Burt's Place - It's Like Eating Pizza At Home (Morton Grove, IL)

Burt's Place

When one speaks of food in the Windy City of Chicago, the first thing that comes to mind tends to be its famous deep dish pizza. When one talks about the deep dish, Giordano, Ginos East, Uno, or Lou Malnati tends to be the popular picks. However, after watching the clip from Anthony Bourdain's trip to Chicago, I knew I had to try the deep dish pizza from Burt's Place. More so in fact, after hearing Burt state: "I'm 71 for christ sake and still working like a dumbass." He seemed to be a character!

After reading more about Burt's Place, I learned you MUST call in ahead (a day ahead would be best) and place an order (ie: size of pizza & toppings), otherwise they'll likely turn you away at the door, which I saw at least two times during my meal. With that knowledge in hand, I called and ordered a Large with spinach, sausage, mushroom, and onions. Since it's my first meal after landing at O'Hare, I eagerly awaited this meal!

Large Mushroom, Onion, Sauage, Spinach Deep Dish @ Burt's

As the video stated, and from what I've read, Burt would get fresh ingredients daily, thus, they do require the pre-orders the day before so they could figure out the amount of supplies they need on a specific day.

The crust on Burt's deep dish was different, but I do like it. It's caramelized, but not burnt. The ingredients were fresh and flavorful. My favorite ingredients were the sausages and the spinach. It's a shame we weren't able to finish a whole pie, as a large was definitely enough to feed 4 healthy eaters!

Dining Room at Burt's Place

Another part of Burt's Place I loved was Burt's wife Sharon, who served us the pizza tableside and chatted with us throughout the meal. She discussed the history of Burt's Place, her children that were out of state, and even gave us an Italian Beef recommendation. All in all, she was a lovely lady and made us feel at home during the meal.

Post Meal Candy

The space in itself was quite homey and definitely has their own personal touch. The pizza itself was delicious, but it was truly Burt and Sharon that gave this place the extra pizazz. Burt's Place is definitely a place I'll revisit on my next trip back to Chicago/Morton Grove, and hopefully I'll bring some new friends there as well. If you're heading to Chicago or already living in the Windy City, give ol' Burt's Place a try. Just make sure you call ahead with your order and reservation!

Signing the guest-book post-meal

Final Rating: 8.5 out of 10

8541 Ferris Avenue
Morton Grove, IL 60053-2828
(847) 965-7997
Yelp Link w/Pictures of the menu

Kesté Pizza & Vino - First Positive NY Style Pizza (New York City)

Outside Kesté

After roaming (or sleepwalking) a bit more around SoHo, I was ready for dinner. Our proposed destination was April Bloomfield's Spotted Pig. Sadly, we underestimated the dinner crowd on a Thursday night in the Big Apple, as when we arrived at 7PM, we were told it'll be a 3 hour wait for our party of 5. Thankfully, I was with NYC locals, and we had some backup choices in mind. What's more New York than some pizza?? Count me in paesano!!

We decided on getting pizza at Kesté Pizza & Vino in Westside Village. At Kesté, they're known for a Neapolitan-style pizza made by the famous pizzaiolo Roberto Caporuscio. A relatively new pizzeria, Kesté opened March of 2009, which is a baby compared to the famous Lombardi's and Grimaldi's. Nevertheless, I was excited, especially after hearing glowing reviews from my friends Dan and Wendy of a.k.a.dandy.

Pizza Del Papa ($16) - butternut squash cream, imported smoked mozzarella, artichoke, red and yellow peppers

After looking over the menu at Kesté we decided on 4 different pizzas. The one shown above is the Pizza Del Papa. At first, I didn't think much of the pizza, as I much prefer meat based pizza, but the butternut squash cream really adds a nice creamy touch to this pizza. The mix of the peppers and the squash really works. I was pleasantly surprised and it was probably my second favorite pizza of the night. Who knew butternut squash would go so well on a pizza?

