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I've been calling Burt's for the past week and I either get a busy signal or a recording.

Are they on vacation?

Perhaps Burt is busy with his blacksmithing business.

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-Josh

An amuse bouche at breakfast is called a Bloody Mary - Scott Manlin

I was out of town last Wednesday and Thursday, so can't speak to that. He might have been closed New Year's Eve, not sure. Saturday and Sunday were an absolute madhouse, so no surprise if you got a busy signal on either of those nights. He's closed Monday and Tuesday (those are the days when he fits the horses for new shoes). He's not on vacation, so I'd try again today.

Buddy

Too funny. Dang it, you guys on LTH are making me smile today!

I finally got through around 6pm today.

Burt just had another showing on Chicago's Best on Sunday, so I suspect it will be worse than normal again.

Did anyone see this segment? Yowza! I'd never seen this show before but I stumbled upon it after the Blackhawks game last night. Both it and the host are unbelievably cheezy. It was nearly surreal watching the opening of the segment, in which super-cheezy host guy performed a mock interrogation of Burt: "admit you're best...admit it!!" Oy!

Being the genuine and curmudgeonly guy that he is, Burt must have been cringing in his seat while they were taping this. He looked so uncomfortable but to his credit, he played along with the horrible schtick, which was completely antithetical to what I think Burt's is all about. Hell, it was monstrously uncomfortble just watching it. I'm sure Burt's happy to have the attention and the publicity but it must have been painful for him to participate in this train wreck of a segment. Watching stuff like this confirms the old notion that Chicago is the world's biggest cow town. Yikes!

=R=

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I just wanna live until I gotta die. I know I ain't perfect but God knows I try. --Todd Snider

Twitter: ronniesuburban

Yes. I agree. I got a take out pizza from Burt's last night and they were as busy as they have been in a while. I had to park at lease 1/2 block away. Carry out pizzas were at capacity on the rack and most tables were full. I think Burt actually enjoyed some of the cheesiness of the segment. He commented favorably on the graphics of him on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.

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Steve Z.
Photographer/Pseudojournalist

"The only time to eat diet food is while you’re waiting for the steak to cook." - Julia Child

The "interrogation" wrap-arounds that were shot for each segment were not shown as part of the original stories. Those were a separate deal used solely for the year-end "Best Of" show. If you take the interior segment that aired back in October for what it is, I think they did a pretty good job. Yeah, it had some silly stuff in there, but I think Burt played along with them to produce a fairly amusing piece.

Buddy

Thanks, for the clarification. I thought the interrogation stuff was as bad as tv gets but the segment itself was actually highly informative, even if the host annoyed the living crap out of me.

=R=

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I just wanna live until I gotta die. I know I ain't perfect but God knows I try. --Todd Snider

Twitter: ronniesuburban

Cheezy? Annoying? Ronnie, you are being too kind! The host of this show (name of Ted Brunson) has to rank high on the list of top 10 cringe-inducing TV hosts of all time! I tried once again to watch the show (the "Best of" episode) just to see Burt, but had to change the channel after a little of Burt's "interrogation"--it was that bad! It's also sad to see Walter Payton's daughter Brittney participating as co-host of this show.... If it's being shown in other parts of the country on WGN's Superstation, I gotta agree with you that it's not doing anything positive for Chicago's image.

Now back to Burt's delicious pizza....

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"Life is a combination of magic and pasta." -- Federico Fellini

According to Jordan the cameraman, it's not on the Superstation. I met him, Ted, and a producer when they were filming at Wiener and Still Champion (airing this Sunday at 10). I'll keep my impressions of Ted to myself for now.

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Chicago Craft Beer Week!

More so than the idea of Burt as a blacksmith?

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"we must all understand that we're not all going to agree on everything, so let's just accept it -- hell, let's cherish it -- and move on." - ronnie_suburban

LMAO! Well Burt tells me he never actually said that line, so yeah!

