While I’ve talked about Charlie Anderson in the newsletter before — who has a YouTube channel where he does deep dives into different pizza dough styles, recipes, and techniques — I have yet to talk about my favorite YouTube cooking channel, which is run by professional chef and LOCAL GUY (even though he lives in St. Louis now), Brian Lagerstrom.
Brian has a wide array of recipe videos, and he’ll often approach a specific dish/meal in a few different styles. He does a fantastic job of explaining little details like why it’s important to add a certain ingredient at a certain time, or how to utilize a different technique when you don’t have a certain piece of expensive equipment, and I appreciate how often he not only showcases his failures, but talks about what can be gleaned from them. He’s clear, calm, and to the point, and makes complicated recipes feel approachable. Not only have I tried making a lot of different dishes simply just because he made a video about them, but I always search his catalog now when I have a new idea to try to see if he’s created a related video first.
The reason I’m currently bringing Brian up is that last week he posted this:
Brian took a five-hour road trip (worth it) up to Vito & Nick’s in order to create a recipe for a tavern-style pizza that’s as close to Vito & Nick’s as possible, and can also be made at home.
He gets into dough ingredients at about the one-minute mark, and what’s interesting to me is the second ingredient he mentions, which is cold butter. I’ve probably read close to 500 variations of Chicago-style pizza recipes throughout the years, and the only recipes I’ve ever seen call for any kind of butter were older deep dish doughs, in which the butter was utilized in a laminating sense (which is a technique typically only used to make layered, flaky pastries like croissants).
All tavern-style recipes have a fat in them, but it’s primarily olive oil (or occasionally corn oil). There are many benefits to using oil in your dough; it adds flavor, it makes the dough softer and more flexible, and it creates a sort of barrier on top of the dough to keep out the humidity and moisture from your pizza toppings during the baking process.
I searched through a bunch of Vito & Nick’s clone recipes online (none of them are official in any sense), and another surprising ingredient I found in quite a few of them is milk, which I have seen in various other pizza dough recipes before.
The other big difference in Lagerstrom’s recipe is he doesn’t use any corn meal in the dough itself, only on the parchment paper before he rolls the dough out. He also cures his dough beforehand (which I talked a lot about in my post on Billy’s class), he uses a TON of sausage (1/2 pound per 12-inch pizza) which he lays down first before covering it with the cheese, and he bakes his pizza on the parchment paper instead of launching it directly onto the baking steel.
While his recipe may be a bit unconventional compared to essentially every other tavern-style recipe I’ve ever seen, there’s no denying it makes a fantastic looking pizza:
I have a few different tavern-style recipes that I typically cycle through, but I trust Lagerstrom enough that I need to give the cold butter a shot. I’ll be sure to include my thoughts (and some pictures) in the newsletter after I do.
And for anyone else that’s interested in trying it out, Brian always puts his recipes and instructions in the notes below his videos.
As of today (5/3) the Berwyn location of Milly’s Pizza in the Pan is open for business!
Robert and his crew will be doing a very small amount of pizzas to start to ensure the staff doesn’t get overwhelmed and can learn at a casual pace before ramping things up.
I’ve been trying to catch up with Robert for an interview for the last couple of weeks but, as I’m sure you can guess, he’s been a little busy. I’m hoping to swing by the shop this weekend and catch him with a few minutes to spare so I can get some more in-depth info about the new Milly’s and his plans for the future.
You can pre-order your pizza from either Milly’s in Berwyn or the original Argyle location right here.
Punk rock, drumming, and pizza are three of my favorite things, so this article at the Chicago Reader is essentially a Venn diagram of the orbitofrontal cortex of my brain.
The article is a quick feature on Dom Villone, or Pizza Dom, who is now a self-taught pizzaiolo that makes Neapolitan-style pizza at pop-ups all over the city, but once upon a time was the drummer for 88 Fingers Louie (if you aren’t familiar with 88FL, after they broke up half their members went on to form the original lineup of Rise Against).
I reached out to Dom on his Instagram (@deathbydough), and we’ll get together for a bigger post in the future. As for now, you can say hi to him (and get some of his pizza!) at a couple of awesome events coming up:
He’ll be at Blue Island Beer Co. this Saturday (5/4) at 4 p.m. for their Beer Can’d Festival.
At Montrose Saloon on Wednesday, May 22nd for their Pints & Pistons event.
And at Beermiscuous Highwood on Friday, May 31st from 6-10 p.m.
And while looking over Dom’s Instagram I noticed he’s done events at a place up in Highland Park that I’ve never heard of before called Loud Pizza Records. First of all, unbelievable name for a record store. Second, it looks like they have a ton of bands come through for in-store performances, so be sure to keep an eye on them if that’s something that you’re into.
