Burt's 2.0

Definitely enjoyed a Wednesday night soiree at a cozy Burt’s (Place) 2.0 with Cathy2, ReneG and chicago station.

So much history with Burt, myself going back to high school days when he had just began to hone his iconic and quirky personality at Pequod. This was followed by the opening on Ferris down Lincoln Avenue from the old store, the years of relative obscurity, when my family and friends were frequent customers—we loved it.

Then came the LTH-fueled awakening--Saveur, Bourdain & with it a commensurate hyper-criticism of the ordering process, and unfair allusions to Seinfeld’s ‘Soup Nazi’. Ironically, I always thought Burt was happiest before he was discovered by the digital world, a Renaissance raconteur making a few pizzas a day & kibitzing with customers.

I hadn’t stepped into the old blacksmith shop since years before Burt passed, only partially by design. Before last night, I had caught up on the history of the new owners, which in turn piqued my curiosity about the accuracy of the recipe that supposedly had been passed down.

Our order was two medium pizzas, size determined by Cathy2 relating that longtime LTH colleague Josephine thought the baking process & ingredient distribution worked best at that diameter. Sausage (‘Burt’s Blend’ it said on the menu---I don’t know about that, Burt’s was more garlicky), onion, spinach, mixed peppers on one, and sausage, mushroom, mixed peppers on the other.

Verdict—it’s a decidedly solid pan pizza. It’s not Burt’s, specifically in the taste profile that I somewhat-fuzzily remember, and the top of crust wasn’t quite as carboned-up as the original. No matter—the pizza’s appearance in pan was gorgeous, and the crunch of the server cutting a piece was aurally pleasant. I thought at one point that the pizza may have been a tad mozzarella-heavy, but recalling Burt laying down multiple overlapping slices onto the dough like a blackjack dealer, that’s probably not the case.

In my heart of hearts, I wanted to not like this pie. But I did, quite a bit, and the company was stellar. Till the next time, aficionados…

Hi,

I was emulating the information from Josephine's post, 'Burt's Pan Pizza: Does Size Really Matter?'

This was perhaps my second or third visit to 2.0. I had not gone in years and recall not particularly liking my last pizza there. Last night's visit was far and away better than my last. I recall last time, I thought it was too doughly.

Last night, we arrived early. Perhaps only two parties sat down long after us, though there was quite a bit of delivery and pick up activity.

I arrived home about the time my Dad came back from a meeting with pizza being served. I offered my pizza, which he initially declined. I suggested my pizza was very likely better than whatever he just had. Red flag to a bull, he cut the piece in half to share with Mom. He immediately agreed this was a far better pizza than what he that evening or the one time I took him to Burt's 1.0. The one time I took my family to Burt's, Burt had an off night.

Not to far away, there is a Jet's, Pequod's and Burt's, which could make for an interesting crawl.

Two plus hours of pizza history conversation was quite fun to partake.

Regards,
CAthy2

I tried Burt's 2.0 when it first opened and was underwhelmed. Maybe it's time to give it another try. (like Pequod's better than 2.0)

If you want to do an interesting local pizza crawl, tho, I suggest adding at least one local halal pizza joint. (OMG Grill and Halal Belly are both on Dempster.) Toppings can include butter chicken, beef pepperoni, gyros meat, chicken 65 and all of the usual veggies.

Giovanna

Last night I drove by OMG! Grill on the way to the Edens after dinner and remarked whatthehell is that? Just looked at the online menu and it's huge. Might be worth a try, if only out of curiosity. And OMG! is also on the same block as maybe my favorite Korean joint of all, JeonJu Restaurant, which is a favorite of GWiv. Best goat dishes around...

But if you're including OMG! Grill in a crawl of sorts, then you'd have to include the place a couple miles down Dempster--Larsa's, which I believe is Lebanese.

jnm123 wrote:on the way to the Edens after dinner

When you say "the Edens" I think movie theater

jnm123 wrote:But if you're including OMG! Grill in a crawl of sorts, then you'd have to include the place a couple miles down Dempster--Larsa's, which I believe is Lebanese.

Would Larsa's keep with the pizza theme?

Are you thinking of their Manna Eash?

Regards,
CAthy2

I just checked Larsa’s online menu.

They utilize the old LaRosa’s pizza oven, and while the names of the pizzas are traditional, items like steak shawarma and hummus are used.

Cathy2 wrote:

jnm123 wrote:But if you're including OMG! Grill in a crawl of sorts, then you'd have to include the place a couple miles down Dempster--Larsa's, which I believe is Lebanese.

Would Larsa's keep with the pizza theme?

Are you thinking of their Manna Eash?

Regards,
CAthy2

Actually, Larsa's kept the large pizza oven that was part and parcel of LaRosa's, whose space they took. Larsa's has had pizza on their menu since they opened. My late wife, who occasionally liked thin crust versions, thought their pizzas to be passable.

jnm123 wrote:I just checked Larsa’s online menu.

They utilize the old LaRosa’s pizza oven, and while the names of the pizzas are traditional, items like steak shawarma and hummus are used.

I guess they chose their name so they could reuse the letters from the original sign.

HI,

My thinking on this crawl is stick to a theme of Burt's type and similiar, which is the Detroit style pizza. Jet's and Little Ceasar's are more complimentary to Burt's and Pequod's than Larsa.

I can already feel the eyes rolling by mentioning Little Ceasar's. The last and only one I had might have been in the late 1980s or early 1990s. Since reading it was based on Detroit style, I want to see how it really compares.

That's my two cents!

Regards,
Cathy2

FWIW, Steve Dolinsky omitted Burt’s 2.0 in both of his Chicago pizza books while including newer deep dish/pan spots such as La Barra/Labriola, Millie’s Pizza in the Pan and Burt 2.0 spin-off Lefty’s.

To those who have been to Burt’s more recently than I, how does it stack up to other deep dish purveyors in Chicagoland? I went soon after it opened and was struck by the inconsistency, which I attributed to the owners’ inexperience at the time.

ld111134 wrote:To those who have been to Burt’s more recently than I, how does it stack up to other deep dish purveyors in Chicagoland? I went soon after it opened and was struck by the inconsistency, which I attributed to the owners’ inexperience at the time.

I was there early on and did not feel they captured it. This time around was much better.

As for consistency, I have not been there enough to know.

BTW - Steve Dolinsky's will be presenting to Culinary Historians of Chicago on December 8th, you are welcome to ask your question about Burt's 2.0.

Regards,
CAthy2

Cathy2 wrote:HI,

My thinking on this crawl is stick to a theme of Burt's type and similiar, which is the Detroit style pizza. Jet's and Little Ceasar's are more complimentary to Burt's and Pequod's than Larsa.

I can already feel the eyes rolling by mentioning Little Ceasar's. The last and only one I had might have been in the late 1980s or early 1990s. Since reading it was based on Detroit style, I want to see how it really compares.

That's my two cents!

Regards,
Cathy2

Yeah I would call their style "Detroit Inspired." The presentation with the caramelized cheese looks a little like Detroit, but none of the restaurants you mentioned included Jet's and Little Caesar's (both originally from Detroit) serve authentic Detroit style. But you may know all of this.

Has anyone been to Burt’s recently? It seems to have dropped off the radar screen.

We go frequently and feel that it’s as good as ever. My favorite is to order the pizza with caramelized onions, spinach and mushrooms. My brother went just last night with my almost 92 year old mom and they said that their spinach, mushroom and peppers was delicious. We love the patio.