Kim's Uncle Pizza - Westmont Tavern Thin Crust

From the folks who own Pizza Fried Chicken Ice Cream in Bridgeport, Kim's Uncle Pizza has been open a couple weeks - and it is now IMHO the best pizza in the area. Their one size only (16") tavern thin crust bakes in a 1954 Fauld's oven. They cold ferment their dough. Cracker thin with great texture, a minimalist sprinkling of cheese, and zesty sauce, I would have no problem ordering a plain cheese pizza...something I have only done a handful of times. No sausage on my pizza? This pizza could actually help me lose weight!

https://www.eatfreepizza.com/new-page

Kim's Uncle Pizza
207 N Cass Ave.
Westmont, IL 60559

rober wrote:From the folks who own Pizza Fried Chicken Ice Cream in Bridgeport, Kim's Uncle Pizza has been open a couple weeks - and it is now IMHO the best pizza in the area. Their one size only (16") tavern thin crust bakes in a 1954 Fauld's oven. They cold ferment their dough. Cracker thin with great texture, a minimalist sprinkling of cheese, and zesty sauce, I would have no problem ordering a plain cheese pizza...something I have only done a handful of times. No sausage on my pizza? This pizza could actually help me lose weight!

https://www.eatfreepizza.com/new-page

Kim's Uncle Pizza
207 N Cass Ave.
Westmont, IL 60559

Just reporting that link is safe, and, still, the most suspicious non-spam URL I have ever seen, as if coded by Wile E. Coyote.

Pizza looks great and will be on my shortlist. Thanks for sharing.

“The last owner, not the original owner, was a Korean woman named Kim,” said Cecily Federighi, one of the new owners. “She had been running the restaurant basically by herself for the last few years, through COVID and everything, and was just ready to retire.”

Kim Sinclair originally bought the business in 1971. She’s lifelong friends with fellow Korean American woman business owner Maria Marszewski, the namesake and founder of Maria’s Packaged Goods and Community Bar. Her son, Ed Marszewski, the Bridgeport-based entrepreneur, worked as a teenager at Uncle Pete’s, which he bought with E.F. Pizza in late 2020. The brand once known as Eat Free Pizza was created by Federighi, her husband Billy Federighi, and their business partner Brad Shorten.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/dining/c ... story.html

rober wrote:I would have no problem ordering a plain cheese pizza...something I have only done a handful of times. No sausage on my pizza? This pizza could actually help me lose weight!

I've wanted to try PFCIC for a while but haven't been able to. I should have an easier time getting to Kim's Uncle. By the way, you actually will have a much better chance to lose weight if you do have the sausage (extra even) and go easy or no cheese on your pizzas. Although it's the dough that is the bigger problem.

I really wanted to like this pizza in light of Louisa Chu’s rave review. However, we were disappointed.

Let me first state that I’m an East Coaster and not the greatest fan of Chicago tavern-style thin crust pizza. However, I have eaten enough of it to know good pies from bad. The crust was much too crackery - it reminded me more of a large fried and flavorless flour tortilla than any sort of pizza crust. The sauce was too cloyingly sweet for my palate. Nevertheless, the sausage was tasty.

Maybe this was an off night. I’m willing to give them one more try.

I was able to try Kim's Uncle on Saturday on my way into town from Colorado. I picked it up around 8:30 and there was no wait. I was told their little Fauld's rotating oven is at it's best when they are not too busy so if you can order early or late your pizza will be optimal.

The crackery crust was super thin which I loved. I was told that the overall flavor was a little different to typical Chicago thin pizza and that was true but I even more surprised at how spicy it was. I don't mind a little heat but anymore would have been a bit too much. The sausage was a little different but very good. I like that they automatically cook the pizza on the well done side. Overall I was impressed and would definitely go back.

This place is great; one of the best thin crust/tavern cut pizzas in Chicagoland. If I lived close by, I'd go routinely.


The quality of toppings may be unmatched in any pizzeria serving this style. We had three pizzas - mushroom, sausage/giardiniera, and soppressata/garlic/Mike's hot honey. All were great and generously applied. The mozzarella seemed to be the standard low moisture stuff you'll find anywhere but the grated parm on top was a nice touch.

The sauce is a fantastic, rich tomato sauce with a big umami punch. Like the toppings, there was plenty of it.


This isn't a style of pizza where the flavor of the crust matters, but the texture is fantastic - crisp but not too crunchy or crumbly. The downside - they're popular and they sell out sometimes. If you're making the trek from far away, make sure you call the day you want your pizza. They seem to start answering the phones around 3:00.


This is the tl;dr version of my post at the Chicago Pizza Club.

Also, the restaurant has a new website. Or at least newer than it did when they first opened. It's unclepizzawestmont.com.

Great review and photos.

This line is applicable to way too many damn places for me.

MarlaCollins'Husband wrote:If I lived close by, I'd go routinely.

MarlaCollins'Husband wrote:This place is great; one of the best thin crust/tavern cut pizzas in Chicagoland. If I lived close by, I'd go routinely.

