BR - I have had Pequod's far more than I had Burt's. And I still think when Pequod's is on point is/was better. The problem is you have no idea what you might get. I've had bland, bready crusts many times or even a crouton like crust (best I can explain it) once there. Other times I've had near pizza perfection which keeps me a customer. I agree it would help to somehow make it a little less bready. Neither was ever my favorite for deep dish.

BR wrote:Last night I paid a visit to Pequod's and was once again reminded why I like but don't love their pizza.

First, the crust is really too much of a bread, too fluffy really. Burt managed to control the yeast and keep the style that of pizza and less of pizza bread.

This x 10,000. Pequod's pizza crust seems to keep on getting thicker and breadier every time I dine there. But my out of town friends love dragging me there every time they are in town.

I think you've hit on a key to Chicago Pan Pizza: the short crust.

From most short and crunchy (Malnati's, Uno's [original]) through some middle ground (Gino's East), to that focaccia-like perfection of Burt's, then just off to the right is Gulliver's and Pequods, and beyond that your generic "thick crust" bready stuff. Stuffed pizza doesn't fit on this spectrum, just as New York, New Haven and Chicago Tavern types don't either.

It would be an odd chart of 'shortness' vs 'how much Joel loves it' because there are a couple peaks (Malnati's and Burt's), but that's why we have so many kinds of pizza. But there certainly seems to be a pretty clear recipe path from one end to the other, that might not be obvious to a non-Chicagoan who just sees "thick crust."

Try ordering your Pequod's with extra sauce - I agree with many that the bread's a bit too much, but the extra sauce solves for this. It's quite a difference actually.

How prescient! We just had an extra sauce sausage mushroom and fresh basil pizza from Pequods MG Monday night. The extra sauce really worked, much more so than the same order at Malnatis gets you a soggy product.

The RIP Burt sign was a classy touch.

I'm still mad they got rid of RC Cola however.

Octarine wrote:The RIP Burt sign was a classy touch.

Especially since after he bought the place from Burt in 198-whatever, the owner was telling his customers that he died.

ETA: Obviously, this was before Burt reopened a couple blocks away.

Picked up a sausage and meatball, extra sauce extra cheese, well done, at Pequod's the day Burt's passing was announced here. Best damn pie of any genre I've had in quite some time. Also, the place is basically a tavern. That makes it a real Chicago pizza spot (in the Marie's, Vito's, etc. sense) in a way that many others, while good, can't match.

JeffB wrote:Picked up a sausage and meatball, extra sauce extra cheese, well done, at Pequod's the day Burt's passing was announced here. Best damn pie of any genre I've had in quite some time. Also, the place is basically a tavern. That makes it a real Chicago pizza spot (in the Marie's, Vito's, etc. sense) in a way that many others, while good, can't match.

Was this at the Chicago or Morton Grove location? I should note that my most recent visit was on a weekend when the place is way beyond crazy.

Sorry. Chicago.

BR wrote:Last night I paid a visit to Pequod's and was once again reminded why I like but don't love their pizza.

Agree. First couple of bites, when Pequod's (Morton Grove) pizza was steaming hot were very tasty, slight sweet to the sauce, hint of fennel in the sausage, crisp highly caramelized cheese ring, nice bottom crunch and the dough layer was light and airy. The medium pizza lost all definition as it cooled, slightly doughy, no real crisp and slight acrid notes in the caramelized outer ring of cheese became more pronounced.

Even given my critiques above I still liked the pizza, ate two hefty slices, the Morton Grove Pequod's where we dined in was Very busy and service was terrific, but it was no match for Burt's when Burt Katz was in residence.

Couple of inevitable questions may occur, I've been to Burt's a few times under the new owner, who I find a nice fellow, but the force of Burt is so strong for me its hard to be objective about the product he is putting out, which I also like but have not had in a while. No I did not drive past Burt's to see if they were busy, even though its close.

The throw-back small town feel Bringer Inn, next door to Pequod's, was busy as a beaver in Beaver Dam Wisconsin during the High Holidays (We did not go in, side door was open with loud happy people spilling out of same.)

I took a few pictures, none of which turned out due to a smudge on the lens.

Don't forget to order it with LIGHT DOUGH if you want a thinner pizza at Pequod.

I'm definitely the outlier (maybe the only outlier) but I've always preferred Pequod's to Burt's. I loved Burt but never really loved the pizza. When it comes to deep dish (and its variants), I'm a 'more is more' guy. And that's exactly what you get at Pequod's . . . zero restraint, zero panache, zero touch, zero elegance. Just a big, messy, heavy-as-hell, overstuffed casserole that scratches the itch on some weird, 'I'm not proud' level.

=R=

You're not alone. I always preferred Pequod to Burt's and there are others just like us.

