Posted by Daniel Zemans, November 4, 2009 at 3:15 PM
Serious Eats Chicago contributor Daniel Zemans checks in with another piece of intel on the Windy City pizza scene. --The Mgmt.
[Photograph: Bill's Pizza & Pub; remaining photographs: Daniel Zemans]
Bill's Pizza & Pub
624 South Lake Street, Mundelein, IL 60060 (map); (847) 566-5380 Pizza Style: Cracker crust and Double Decker Oven Type: Gas The Skinny: Classic tavern cut pizza and the innovative Double Decker are served up in a dive bar/family/taxidermy museum Price: 12" cheese thin crust is $12.75; 12" cheese Double Decker is $16.25 Website:www.billspizzapub.com
In 1957, seventeen-year-old Bill Kwiatkowski opened a pizzeria in a converted garage in the small town of Mundelein, Illinois, a decidedly rural community about 40 miles from downtown Chicago. Over time, Mundelein has become decidedly less dependent on farming, the town's population has more than quadrupled to about 33,000, and the reach of Chicago's metropolitan area has expanded to the point where Mundelein is, if not a suburb itself, at least within the reach of the Chicago metropolitan area. One thing that hasn't changed is the pizza at Bill's Pizza & Pub, which still operates on the same site as the converted garage. The old garage still stands and serves as the base for their carry-out and delivery operations. The restaurant has moved into a large building next door and is run by Bill's kids and grandchildren.
Walking into Bill's is a bit of a surreal experience for the first-time visitor. The place is a cross between a family dining restaurant and a dive bar, with a bit of a hunting lodge thrown in for good measure. It has a large bar, peanuts on every table (and all over the floor), a small arcade, a couple of televisions turned to sporting events, and a wall covered with taxidermy mounts of various animals and fish. Bottles of beer are served without glasses, food is served on styrofoam plates, and, keeping the peanut theme alive, the table tops are covered with peanut shells embedded in some kind of lucite or acrylic.
Bill's serves up two styles of pizza, a thin crust tavern cut pie and a "Double Decker," which is two thin crust pies on top of each other. Operating under the theory that if one is good, two is better, I opted for a Double Decker with sausage and mushrooms. There are a few tricks to making the Double Decker, a style that Bill claims to have invented. First, all vegetables only go on top of the pie. According to our server, Bill learned the hard way that if he put the veggies under the crust, explosions occur. Second, sauce only goes on the bottom crust because the combination of cheese under the top crust and sauce on top of it would be too much for the crisp crust to handle. And third, Bill's adds a large cornicione of twisted dough that holds the two decks of the Double Decker in place.
Like a fresh stuffed pizza, the most noticeable feature of the Double Decker is the massive amount of cheese that oozes out when the first slice is cut. In fact, the Double Decker is, in a way, an excellent combination of two of Chicago's native pizza styles - stuffed and tavern cut. The pie has the heft of a stuffed pie, but the cheese sit between and on top of a crisp cracker crust (times two!) that adds great texture and some nice toasted bread flavor. But to be fair, Bill's Double Decker precedes the introduction of stuffed pizza, so it's quite possible that full credit for this pie goes to Kwiatkowski's gluttonous imagination.
The mushrooms were fresh and had a nice extra bit of chew thanks to sitting on top of the pizza as it baked. The sausage, which had some good fennel flavor, was not particularly good, but it was a step above factory produced sausage nuggets. To the extent I could get a feel for the regular tavern crust while enjoying my Double Decker, Bill's seems to serve up a very good example of the style. I wouldn't say either that or the Double Decker is worth the drive out to Mundelein for city dwellers craving a tavern cut pizza fix, but if you find yourself in the area, whether with drinking buddies, your family, or your hunting party, Bill's is definitely worth checking out.
@travpard - NYC style ISNT the only style out there! I appreciate both thin and thick (even pan from some parts of the country). And who's to say that thin crust wont make you fat?????
I grew up in Lake County and had many dinners out with my family at Bill's Pub. As kids, me and my brother and sister thought it was cool to just throw the peanut shells on the floor, and of course the arcade was a big draw. I laughed out loud at your description of it as a "cross between a family dining restaurant and a dive bar, with a bit of a hunting lodge thrown in for good measure" -- you really hit the nail on the head!
They have been around forever. Back in the early '70's they were THE
place to go for Pizza in Lake county. There was not a whole lot else around at that time, and I remember their pie was much better looking than
these photos. The atmosphere is charming, with all the stuffed animals
and lack of windows. Most charming are the 'JackAlopes' (Rabbits with antlers) that are scattered around the place.
been goin there for a good 20 years and i agree with what DinnerDuJour said... nicely put Z-man! if you're ever back up in the area, give me a holler. you need to try the Hawaiian pizza there (i know, not to traditional but it's awesome) and there is a place right down the street for some great carne asada tacos...
Peanuts on the table is a definite plus--reminds me of my favorite chain restaurant as a little kid, The Ground Round, which had bowls of popcorn on the table.
However, that slice looks like a pizza from a box that has been dropped on the floor.
@travpard- I think they look really cheesy because they're pictures of the "double decker" pizzas mentioned in the article. As someone who spends her whole day making pizza, that much cheese does seem very extreme. I think the crust is the most important part, and theirs is a little doughy looking. but this was a really fun article to find- my dad is from mundelein. Dont know if he ever ate here though.
This is crazy cheesy! I would enjoy but I'm allergic to mushrooms :(
Funny about the name, I used to eat at a Bill's Pizza Pub in NC growing up. Daniel, I think it would be your kind of pizza... I actually submitted a review to Adam but he hasn't posted it yet. Hassle him so you can get a look at the pictures!
