Burt's Place — Restaurant in Niles Township

Burt is the soup Nazi of Chicago pizza. Some of my Navy and Marine buddies told me about a pizza joint owned by a prior marine that was the best in the area. You have to order ahead, Like the day before ahead. I didn't know the menu, so in being rushed, I guessed peperoni and bacon. "We don't use bacon," Someone says with a disgruntled tone. "We have sausage." Im an easy going fella, and very used to marine corps courtesies, so that is more than fine. Some may not be so into the rash delightful tones. I set the time for 8 due to work obligations and was given the warning that they close at 9 and we had to be out of the place at 9. I came in at 730 and we were told the pizza was already in the oven and there was no way to make it cook any faster. So I grabbed a salad, some good conversation with my friend about the interesting décor. Also talked about the fact that had I not gotten reliable references I would not have stayed. The restaurant did not have the feel of a top notch pizza establishment but a mom and pop biscuit and gravy eatery. The old knick nacks on the wall were real knick nacks earned from years of collecting not reproduction stuff like cracker barrel does. The news articles on the wall established they were a legit team operating on the top echelons of pizza royalty. The pizza came out at 8 exactly. The pizza lived up to the hype. It was slow cooked in a fire oven on a cast iron deep dish pan with years of pizza seasoning. The first few bites were by far the best pizza Ive had in Chicago, New York, or even Italy. The dough was an inch and a half thick with a solid outer crust a quarter of an inch thick. The sauce was a nice blend of tomato, garlic, and oregano with just enough to fulfill that perfect bond between the crust and sauce. No drowning in sauce or grease that makes crust soft or runny. The sausage and peperoni were covered in minced garlic and other spices. The peperoni was cooked to proper wellness and not rolled or burnt, which means it was applied towards the last half of the cook. There was no cheese. You don't ruin a good painting with a gloss coat do you? You don't put cheese on a good pizza. This isn’t a five minute oven cook this is an hour long process. You let the crust and marinara speak for itself unmuffled, Free of the flavor sucking curdled milk product most people associate with a pizza from a chain joint. Im sure you could ask for it if you wanted though. It lived up to the hype by far. The problem I had with the pizza was that once it got cold it could have used just a little more sauce. While warm it was just right, Perfect in its complexities of texture, spice, ingredience and heat. Cold it needed a little more, Burt, Just a little more. As we were eating Burt came out and with a friendly smile and courteous attitude asked how our food was doing. The voice on the phone was definitely this long white bearded fella standing before me with a USMC tattoo on his right forearm. Told him about the Marine buddy reference and he just responded shaking his head, "50 years later you still pull that up." He was an interesting character very committed to his trade and a seriously tough dude. The table behind us had one seat, near the phone, that was worn out from obvious years of use. The phone rings and the conversation went like this. “Kitchen is closed for the night. You have to make an order for tomorrow.” “ No, tomorrow is Friday if you don’t order now you wont get a pizza tomorrow.” “Well then good day to you sir.” Followed by a phone hitting the receiver. You play it right and you will get a great pizza with an interesting experience. You don’t and there will be no...

First, let me say I am not a fan of “Chicago-style pizza.” So anyone reading this review can consider it against my own bias against this pizza style. However, I will try to be objective as possible.

Burt’s is well known and, recently, has become quite famous for being in Saveur and on Bourdain’s show. While I would not normally try yet another Chicago pizza place, many people have indicated Burt’s is different. So I decided to give it a try.

Burt’s is located in a residential area. It’s in a small, non-descript building on a somewhat lazy Morton Grove street. The interior is dark, dank, and colored in various shades of brown, a clear indication of the sepia-toning that comes with age. There are a handful of booths and roughly the same number of tables. Aging newspaper and magazine clippings cover the walls haphazardly while old-timey radios line shelves suspended from the ceiling. The curtains are torn and dusty. It is unique, interesting, functional, and, at times, as creepy as your grandparent’s house, though I think the atmosphere is as much of a draw as is the pizza.

So the pizza… I’ll agree the pizza here is different. It’s thick and doesn’t have much sauce or cheese. Actually the pizza is bready. The crust is almost an inch thick, but it is light is texture. To me it resembles bread more so than what is typically thought of as a pizza crust. There is a slight caramelization to the crust resulting in what I have no better word to describe but a slight crust. Yes, I am saying there is a crust to the crust, but that should be indicative of how thick (and bready) the pizza crust is.

I had the opportunity to try a plain cheese and a sausage/spinach. The plain cheese was more like cheese bread than pizza, but the sausage/spinach was more impressive. The weight and moisture content of the ingredients weighed down on the crust and prevented the crust from becoming so airy and bread-like, resulting in a crust with a texture more similar to pita bread. Note I say texture. The crust is still very thick – maybe a half inch – but more dense and chewy, but not as dry as your typical pita. Either way, the layer of sauce is very thin and is really more of a coating than a layer. Burt also goes light on the cheese, with the entire pizza not necessarily being covered. I strongly recommend going heavy on the toppings.

We spoke with Burt while he was serving our pizza. We found him to be pleasant, but reserved. I got the impression he gets a lot of “critics” in his restaurant and is tired of hearing how great his pizza is or being asked about Bourdain (I did neither). His wife, while polite, was quite scattered. Considering there were only three occupied tables, I am scared to imagine what she would be like when they are busy.

Overall, we enjoyed the experience, but see little reason to return. The pizza is good, but not great. If you do go, be sure to follow the unwritten, but fairly well known, rules. There is a menu posted on Yelp, which is helpful (even if their reviews are not)...

Burt has not lost his touch...even after passing on this restaurant to the people bestowed such honor.

I have never been to this place before a few days ago.

But for what it holds true..the pizza was amazing and the atmosphere was perfect.

We came in on a Wednesday...middle of the week and sat inside on a afternoon that beckoned the outdoors.

We got a mostly empty room while the outside remained busy ...and we felt comfortable at Burt's place to hang out in a booth an a quiet atmosphere.

The service was fine for how over worked staff can be...so got served adequately knowing she was taking care of the patio too for the whole place.

The pizza was reasonably priced at around 20 dollars for a medium one topping.... While so many places can up it to 25-28 dollars for a medium one topping pizza (pan or deep dish)

The two of us ate half the pizza and had the other half for left overs. That is a 20 dollar pizza for two meals for two people. I'm happy with the purchase.

The atmosphere inside was awesome with eclectic and old timey stuff strapped to the wall.

Enjoy a night out here and get some old school Chicago style service in a quaint but mighty place.

P.S.

I think Burt is still running around back there....if I...