Thanks! With images like those, you didn't even need the words.

=R=

ronnie_suburban wrote:

MarlaCollins'Husband wrote:This place is great; one of the best thin crust/tavern cut pizzas in Chicagoland. If I lived close by, I'd go routinely.

Thanks! With images like those, you didn't even need the words.

=R=

You and Pizza Boy™ should go for another viewpoint report.

I posted upthread about how I was disappointed with this pizzeria. However, since reading mentions of Kim’s Uncle in the national media, I’ve been back twice and really loved the pizza.

Granted, I prefer East Coast-style thin crust, but the pies I ordered most recently were amazing. The crusts were perfectly crispy and flavorful, and it’s not like the crackery and bland matzoh-like crusts of other tavern-style pies.

Here’s a write-up by Kenji Lopez-Alt that appeared in The New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/17/dini ... icago.html

Here’s an article in The Washington Post: https://www.washingtonpost.com/travel/2 ... ern-style/

ld111134 wrote:Here’s an article in The Washington Post: https://www.washingtonpost.com/travel/2 ... ern-style/

From the Washington Post article by Amy Cavanaugh

Other locals, such as Steve Dolinsky, author of two books about Chicago pizza, say that Chicago pizza is all the styles that were created here, so deep dish (and pan, which he considers a subcategory of deep dish), stuffed and tavern style.

Am I the only one who thinks Dolinsky has it backwards? Deep dish, to me, is the subcategory of the larger pan pizza division, not vice-versa.

bweiny wrote:Am I the only one who thinks Dolinsky has it backwards? Deep dish, to me, is the subcategory of the larger pan pizza division, not vice-versa.

I'm no pizza historian but agree with this. Pan pizza has existed in some form for hundreds (if not thousands) of years. Many would label the "authentic" (a word I think has lost all real meaning in pizza discussions) rectangular version of pan pizza as Sicilian-style. Detroit style pizza is certainly a variant, and Chicago "pan" pizza takes the general concept and transfers it to a round pan vs a sheet pan. So yes, deep dish and stuffed pizzas are later descendants of the same basic pan concept.

Was about to use the abbreviation "IMO" here, which reminds me that the Kim's Uncle pics above remind me more of St. Louis-style pizza than anything I've seen in Chicago. I'm not actually an Imo's fan (too heavy on the provel cheese) but other St Louis joints make some incredible ULTRA-thin and crispy crust pies. Looking forward to trying Kim's Uncle when I can make the trek out there!

Love Kim’s uncle. Been a half dizen times at least in the past few months. Their sausage pizza with hot honey is the standard for me. Crust, cheese, sausage all perfect. I like all the rules for ordering, etc. and how angers the less dedicated

My current thin pizza favorites in Illinois:
1)Kim’s - by a huge margin
2)Villa Nova
3)Fox’s Orland
4)Pizza di farfalla

YMMV

I have been to Kim's Uncle twice. The first time I posted about in 2022. I had a cold when I had it in my car (but it was great). The next time my brother and I managed to grab one of the two booths when our sausage pizza came out and it was sensational. Absolutely one of my favorites in Chicagoland. I also laughed at someone who walked in and was in shock when they were told it would be 2 1/2 hours for a pizza.

What people have to understand is places like this are in their heyday now. They haven't sold out yet, they are still cooking with passion and are at the top of their game. The rules are part of the (somewhat annoying) charm. I bet anyone who loved Great Lake but hated the meshugaas surrounding it would gladly have it back and deal with whatever bothered them back in the day. Kumas's Corner sold out. I could go on and on.

Jimswside, I agree that Villa Nova is another pizza near the top of my list, but not Fox's. I have had it at the original on Western and the one in Oak Lawn. Not even in my top tier but pretty good. Haven't tried your number four. Thanks.

Villa Nova. I can always telll a photo from there. The perfect placement of the sausage on each slice is the tell

Foxs, Orland. I think how much I like the bar influences my rating lol.

Kim’s has kind of “ruined” 99% of the pizza places out there for me.

For us city folk, the same group just recently opened up pizz'amici on grand across the street from Vinnies.

Haven't been yet but I'm assuming it'll be great and equally busy. But nice to have a location in the city again

jimswside wrote:Kim’s has kind of “ruined” 99% of the pizza places out there for me.

Same boat.

Is a 30 minute pizza transport home practical or desirable? If so, how to warm back up?

For great pizza that requires a bit of a drive, I invested in a Rubbermaid commercial pizza delivery bag. Worth it to keep Villa Nova sausage pizza warm as I speed north on Oak Park Ave.

Just realized this place is not very far from where I live... I think I see pizza in my near future.

hoppy2468 wrote:Is a 30 minute pizza transport home practical or desirable? If so, how to warm back up?

I constantly keep a pizza steel on the top rack of my oven. Occasionally I bake a fresh pie but it's mostly in there for reheating pizza purposes

WhyBeeSea wrote:For us city folk, the same group just recently opened up pizz'amici on grand across the street from Vinnies.

