Big Cheese Pizza - December 28, 2006

The Pizza Club of Chicago had its _____ meeting at relative newcomer to the Chicago pizza scene, Big Cheese Pizza on Diversey near the Kennedy (http://www.bigcheesechicago.com/index.htm). Before PCOC's report on Big Cheese's pies, here is a bit of an update on recent PCOC events.

While this website has not been cared for properly by its creator, all you PCOC fans out there need not worry. PCOC has been going strong these past few months since the last report was posted (we made visits to D'Agostino's River View, Congress Pizzeria, had the Annual PCOC Thanksgiving Dinner, etc.). And just as the members of PCOC have grown into new positions in life (husband, wife, gainfully employed, etc.), PCOC has also gone through some changes; some for the worse many are afraid.

This brings us to the purpose of the special Thursday night meeting at Big Cheese: to discuss the future of The Pizza Club of Chicago. To decide which recent PCOC changes should be accepted and which should be rejected. To bring us back to our roots. To eat pizza and drink beer. With the proper consumption of quality pizza and brew, surely the PCOC membership as a whole can attain a state of enlightenment (full but not too full with a great beer buzz) that will allow it to swat away any problems it faces and get on with the proper business of the Pizza Club of Chicago: chowing down on pizza and quaffing beers every other week, cementing the Club's position as THE authority on Chicago pizza joints.

This being said, the new kid on the block, The Big Cheese, certainly had a tough bill to fill. Other than learning that it is owned and run by a family originally from Chicago who has operated the original Big Cheese in Rhode Island, and that several online Chicago restaurant sites had several positive customer reviews, not much was known of The Big Cheese by PCOC's members prior to our meeting. We came to The Big Cheese without preconceptions; simply a group of voracious pie-hounds with a strong taste for beer. What could be better for a pie joint?

(Sidebar: to those of you out there who have asked whether the online reviewers of restaurants, etc are simple shills with little or nothing to do with their lives, or whether they are legitimate fans, I do not know what to say, other than this writer does not place too much stock in anything that is somewhat anonymously written and posted on the Internet - other than this site of course).

July 18, 2006 Report - Lucky Vito's

The PCOC website is back. After a hiatus brought on by new responsibilities both related an unrelated to pizza and beer, PCOC's on-again-off-again scribe has pledged to get back on top of the PCOC site and cement the Club's place in the world of pizza devotion on the internet. Before going any further, I would like to calm everyone out there with my assurance that the outstanding reports on Vito & Nick's, John's Pizzeria, Papa Milano's, Pizzeria Uno, Orso's, Pequod's (The New), and the other meetings I am forgetting right now are forthcoming (they are in quasi-draft form will be edited for content and accuracy by the General Counsel before publication). Now that the website business is out of the way, I will get to the report from our July 18, 2006 meeting.

Thomas "Joliet Sausage" O'Brien chose the Leopard Lounge on Cortland and Paulina as the location for a delivery PCOC last week. The Leopard Lounge does not serve pizza, or for that matter, any food, so, with some counsel from some of PCOC's grizzled vets, TOB chose Lucky Vito's on 2171 N. Milwaukee Avenue to deliver pies for the meeting.

After gauging the appetites of the group, an order was placed to Lucky Vito's. For our group of approximately 15 (our host Rojo and the LL staff, and Claudio, the tamale guy, all gobbled a couple pieces) we ordered 5 pizzas, 4 18-inch XLs with varied toppings, and one Super-size, 28x12 sausage and pepperoni. The 4 XLs shook out like this:

• Italian beef and garlic
• Sausage
• Tomato, garlic, and basil
• Hamburger and bacon
• Not sure on this last one

Per usual PCOC methods, and considering the size of the pizzas ordered, we requested that all the pies be well-done as to avoid the all-too-frequent tragedy of an undercooked pie showing up in front of pizza-hungry mouths. After completing the phone order with the well-done request, the girl on the phone took a moment to think, then stated: "You have got a great order here - give us about an hour and ten to get these pizzas cooked right and over to you. I don't want to rush this." Upon hearing this, the expectations of PCOC were immediately heightened, as this statement is clearly made by one who takes pride in properly putting together a pizza, from tossing the doughball around all the way to sliding a steaming pie in a cardboard delivery box.

Expectations rose even higher upon the arrival of the Lucky Vito's delivery guy. As Tom "Creep" Dine went out to help bring the pies into the Leopard (presumably to get the first look, and to snag some primo pieces) he noticed that the delivery guy had seatbelted the pizzas into the backseat of his pie-ride. No joke. This place obviously took its pizza seriously, and, as we were about to find out, deserves some serious consideration as one of the north side's finer delivery joints so far enjoyed by PCOC.

I tried all of the pizzas ordered and, after serious contemplation, have determined that the plain sausage was the best of the bunch. This is really saying something, as Matt "Chief" Dine and I discussed, if there is one type of pizza that can be used to judge a Chicago pizza joint, it is the establishment's sausage pizza. If a pizza place cannot put this seemingly simple, and glorious-tasting pizza together, then how can you expect them to put together a righteously carnivorous hamburger and bacon pie, or a delicately balanced tomato and basil pie? This pizza freak says you can't. Sausage is the true test of a Chicago pizza joint and Lucky Vito's passed with flying colors.

All of the other pies ordered were pretty damn good too. After some trepidation, it seems the majority of PCOC thought that the Italian beef and garlic pie was real good (and how could any of ous doubted this combination of two of Chicago's most holy fatboy traditions?), and that the tomato, garlic and basil and hamburger and bacon pies consisted of quality ingredients and were well-cooked. The only criticism of Lucky Vito's pizzas that I heard was that some of crust pieces seemed to be lacking a bit in the sauce department, especially toward the very edge. Others also had some questions about the crust (which was thin, but had tad bit of fluff to it), wondering whether it might be better with a thinner crust. Taking in the whole picture though, I think that PCOC thought that Lucky Vito's pizza was good, and worth ordering again.

This report would be remiss without a thank you to Rojo and his crew at the Leopard Lounge - our visit will surely be the first of many, as Rojo knows how to take care of a hungry and thirsty bunch. For the millions of readers out there, get to the Leopard Lounge, especially on Wednesdays, when world-renowned DJ BK ( a/k/a Bridget Kelly, PCOC founder and former President) spins her crazy tunes.

As for the next meeting, I think we ended the meeting at LL without choosing the next picker. This situation will be remedied ASAP and an announcement will be sent out regarding the site of the next meeting.