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We're huge fans of Coalfire so I was very excited to hear about Armitage Pizzeria, the new venture from one of the Coalfire partners now open near Armitage and Halsted. We stopped in tonight for a couple of pies and came away very impressed. The crust is a bit thicker and crispier than Coalfire, and the sauce is a bit different (although I can't put my finger on exactly what the difference is). Actually, this pizza reminded more of the pizzas I ate growing up in NJ than any of the new flock of places that have opened in recent years. So if that's what you're looking for, Armitage Pizzeria is your place.

Note that Armitage Pizzeria is mostly intended to be a take-out place. There's a table inside with 4 or 5 stools but that's it. Also note that it's pretty much a one man show, so waits for pizzas could be long. I called in an order tonight for 2 pizzas at about 5:50 and they weren't ready to go until about 50 minutes later.

Armitage Pizzeria
711 W Armitage Ave
(312) 867-9111

ETA - Grubstreet has an interview with the owner, J. Spillane, with an explanation of the differences between his pizza and Coalfire's...

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I will second Armitage Pizzeria. I am a big fan of that East coast style of thin crust pizza. There is nothing fancy about the store or the menu. They just do one thing and do it well. I think they even only offer one size of pizza. They usually have cheese & sausage available by the slice too for like $2-3.

Last night my friend Matt and I had dinner at one of our all-time favorite pizzerias - Marie's Pizza on Lawrence. We always order it extra thin and well done. The pizzas were perfect. I had mentioned to Matt about a new place called Armitage Pizza, started by one of the Coalfire founders, but with me coming from work in Northbrook and Matt coming from Evanston, we decided to go to Marie's. After we both had a large pizza, Matt said he wanted to try Armitage. I was curious to check it out too, so we went, arriving just before 10 when they close. The guy inside had just locked the door as we pulled up, but I had come this far, so I knocked on the window. I asked if we could still get a pizza and he said come on in.

It turned out to be the owner J. Spillane who basically started Coalfire. He's from Worcester, MA so don't call his pizza New York style! Since we already ate Marie's, we decided to share a pizza for "dessert." The pizza that came out looked fantasic. Oily cheese, spicy sausage from Bari, beautiful crust, crisp bottom (absolutely no chance of soggy) - everything I thought it should look like. I like my pizza on the well done side, but I didn't have to say a word to Jay, he knows what to do. It was literally Bizzaro Coalfire or Coalfire as an East Coast street pizza. Similar/same thin light crust (I didn't notice it being any thicker than Coalfire, I love it thin), same sausage. My only issue (which is 100% personal), would be I'd like a little more sauce. One of the things I love about Coalfire's sausage pizza is the prominent sauce on top. And I tend to like a little more sauce on my pizzas rather than more cheese. But it really was a minor thing.

All that being said, the pizza was fantastic and this place should be a big hit. Spillane is a character, so go see him. East Coast pizza fans will love this place. He does do slices (more of a concession to the high school across the street) but the best way is to get a whole pie. I have a feeling it may be tough to get a seat at the one table since it's basically a carryout type place, but I have no problem eating in the car or somewhere nearby.

I had to snap a quick picture because Matt was ready to dive in.

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Finally got around to trying this place a couple of weekends ago and it's by far the best east coast style place in Chicago. Nothing else is even close, imo, with the exception of Piece (but Piece is so obviously a different thing since it's New Haven/Apizza style). Think Cafe Luigi when it's really, really on (which is exceedingly rare, these days) and then a little better than that. The calzone was good, not great, and I wasn't a fan of the side sauce for the calzone containing grated cheese in it. I'll definitely be going back and I'd recommend this to any NYCers/NJers/Bostonians who miss pizza from home.

I'm all three of those things, and this just made me sad:


Last night was our second visit to AP after the first yielded under-seasoned miniscule slices of pizza pie. What you are seeing is not a photoshop job, and no, those aren't toy keys. My friend took this slice down in one graceful bite.

Two responses:

1) I would not recommend this place for slices for the obvious above reason.

2) No reason to complain about small-sized pies, they're only $11. That's much, much less expensive than anywhere worthwhile that I've been in Chicago.

Also, I'd add that the small minimalist pie style would not be out of sorts in much of Connecticut and Massachusetts. So that doesn't mess with the authenticity, albeit putting it out of the New York-sized slice realm.