Capricciosa ($16) - tomatoes, artichoke, mushroom, imported cooked ham, imported mozzarella, and extra virgin olive oil

This was the only pizza I wasn't able to taste, but the ones that ordered it seemed to enjoyed it as well. The mix of artichoke and ham looked to be a hit, and I regretted not to ask for a taste of the pizza.

Pizza Del Re ($19) - fresh mozzarella, mushroom, prosciutto di parma, truffle spread, extra virgin olive oil

Pizza Del Re was by far my favorite pizza of the night. I'm not sure if it was the truffle spread or the prosciutto, or even just the combination of all the ingredients on the pizza pie. The cheese, the creamy sauce, and the saltiness of the prosciutto was just fantastic. Everything was cooked perfectly and if you're here just for one pizza, make sure you get the Del Re.

Salsiccia E Friarielli ($18) - italian rapini, italian sausage, imported smoked mozzarella, extra virgin olive oil

Finally, the pizza pie I ordered. As mentioned previously, I'm keen towards a meat based pizza. Hey, there's nothing to be ashamed of being a carnivore. However, of all the pizza we ordered, the Salsiccia E Friarielli was quite average. Although this pizza was better than most sausage pizzas I've had in my life, nothing about it stood out. After taking a bite of the earlier mentioned Del Re, I wished I ordered a whole pie of that instead.

All in all, it was a much better New York pizza experience than my trip to NYC two years ago. Although I have no comparison from the other famous New York Pizzerias to compare, I firmly believe Kesté would hold their own against those other legendary pizzerias. Situated in the middle of West Village, there will definitely be a line when you go. Put your name down and go chill in the surrounding neighborhood. Kesté was definitely worth it!

For an in depth review of Kesté, read this post

Kesté Pizza & Vino
271 Bleecker Street
Manhattan, New York, NY 10014
(212) 243-1500
Official Website

Zachary's - The best Chicago Deep Dish Pizza in Nor Cal (Berkeley)

Zachary's Chicago Pizza

Zachary's, one of the most famous pizza restaurants in all of Northern California, is known for their Chicago style deep dish pizza. I've been here many times since I was young, as my grandparents resides in Berkeley. On a recently trip back to Northern California, I met with my friend Gigi and her friend Clarissa for a lovely lunch on the streets of Solano Avenue.

Menu

We decided on getting a medium Zachary's special, which consisted of sausage, green pepper, onion, and mushroom. Even though they offered beer at Zachary's, we decided on some diet coke to wash down the deep dish.

Zachary's Special

When the Zachary's Special arrived at our table, I was ready to eat! Even though the crust was thick, it was still crispy and had a bite. The tomato sauce was tart, and spicy, just perfect in my opinion. The mix of the chunky tomatoes, mushrooms, peppers, and onions harmonized with the italian sausages that were on the pizza. The pizza was simply delicious. At $24.55 for a medium, it might not be the cheapest piece of pie in town, but it more than fed the three of us hungry eaters, especially me, after my long drive from Los Angeles.

Dining Room

All in all, Zachary's pizza was one of the best pizza institutions I've been in my life. Personally, I prefer the thick crust of the Chicago style over the thin crust of the New York variety, though I hope I'll try a few good pizza slices in my upcoming New York trip. A Co-op, you can definitely see the employees are active and intended to run a successful establishment. Even though it had been about three years from my last visit, Zachary's continues to deliver delicious pizza to its Bay Area clientele. Although I was recommended to Cheeseboard pizza down on Shattuck, the nostalgia of Zachary's was too much for me to overlook. I hope for my next visit, there wouldn't be a three year gap. For any visitors to the "Yay" Area, make a stop at Zachary's, you wouldn't leave disappointed!

*Note* Besides the Berkeley location, there are locations in Oakland and San Ramon.

Zachary's Chicago Pizza
1853 Solano Ave.
Berkeley CA 94707
(510) 525-5950

Website