Where time is measured in decades, the founding families still run the show, the recipes remain carefully guarded secrets and the decor conjurs a vibe no kitsch-on-purpose modern designer could replicate, these are Chicago’s old-school pizza parlors. Spread throughout the city and suburbs, each boasts a charm, loyal following and signature pizza style that you just don’t see anymore. We take a step back in time for visits to four of them: Vito & Nick’s, Candlelite, Louisa’s Pizza & Pasta and Barnaby’s of Northbrook.
VITO & NICK’S
It can be argued that Chicago’s best pizzas can be found on the edges of the city, away from the hordes of tourists who get their pizza facts from the carnival barkers of the Food Network. Vito & Nick’s is one such pizza place.
A South Side institution for nearly 100 years — “One hundred in three years and 10 months,” says Rose George, Vito’s granddaughter, Nick’s daughter and fifth-generation owner — the place practically invented the tavern-style pizza, the scrappy younger sibling to Chicago’s deep-dish. “I’ve been eating pizza my whole life,” says George, “and the heart of Chicago pizza is truly thin crust. I don’t care what anyone says.”
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Step into the restaurant, which has been at its current location since 1965, and you’ll feel like you’ve stepped onto a set from “That ’70s Show.” Turquoise bar seats, brightly colored overhead lights and wood-paneled walls all contribute to the space’s retro charm. What it lacks in modern finery, it more than makes up for in its flavorful pies — the real draw to this sleepy strip off Pulaski Road.
It all starts with — of course — a secret family recipe for the crust. “It’s not even written down,” says George. Baked to within an inch of its life, this pizza is the paragon of thin crust-style. Shatteringly crisp, it has the red sauce tenderly smeared from edge to edge, covered evenly with a veil of mozzarella and your desired topping. Sausage is classic, but the egg pizza, available only on Fridays, is a textural treat — four eggs are cracked near the center of the pie and allowed to spread like tectonic plates on the ocean floor. The resulting pie is savory and salty; as the cheese melts and melds with the egg whites, the just-cooked yolk acts as a seasoning for bites in the center of the pie.
Cash-only with a dine-in policy, Vito & Nick’s is, by design, a destination restaurant. “It’s my dad’s philosophy,” says George. “If they want my pizza, they’ll come here and get it.”
8433 S. Pulaski Road; 773-735-2050 and www.vitoandnicks.com
CANDLELITE
Calling West Rogers Park home since 1950, Candlelite is an old-school pizza joint that has kept up with the times over the years. The neighborhood spot located on a northern stretch of Western Avenue still boasts a shiny, retro marquee sign out front, enticing customers new and old to stop in for a pie. But the inside boasts the trappings of a more modern pub.
Along its walls, you’ll see plaques from local sports teams sponsored by the bar, while a giant menu on the wall offers new craft brews alongside bar stalwarts like PBR and Old Style.
The order here is Candlelite’s signature white pizza. The pie comes with a snow-white blanket of mozzarella, provolone, Parmesan and goat cheese, studded with golden knobs of whole roasted garlic and strings of caramelized onions. The cracker crust, while not as flavorful as others like it, still delivers a texture akin to a saltine, even as it’s weighed down by the molten dairy. Order it well-done and you won’t be disappointed. The other pies on offer span your usual (margherita) to whimsical (mac ‘n cheese), but the simpler pies are the way to go.
7452 N. Western Ave.; 773-465-0087 and candlelitechicago.com
LOUISA’S PIZZA & PASTA
Founded in 1981 by Louisa DeGenero, this eponymous Crestwood restaurant is a family affair. From the handmade pastas to its now-famous pizzas — arguably one of Chicagoland’s best deep-dish variations — DeGenero’s family still runs the show.
A longtime employee of Ike Sewell at Pizzeria Due and colleague of a guy you may know (Lou Malnati, I think?), DeGenero started Louisa’s because “she wanted to do things her own way,” says her grandson Ed Fitzgerald.
That includes developing the proprietary crust Louisa’s is known for — only Fitzgerald and his siblings know the recipe. “No one’s even allowed in the room when we make it,” he says. The way he tells it, there’s an order of operations to that signature buttery crust, which is simultaneously fluffy and firm. Between the unbleached Cerasota flour and specific yeast strain, to the time it rests and how it moves around the Blodgett oven (pizzas are started on the lower level to remove humidity and moisture before they’re crisped up and finished on the top level), Louisa’s descendants have mastered the science and art of her pie.
When you order the marquee item, it arrives at your table in the dark, dimly lit dining room bubbling and threatening to escape its high-walled cast-iron pan. As your first slice is coaxed out of its blackened mooring, ooey-gooey strings of Wisconsin mozzarella follow the thick triangle of crust like contrails of an airplane. Allow it to cool a little before handling it with your hands, but feel free to dig in with knife and fork for a generous bite of hand-squeezed, herbaceous tomato puree and nuggets of Anichini Brothers sausage — Anichini Brothers, another family-run outfit, has been a Louisa’s purveyor for 30-plus years.
To Louisa’s family, nothing else compares. “What New York pizza? That paper stuff they fold over doesn’t even register with me,” says Fitzgerald about his grandmother’s legacy. “We serve the same pizza today that we served 30 years ago. We don’t have plans to change.”
14025 S. Cicero Ave., Crestwood; 708-371-0950
BARNABY’S OF NORTHBROOK
If its legions of internet fans are to be believed, Barnaby’s of Northbrook is the be-all and end-all of pizza in the northern suburbs.
Knocking around since 1968, Barnaby’s is part of a once-widespread chain of pizza joints throughout the state but fractured under separate ownership in its multidecade history. The Northbrook outpost, though, is the standard bearer and current steward of the brand’s nostalgia and history.
A 30-minute drive north of Chicago, Barnaby’s delivers old-school effortlessly. The darkly wooded dining room has only six windows, so natural light is scant. Instead, yellow bulbs cast a ’70s-era pall on the room, while church-pew-like booths, dark polished wood walls and vinyl-covered tables lend an eerie sense of gravitas to the whole experience. It’s self-service here, which means you place your food order at one counter and drink order at the bar, separately. Know your ticket number; they’ll call you over the fuzzy intercom when your order is up.
As with most tavern-style pizzas, the simpler, the better — in this case, the fennel-packed sausage pie will do just fine. A thin coating of sharp, well-seasoned tomato sauce gets an even-handed covering of mozzarella, with crumbly sausage acting as the flavor cavalry. The signature crimped crust itself gets a nice dusting of cornmeal — it’s not 100 percent cornmeal, despite what fans will tell you — that crumbles pleasantly, with a flavor akin to toasted Cheez-Its. As leftovers, the pizza holds up surprisingly well: The crust maintains its integrity, crispy hours after the fact.
960 Skokie Blvd., Northbrook, 847-498-3900 and barnabysofnorthbrook.com
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