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Great Lake Pizza. Some people like their pizza. Actually, quite a large number of people like their pizza. There’s even a thread on LTH where a large number of people have pronounced their satisfaction:

“we definitely enjoyed our experience and our pizza and will most assuredly go back” (lillafury)

“among the finest pizzas I've eaten in Chicago and quite possibly the best…based on quality, execution and my personal preference of style, I cannot remember a more satisfying artisanal pizza.” (ronnie_suburban)

“the flavor was amazing” (jessewolfe1)

“a must try” (dutch101)

“top notch place for great pizza” (sholl)

“This pizza is awesome and in my opinion the best commercially available in Chicago.” (MAG)

“phenomenal pizza” (miesplz)

“Probably the best pizza I've had in a couple of years” (Mike G)

“This pizza was, for me, revelatory and easily worth the minor inconvenience we had to endure to experience it. This was a truly magnificent, bar-setting experience.” (ronnie_suburban again)

“the crust is just divine, and the ingredients are just amazing. (yellow truffle)

“Needless to say if Michelin gave stars to pizzeria's Great Lake would fall under "worth the journey" category. I'll put Great Lake right up there with Pizzeria Bianco in Phoenix and likely surpassing it.” (robert40, who drove from upstate New York just to try it!)

“we adored it” (geno55)

In fact, there are even some people who think it’s the best pizza in America. (Heck, LTH even has a thread on that announcement.) Not having had pizza everywhere in America, I can’t say.

But I can say that Great Lake’s pizza in extraordinarily good. So good, in fact, that it strikes me as just the kind of place that LTH had in mind when they created the appellation “great neighborhood restaurant.” This mom-and-pop shop is tiny. Although they’ve expanded from one table inside to several and have even added an outdoor option, they remain tiny. But tiny isn’t necessarily a bad thing. They have chosen a place that is in the heart of a neighborhood with some excellent eating options (including a GNR, Pasticceria Natalina, just a block away). And in a short time they have managed to distinguish themselves. Why? Because the owners run their place with the best of all possible motives: to put out the best possible pizza that they can.

Even before a food critic in a certain national publication labeled their pizza the “Best in America,” a wait was involved. With the attention and crowds that such an act inevitably brings, the waits have become longer. (In fact, many of the very earliest posts on LTH already noted that waiting was involved.) But to their credit, Nick and Lydia continue to take their time and ensure that each pizza they make is the best possible pizza they can make. Quality of that kind takes time and with quality of that kind, we all profit.

The crust is ethereal, the toppings carefully (and locally) chosen with an eye to enhancing the experience. Great Lake does not offer three dozen different kind of pizza. In fact, the number of their offerings is very small. But as with any endeavor, limiting the number of things you make means that you can spend that much more time ensuring the quality of each. And their quality is uniformly excellent. For those to whom this kind of devotion speaks, there’s no denying the attention to detail, superb quality, and sheer deliciousness of a Great Lake pizza.

Great Lake
1477 W. Balmoral Avenue
Chicago, IL 60640
(773) 334-9270

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Gypsy Boy

“How can a nation be called great if its bread tastes like kleenex?” (Julia Child)

This is a nomination that I heartily and happily endorse. As I posted in the main Great Lake thread, this may be my favorite Chicago pizza, if not the entire country. It's a quirky and distinctive eatery. The place and its owners are intrinsic parts of its neighborhood, and it is a genuine destination, as well. Praise here at LTH has been near-universal and the outside attention Great Lake has garnered just confirms the feelings that many of us already had about it. If there were any GNR worthiness questions about this place last year, they all seem to have been emphatically answered by now. This would be a rare case where our recognition of a (formerly) hidden gem would actually come after that of the mainstream media but that doesn't make it one bit less worthy.

My personal opinion is that Great Lake is worthy of GNR status.

=R=

edited for clarity

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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

I've only eaten at Great Lake once and had a less than stellar experience. I have tried to return no less than 8 times, finding the restaurant closed for various reasons ranging from legitimate to ridiculous. Despite my own personal negative experiences, Great Lake has caught the imagination of LTH Forum (and the rest of the pizza-lovin' world) serving up pizza prepared with care (except for the one they served me) and quality ingredients. The owners have shown a real commitment to their craft and time has both made their quirks acceptable and shown that they are in it for the long haul. I also support Great Lake as a GNR this time around. Hopefully someday I'll get to eat there again.

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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

Gypsy Boy was kind enough to host an olive oil tasting at his house this spring. The event was followed with a trip to Great Lake pizza. Both My wife & I enjoyed ourselves at the tasting event and afterwards at Great Lake that day.

And while I don't agree with a certain publication that it's the "best" in the US, I thought it was damn good. The pizza is made with a solid dough recipe that produces a wonderful hearth baked crust that was not overly tough or chewy, but balanced enough so you knew it was still a hand tossed pizza made with style. They use quality fresh ingredients and this very artisanal small operation pizzeria is unique, and it breaks away from being or looking like any other pizzeria I've ever been to.