Haven't been yet but I'm assuming it'll be great and equally busy. But nice to have a location in the city again

I assumed the same thing. I'm not going to start a new thread to bash the place, but my Pizz'amici experience was extremely disappointing: Overcooked crusts, unbalanced toppings, and far fewer toppings on each pizza than I got at Kim's Uncle. In fairness, if I didn't know how good they could be, I probably would've left thinking it was pretty good, but not great.

Here are pepperoni pizzas from their three places.

Pizza Fried Chicken Ice Cream

Kim's Uncle

Pizz'amici

More thorough review over where the Chicago Pizza Club refuses to die.

I have no doubt that running two quality pizzerias is more than twice as hard as running one. I just hope that if they find they can't handle two, Westmont gets the axe.

Yeah , closing down the obviously better location just because it’s in the suburbs vs the city is the answer.

Now I’ve heard it all.

jimswside wrote:Yeah , closing down the obviously better location just because it’s in the suburbs vs the city is the answer.

Now I’ve heard it all.

I thought the same thing.

All said, it sounds like the original ownership trio may have parted ways.

Per Eater 11/22/24 wrote:Located in a former barbershop at 1215 W. Grand Avenue, Pizz’Amici is the brainchild of Cecily and Billy Federighi, who, along with friend Bradley Shorten, were behind the other pizza-centric projects, including the Instagram account Eat Free Pizza. Shorten has since taken over Kim’s, while Cecily and Billy are running Pizz’Amici. “Brad [Shorten] is from Westmont, so Kim’s Uncle was like a homecoming for him,” says Cecily Federighi of the amicable business split. “He decided to keep Westmont, and we decided to come here.”

Jefe wrote:All said, it sounds like the original ownership trio may have parted ways.

Per Eater 11/22/24 wrote:Located in a former barbershop at 1215 W. Grand Avenue, Pizz’Amici is the brainchild of Cecily and Billy Federighi, who, along with friend Bradley Shorten, were behind the other pizza-centric projects, including the Instagram account Eat Free Pizza. Shorten has since taken over Kim’s, while Cecily and Billy are running Pizz’Amici. “Brad [Shorten] is from Westmont, so Kim’s Uncle was like a homecoming for him,” says Cecily Federighi of the amicable business split. “He decided to keep Westmont, and we decided to come here.”

Oh, that's a pretty significant detail that was totally lost on me. I just assumed the lower quality was a result of the three of them stretching themselves too thin. And there goes my selfish wish that all the talent will be consolidated in a city location if one has to close. More importantly, it doesn't bode well for my hopes that my experience at Pizz'amici was an aberration.

Back to Kim's Uncle. I hope it's as good as ever. I haven't heard anything to make me think it's not. But it's been two years since I've been there I haven't seriously considered making the trip out to Westmont since. That's about an hour drive each way, which is tough to justify when Pat's and Middlebrow are bikeable.

In a totally unrelated thread, I was chitchatting with jimswside about how the Kim's Uncle calculus is hard for me, even though I live "in that direction."

Like a total noob, I rolled in there thinking I could sit down with my family and enjoy a pizza. We were quoted a two hour wait. Plus there's only like two first-come-first-serve booths.

And the drive home to my even-further west abode is about 25 minutes, enough time to chill a pie to room temp.

I should probably just order one on my commute some time and eat it al trunko. But if I'd like to enjoy their pizza with my family, I guess the best option is a reheat on the pizza stone, which is fine but not ideal. Or take the pizza to a park in nicer weather. But rolling the dice on a table with two hungry kids in tow is not an option.

And unfortunately, as common as square cut thin is in my neck of the woods (save one option now run by complete a-holes), nothing comes close to the quality of Pat's or Villa Nova.

Jefe wrote:In a totally unrelated thread, I was chitchatting with jimswside about how the Kim's Uncle calculus is hard for me, even though I live "in that direction."

Like a total noob, I rolled in there thinking I could sit down with my family and enjoy a pizza. We were quoted a two hour wait. Plus there's only like two first-come-first-serve booths.

And the drive home to my even-further west abode is about 25 minutes, enough time to chill a pie to room temp.

I should probably just order one on my commute some time and eat it al trunko. But if I'd like to enjoy their pizza with my family, I guess the best option is a reheat on the pizza stone, which is fine but not ideal. Or take the pizza to a park in nicer weather. But rolling the dice on a table with two hungry kids in tow is not an option.

And unfortunately, as common as square cut thin is in my neck of the woods (save one option now run by complete a-holes), nothing comes close to the quality of Pat's or Villa Nova.

Being off on Fridays it gives me the opportunity to hit a lot of great places for lunch, etc. or in this case get in position for Kim’s. I usually post up at a local bar around 2 pm and start trying to place my order as soon as their phone opens. Taking the 1st available time slot. I’ve only been in decent weather. So eating el trunko worked. Once I got one of the tables.

I need to get back in there soon.