@MsHumpal: It's my understanding that virtually everyone who has lived in Mundelein or the surrounding parts of Lake County in the last five decades has been to Bill's. I'm guessing your dad has some good memories of the place.
@Mad Ernie: Thanks. I don't know about Pyramid Pizza, but Beau Jo's has a considerably larger and denser crust than the Double Decker at Bill's.
@steelcity: Every kind of pizza is my kind of pizza! I looked at the website for Bill's in NC and the pizza looked very Midwestern to me (square cut, lots of cheese). Then I read the history section and it all made sense - the people who started it moved there from Indiana. I am very intrigued by the Carolina influence of the place though - they offer a mustard pizza sauce?
@DinnerDuJour and hookrilla: Glad you approve of my description of your local pizzeria. It really was a fun place to visit.
@Daniel: they definitely have some interesting offerings. I've tried the bacon cheeseburger, the taco, the BBQ chicken, and the baked potato pies. While they all accomplish the flavor combinations they seek to attain, none of them ever strike a craving in me quite like the Pizza Pub Special. In fact, I'm craving one right now!
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16 Comments:
i may just be used to NY pizza, but those pics do not look appetizing at all.
is this review from thisiswhyyouarefat.com?
travpard at 3:21PM on 11/04/09
OMGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG!!! mmmmm pizzaaaaaaa
Lvn4life at 3:57PM on 11/04/09
@travpard - NYC style ISNT the only style out there! I appreciate both thin and thick (even pan from some parts of the country). And who's to say that thin crust wont make you fat?????
Lvn4life at 3:58PM on 11/04/09
I grew up in Lake County and had many dinners out with my family at Bill's Pub. As kids, me and my brother and sister thought it was cool to just throw the peanut shells on the floor, and of course the arcade was a big draw. I laughed out loud at your description of it as a "cross between a family dining restaurant and a dive bar, with a bit of a hunting lodge thrown in for good measure" -- you really hit the nail on the head!
DinnerDuJour at 4:17PM on 11/04/09
@lvn4life- i didn't mean to sound like a NYC elitist. just saying thats A LOT of cheese on those pies.
travpard at 4:23PM on 11/04/09
They have been around forever. Back in the early '70's they were THE
place to go for Pizza in Lake county. There was not a whole lot else around at that time, and I remember their pie was much better looking than
these photos. The atmosphere is charming, with all the stuffed animals
and lack of windows. Most charming are the 'JackAlopes' (Rabbits with antlers) that are scattered around the place.
tinytim at 4:48PM on 11/04/09
been goin there for a good 20 years and i agree with what DinnerDuJour said... nicely put Z-man! if you're ever back up in the area, give me a holler. you need to try the Hawaiian pizza there (i know, not to traditional but it's awesome) and there is a place right down the street for some great carne asada tacos...
hookrilla at 5:51PM on 11/04/09
Some of those pics make the pizza look like it was in a horror movie.
Morrob at 6:41PM on 11/04/09
Peanuts on the table is a definite plus--reminds me of my favorite chain restaurant as a little kid, The Ground Round, which had bowls of popcorn on the table.
However, that slice looks like a pizza from a box that has been dropped on the floor.
HeartofGlass at 6:01AM on 11/05/09
Thin crust tavern style is the way to go
KingT at 10:26AM on 11/05/09
@travpard- I think they look really cheesy because they're pictures of the "double decker" pizzas mentioned in the article. As someone who spends her whole day making pizza, that much cheese does seem very extreme. I think the crust is the most important part, and theirs is a little doughy looking. but this was a really fun article to find- my dad is from mundelein. Dont know if he ever ate here though.
MsHumpal at 11:18AM on 11/05/09
This is crazy cheesy! I would enjoy but I'm allergic to mushrooms :(
Funny about the name, I used to eat at a Bill's Pizza Pub in NC growing up. Daniel, I think it would be your kind of pizza... I actually submitted a review to Adam but he hasn't posted it yet. Hassle him so you can get a look at the pictures!
steelecity at 12:48PM on 11/05/09
I liked the review, and especially the pics! Nice job, Daniel. The pictures remind me of the thick braided crust pizzas you would find at places like Pyramid Pizza in Lawrence, KS or Beau Jo's in Colorado. http://slice.seriouseats.com/archives/2009/05/beau-jos-colorado-mountain-style-pizza-denver-idaho-springs-colorado-co-review.html
Mad Ernie at 1:12PM on 11/05/09
@MsHumpal: It's my understanding that virtually everyone who has lived in Mundelein or the surrounding parts of Lake County in the last five decades has been to Bill's. I'm guessing your dad has some good memories of the place.
@Mad Ernie: Thanks. I don't know about Pyramid Pizza, but Beau Jo's has a considerably larger and denser crust than the Double Decker at Bill's.
@steelcity: Every kind of pizza is my kind of pizza! I looked at the website for Bill's in NC and the pizza looked very Midwestern to me (square cut, lots of cheese). Then I read the history section and it all made sense - the people who started it moved there from Indiana. I am very intrigued by the Carolina influence of the place though - they offer a mustard pizza sauce?
@DinnerDuJour and hookrilla: Glad you approve of my description of your local pizzeria. It really was a fun place to visit.
Daniel Zemans at 3:11PM on 11/05/09
@Daniel: they definitely have some interesting offerings. I've tried the bacon cheeseburger, the taco, the BBQ chicken, and the baked potato pies. While they all accomplish the flavor combinations they seek to attain, none of them ever strike a craving in me quite like the Pizza Pub Special. In fact, I'm craving one right now!
steelecity at 4:40PM on 11/05/09
BRAINZ!
FattyMelt at 5:14PM on 11/06/09