For these reasons, I support the nomination.

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-Burt

Burt's Food Blog!
Burt's Food Blog Facebook Page

I was really hoping somebody would nominate GL. If one of the purposes of the GNRs is to showcase the best-in-shows around the city, then Great Lake should be on the list. Nick is the Zen master of pizzaioli, meticulously creating every pizza from scratch and treating each one with the utmost care. The menu is simple, showing that they'd rather take time to learn and make a few things very well than spread out their energy on pleasing everyone.

Great Lake is easily my favorite example of the Neapolitan/American-style pizza in Chicagoland.

Strongly co-sign this nomination.

I consider a neighborhood establishment to be one you can drop into with modest expectations that you may get some food in a reasonably short time period. I readily acknowledge that I'm waaay to one side of the customer service versus quality of food spectrum. I figure there are enough joints that can do both well to keep me reasonably well-fed and un-aggravated.

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i used to milk cows

Here's a link from Serious Eats today. Seems that even New Yorkers like the pizza here.

http://slice.seriouseats.com/archives/2 ... #continued

I've never had a misfire or a pizza I didn't love.

What condescension by that writer. Chicago finally has a good pizza place!

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i used to milk cows

At least Ed Levine confesses his debilitating, tragic blind spot up front.

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I'm happy to add my endorsement of this nomination as well. I had my first pizza there last night and it was one of my all time favorite examples of the glory of simple, excellent ingredients. I had the tomato, garlic, basil, cheese pizza and it was all about the perfect crust and perfect tomatoes. Very, very little cheese - a light sprinkle. Slivers of garlic and snipped basil. It was a very sunny pie. That might be a silly way of putting it, but that's what came to mind. It tasted of sun.

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Fork and the Road

I second this nomination, as I have nominated GL in the past.. Yes they are a little slow and they keep short hours, but these things make them a unique part of the Andersonville landscape!

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There is no accounting for taste!

This place is up for renewal of its GNR. Please post your comments here until 10/10/11.

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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

I support renewal. Simply put, Great Lake consistently puts out the best pizza I've ever had. The combination of ingredients are usually original and always taste wonderful. But, for me at least, pizza is mainly about the crust and Great Lake's crust is a perfect combination of chewy, crusty, and flavorful. While this isn't a place you can just pop into any time and get a pizza, the waits are not nearly as bad as they were in the past.

I crave Great Lake more than any other restaurant in the city. I agree with everything Darren said and strongly support renewal.

Ronna

It should be noted that unlike other "craft" pizza joints in the city. Great Lake has a stubborn, stick to its guns attitude that really epitomizes what I think a neighborhood restaurant is.

Voted best pizza in this or that magazine would push many owners to respond by changing things (more restaurants, faster production). GL seems to have given a finger to the conventions and figured people will just need to wait longer to get their pie - continuing on with one oven / hand assembly model that must be part of the magic.

As other places have expanded and seen their consistency of quality decrease, great lake is letting well enough alone.

This owner / operator establishment is as unique in its mindset and guile as its pizza is simply amazing

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There is no accounting for taste!

To me, this stands out as the best pizza in town and among the 2 or 3 best I've ever eaten. I support renewal on that basis alone.

=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

Love, love Great Lake. Consistently excellent pizza, great salads. With time even the owners have mellowed! Definitely support this nomination based on a lot of data.

Whenever I go there, I was just there last Saturday night, once the food hits the table the talking stops! Not only is the pizza the best I've ever had, he salads are fantastic. Frisee with roasted beet last week was amazing. We were scraping the salad plate. Renewal please.

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Ava-"If you get down and out, just get in the kitchen and bake a cake."- Jean Strickland

Horto In Urbs- Falling in love with Urban Vegetable Gardening

Oh, they've changed things recently. They removed one of their tables and reduced dine-in capacity by 2. Go figure.

This is my favorite pizza in town and an easy GNR renewal in my book.
--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

After a period of quietly trying to convince me to brave Great Lakes, Gypsy Boy finally offered me the opportunity to come to his house, he would pick up the pizza and bring it to me. How could I say no?

He did. I admit my bias was to believe the place was overhyped, the owners prima donnas. I suppose that still could be true, but the product says I was wrong.

Only one visit, but the pizzas were fabulous - a near perfect crust combined with a deft, and interestingly personal, approach and touch with toppings. Looking for an opportunity to go back soon.

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d
Retired, gone fishing, and exploring my curmudgeon within

I love Great Lake and miss having it within walking distance to my house. While I've had great meals there with friends, I've also spent many an evening at the communal table with a magazine, cold beer, and whole pizza to myself.

While others have taken issue with the quirks of the place (or $4 garlic), I've always found Nick and Lydia to be friendly and respect their commitment to quality and running their business the way they want.

A big yes for renewal.

-Dan