Ram4 wrote:Don't forget to order it with LIGHT DOUGH if you want a thinner pizza at Pequod.

I don't know if I ever directly thanked you for this tip (that one could even request such), but I am now. Thanks. Extra cheese, light dough is my baseline for Pequod's. I prefer Lefty's because it's right by home and their sausage is top notch, but Pequod's being open later gives them some of my business.

I like pequods a lot but I'm definitely curious about the 'light dough'. Will have to give it a go next time.

From another link on my regular bookmark page (which earnestly, more of you should frequently hit), comes this scholastic article about Burt's Place and Pequod's Pizza.

pudgym29 wrote:this scholastic article about Burt's Place and Pequod's Pizza

I have no idea what the author Neil Gale is talking about with this

John Munao ventured out on his own, taking Burt Katz caramelized pizza crust secret, and opened Lefty's Pizza Kitchen in Wilmette in 2018. The pizzas are a New York style with the crust being double thin in thickness or as Chicagoans call it, Eastern Style.

Aside from the place on Touhy, which people mainly seem to prefer for the hot grinder sandwiches, and which offers standard thin (not tavern style) by the slice to the best of my knowledge (I may have tried it 15-20yrs, or so, ago, but don't think I ever have), I don't know of any Chicago use of the term "Eastern Style", and certainly not for something thick, like Lefty's. I don't know where the hell the author came up with that.

bweiny wrote:I have no idea what the author Neil Gale is talking about with this

Don't give it another thought. He's a known moron who should be ignored.

=R=

ronnie_suburban wrote:

bweiny wrote:I have no idea what the author Neil Gale is talking about with this

Don't give it another thought. He's a known moron who should be ignored.

=R=

Gale is a legend is his own mind.

ronnie_suburban wrote:

bweiny wrote:I have no idea what the author Neil Gale is talking about with this

Don't give it another thought. He's a known moron who should be ignored.

=R=

I grew up in the same neighborhood as Neil. He tends to rub people the wrong way, and can be, should we say, persnickety.

In terms of Eastern Style Pizza and Grinders, they have been on Touhy ave for probably close to 50 years. The family that owned it while I was growing up also started Philly's Best on Belmont selling cheesesteaks and grinders. The Pizza at Eastern Style was cooked in a pan, but was not deep dish. It was thicker than tavern style, and cut in wedges. I would liken it closer towards a Pizza Hut style.

thetrob wrote:

ronnie_suburban wrote:

bweiny wrote:I have no idea what the author Neil Gale is talking about with this

Don't give it another thought. He's a known moron who should be ignored.

=R=

I grew up in the same neighborhood as Neil. He tends to rub people the wrong way, and can be, should we say, persnickety.

Persnickety, I can live with. Being factually incorrect on a consistent basis is how one earns the "moron" label.

=R=

ronnie_suburban wrote:

thetrob wrote:

ronnie_suburban wrote:

bweiny wrote:I have no idea what the author Neil Gale is talking about with this

Don't give it another thought. He's a known moron who should be ignored.

=R=

I grew up in the same neighborhood as Neil. He tends to rub people the wrong way, and can be, should we say, persnickety.

Persnickety, I can live with. Being factually incorrect on a consistent basis is how one earns the "moron" label.

=R=

Point taken. I typically just ignore him.

Holy crap! That article (or whatever it is) is so riddled with errors and misinformation it is practically unreadable. The author(?) misspells Burt's name consistently as "Bert", including as the first word in the piece, directly below the heading "BURTON 'BURT' D. KATZ", and also in the same sentence where he refers to "Burt's Place"! He must think the "Burt" in "Burt's Place" and this "Bert" person in his imagination are two different people.

It is utterly astonishing how wrong this article is on so many levels. Someone needs to take a screen shot now, so if this numbskull reads these criticisms and starts changing things, we'll have a permanent record of his stupidity.

The only accurate statement is in the comments section where a particularly astute readers says, "... I've been going to Pequod's since Burt opened it and no story about it is complete without mentioning the waiter Jeff that was there in the early years."

Actually, even that is a misstatement; I was there from 1973 to the very end when Burt sold the place to Keith "Peace and Love" (Hah!) Jackson.

Buddy

Yea..
I like how the new owners learned everything from Burt on his deathbed as he whispered his secrets to them...

sigh

Actually, that's one of the few fairly accurate statements in the piece. Burt was in fact, more or less, on his deathbed when he sold the place and trained the new owners. He never spent any time with them in the kitchen, and trained them strictly from memory, kinda like a tribal elder passing down lore to the next generation.

And while I do have a bone to pick with them over the way I was treated once the place was open, I give them high marks for the careful and meticulous way they went about recreating Burt's recipe and methods, at least at the beginning. I haven't been back in a while and can't speak to the current quality.

Buddy