=R=

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I just wanna live until I gotta die. I know I ain't perfect but God knows I try. --Todd Snider

Twitter: ronniesuburban

Made our maiden voyage yesterday and now all other pizza has been spoiled for us. Wow, was it great!

Quick question: Any recommendations on properly reheating the leftovers?

On foil, in toaster oven has always worked well for us.
--Rich

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I don't know what you think about dinner, but there must be a relation between the breakfast and the happiness. --Cemal Süreyya

Thanks. We went with cookie sheet in the oven at 350 and it seemed to work well. So good...even the next day.

First ever pick-up Burt's pizza, a large traveled 20-minutes in fine style, still warm when opened to devour. Burt's bonus, chatting, if even for just a few minutes, with ever uplifting Burt and Sharron, two of the nicer people of my acquaintance. I don't want to give it away, I did not take a picture and have not seen mention on LTH, but there is jaw-dropping eye-candy on the ceiling thanks to the talented Steve Z.

Burt's Pick-up Pizza

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Sauce on the side, always, implied, axiomatic..........never a doubt, BBQ sauce without.

Low & Slow

Instead of showing Burt's pizza, maybe you should have shared a photo of the "jaw-dropping eye-candy on the ceiling." ;0}
Regards,
GP Bob

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"It was very nice the time I was there." - my Mother whenever she was asked her opinion of a restaurant

I did not take a picture. Did not have a camera with me and a cell phone pic simply would not have done it justice.

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Sauce on the side, always, implied, axiomatic..........never a doubt, BBQ sauce without.

Low & Slow

I've searched all of the Burt's threads and apologize in advance if this information is already out there somewhere, but how early can I call ahead a reservation/order for dine-in at Burt's? Can I call a couple days ahead with an order and a time without receiving a reprimand?

Many thanks!
chitownhowie

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Native Chicagolander Since 2003

Burt has told me about people that have called more than a month ahead (they were calling from Taiwan), so I don't think a couple of days ahead is going to be a problem. Keep in mind that they are closed Monday and Tuesday.

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Steve Z.
Photographer/Pseudojournalist

"The only time to eat diet food is while you’re waiting for the steak to cook." - Julia Child

To reiterate what Steve said, it's never too early to call. Also, you don't need to wait until regular business hours to call. If Burt is in the store, he'll answer the phone and take your order. Generally after 10am is a good time to start calling. A lot of people assume they need to wait until 4:30 (when he opens for evening business) to call. Frequently they find that waiting that long leaves them out in the cold for "prime time"/dinnertime slots. There might still be later times available (8pm and beyond), but the most desired times are usually filled.

Buddy

Thanks for the tips, all! Called near the end of the lunch hour this afternoon and Sharon took good care of me. My parents are coming in from Ohio and can't wait to try the pie my wife and I always rave about!

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Native Chicagolander Since 2003

Nice article in today's Trib - http://www.chicagotribune.com/features/ ... 9213.story

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"A fruit is a vegetable with looks and money. Plus, if you let fruit rot, it turns into wine, something Brussels sprouts never do."
-- P. J. O’Rourke"

It must be Burt Katz week at the Tribune Companies. In addition to this article, Burt's will be featured this Sunday on "America's Best Bites", which is a nationally focused version of WGN's "Chicago's Best". Burt's has already appeared on Chicago's Best, but this is an all new segment that was recently shot just for the America's Best Bites program. It airs on WGN this Sunday at 6:30 P.M.

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Steve Z.
Photographer/Pseudojournalist

"The only time to eat diet food is while you’re waiting for the steak to cook." - Julia Child

The Trib article was actually the first time the WMAQ "modern day blacksmith" moniker for Burt made sense to me. It says that his current location used to be a blacksmith shop. Chances are that's been revealed in some thread somewhere here, but I must have missed it. At last I have closure.

Great article. But the Wall of Sound analogy isn't perfect because the Wall of Sound was in your face. I think of Burt's as quite a bit more nuanced.

Here
Probably will tick him off all over again.

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Objects in mirror appear to be losing.

He should start offering Horseshoe-shaped Breadsticks.