeky side bet offerings of their particular cities culinary offerings. Just before the Blackhawks–Canucks game, Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley promised Vancouver's mayor Red Hot Chicago hot dogs, Red Hots candies, and Goose Island Brewery's new Red Felt beer if the the Blackhawks lost. They didn't, and I don't know what we get in turn from Vancouver, but with all the TV shows filmed there and the proximity to the water, probably some old X-Files props and a bag of fish.
That said, it seems like such a waste and a logistics pain in the rear to gather up all those different food items every time you lose a bet. The perfect losing bet would be for a single food item that captures the tasty soul of a city. For Chicago, at least in terms of national reputation, that means a food item that encapsulates the Italian Beef and pizza. While no such explicit thing really existed, enterprising corner shops, the kind of one-stop spots that seem to offer every deep-fried combo imaginable (shoes, Twinkies, whatever) in addition to their pies, have generally had roast beef as a pizza ingredient option. Some, also had giardinara, and so a creative customer could put together some variant of an Italian beef pizza.
Paula and Monica's pizza in Chicago's West Town has finally taken all the guess work out of that game by offering a combo pizza featuring Italian beef, garlic, giardinara, and Italian sausage on a thin almost-foldy New York–style-aspiring crust. And for three weeks in a row, this has been my Friday dinner.
The thin crust, with its slightly charred bottom and cornmeal dusting, is as satisfying as other pizza favorites such as Coalfire or Pizano's, and the ingredients and topping balance as good as any around town. While I have yet to get into the idiosyncratic Great Lake pizza in Andersonville, Paula and Monica's is definitely one of the best newcomer pizza spots in town.
I've tried variations of steak and Italian beef on pizza. The steak wasn't bad, the Italian beef was boring. You have to cook the steak before making the pizza, so it has plenty of caramel crustiness. Once the juices of the Italian beef boil off, it becomes bland. Maybe if you added the Italian beef AFTER the pizza was done! Huh. There's a thought. That would work. Back to the Pizza Laboratory!!!
seriously - the picture of that pizza looks wildly incorrect. Another mass-produced, stamped-out perfect circle of flakey non-pizza dough without even a hint of rise around the edges and no sign of deliciousness.
Nagrant - have you tried the italian beef pizza at Vito & Nicks?
I've tried Vito and Nick's pizza, though never the Italian beef version, it's one of my favorite pizzas in the city. I've written about it a hundred times. All I know is that this pizza is good. Is it the best in the city, no. Is it in my top five? Maybe. Top 10? Definitely. I wouldn't call it mass-produced, it's from a pretty small store front. Also, I don't spend a lot of time on what the definition of a pizza is. I put it in my mouth, taste it and decide whether I like it. I like this one a lot.
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9 Comments:
Good to know- this is right in my hood!
happyscrappy at 4:00PM on 05/14/09
Oh my god, I want this to be in my mouth right now!
cakespy at 5:21PM on 05/14/09
Michael: Go to Great Lakes now. It's the best pizza I've had in a long time...though it looks like I need to try Paula and Monicas.
Nick Kindelsperger at 5:22PM on 05/14/09
An IB pizza...have to go wake up the wife and tell her we're moving back to Chicago...
NotAmerican at 2:01AM on 05/15/09
I've tried variations of steak and Italian beef on pizza. The steak wasn't bad, the Italian beef was boring. You have to cook the steak before making the pizza, so it has plenty of caramel crustiness. Once the juices of the Italian beef boil off, it becomes bland. Maybe if you added the Italian beef AFTER the pizza was done! Huh. There's a thought. That would work. Back to the Pizza Laboratory!!!
Mooner at 8:56PM on 05/15/09
seriously - the picture of that pizza looks wildly incorrect. Another mass-produced, stamped-out perfect circle of flakey non-pizza dough without even a hint of rise around the edges and no sign of deliciousness.
Nagrant - have you tried the italian beef pizza at Vito & Nicks?
baconfestchi at 3:03PM on 05/16/09
I've tried Vito and Nick's pizza, though never the Italian beef version, it's one of my favorite pizzas in the city. I've written about it a hundred times. All I know is that this pizza is good. Is it the best in the city, no. Is it in my top five? Maybe. Top 10? Definitely. I wouldn't call it mass-produced, it's from a pretty small store front. Also, I don't spend a lot of time on what the definition of a pizza is. I put it in my mouth, taste it and decide whether I like it. I like this one a lot.
Michael Nagrant at 3:56PM on 05/16/09
Maybe I went on an off night, but I wasn't terribly impressed by Vito & Nicks. Not enough to make the haul back the South Side, that's for sure.
happyscrappy at 10:52AM on 05/18/09
I do not think our Chicago reviewer has covered this place for us yet. I am thinking a trip to Chicago might be necessary!
pizzaexpert at 10:31PM on 05/18/09