Billy dropped by ABC7 Chicago a few weeks back to join their “Cooking Up a Storm” segment with Tracy Butler where he filled her in on his backstory, teased his big time collab news, and made a tavern-style pizza in studio to boot.
Here’s your reminder that Billy’s collaboration with Pequod’s officially started last night (5/2)!!! The Tripping Billy is available for carryout every Thursday through the end of May, and a portion of the proceeds from every pizza sold goes directly to Billy’s MDA fundraiser. Billy’s flavors on Pequod’s crust is going to be ridiculous, so I highly recommend sgrabbing one while you can.
And while we’re talking pizza collaborations, Chicago’s Pizza and Tacotlan (my all-time favorite Birria spot) got together to create a limited edition Birria Deep Dish Pizza in honor of Cinco de Mayo.
From May 2 to May 5, you can indulge in the fusion of Mexican tradition and Chicago-style pizza craftsmanship exclusively at Chicago's Pizza's three locations on the city's North and Northwest Sides. The specialty pizza is available in a size medium only and priced at $28 for thin crust and $35 for deep dish/stuffed.
Chicago’s Pizza was founded by Martin Flores, who learned all about the business from the original owners of Giordano's over 30 years ago. Flores grew up in Jalisco, Mexico, which also happens to be the birthplace of Birria, so something tells me this collaboration has been a long time coming.
Huge congratulations to Bill Jacobs and everyone at Piece. The total for their “Slice to Meet You” fundraiser was announced, and it’s an incredible number:
From Bill:
Giving back is essential to who Piece is in the community. The PAWS mission, with their foster and adoption programs, and their success as the Midwest’s largest no-kill shelter resonates with me and my team.
We were proud to donate $10 from every pizza sold.
I’m grateful for the kitchen crew who pulled out the dough, topped the pizzas, and baked them to perfection every time. And to the front of the house who were instrumental in their promotional efforts.
To the amazing Jill Siar, Susanna Wickham, Tom McFeely, Allison Wunder, and everyone at PAWS who put their hearts into taking care of cats and dogs in need of homes.
Lastly, thank you, our loyal customers, for enjoying these pizzas and supporting this program. This is just the beginning. We look forward to seeing this program thrive for years to come.
Piece is not just a great representative of the Chicago pizza community, but also a wonderful contributor to Chicago as a community in general. I appreciate everything they do, and I look forward to seeing what they come up with next year!
In honor of Teacher Appreciation Week, Lou Malnati’s is offering teachers a chance to win free pizza for a year.
From Monday, April 22 through May 3 (which is today!), students, parents and fellow administrators in the Chicagoland area are encouraged to nominate their favorite K-12 teacher right here.
Over 80 local teachers will be celebrated in Chicago, Indianapolis, Milwaukee, and Phoenix. Of the 80 finalists, Lou’s will award 10 teachers a free medium cheese pizza per week for a full year (plus a $250 pizza party package for their school), while the 70 honorable mentions will all receive a $100 Lou Malnati’s gift card each.
Terra e Mare — which means “land and sea” in Italian—is a vibrant Italian restaurant located in the South Loop (404 S. Wells). They recently expanded their menu with 100% sourdough pizzas, and they look delicious:
Not only are all their pizzas made from scratch, but their mozzarella is also pulled and made in house. They have a budget lunch menu, a full dinner menu including entrées and pastas (Sourdough Cavatelli Cacio e Pepe?!? Give me all the sourdough!), plus they offer classic cocktails with Italian spirits, a handful of imported and local beers, and an expansive wine list that ranges from Italy’s little known winemakers to some of its most famous vintners.
So crazy it just might work?
That’s correct, he’s attempting to start a pizzeria that’s just one small table inside his apartment. Here is the thread if you want to read more about it.
I am all for unique experiences being part of my food finding adventures (more on that in a bit), but I honestly don’t know what to think about this one. Good luck to Pete, though! I have a feeling this story is just beginning.
Also, don’t ever change commenters on Reddit. Just immediate complaints about his technique and use of basil.
Not pizza, but still cool…
Tasting Table has a list of 15 Unique Illinois Foods You Should Try At Least Once and it’s a good thing Chicago was just named the most walkable city in the U.S. so you can go burn off some calories after. And if you do the Malort, you might as well just walk right into the Chicago River immediately after as that’s the only possible way you might get that taste out of your mouth.
Castaways, the boat-shaped bar and grill at North Avenue Beach (1603 N. Lakeshore Dr.), is getting a new look and name just in time to drastically overcharge you for every possible thing this summer.
And while we’re talking Chicago summer — which is unequivocally the best — The Infatuation just dropped a list of some of the best hidden patios in the city. I look forward to spending at least one evening this summer eating so much French bread with honeycomb and butter outside at Bistro Campagne that I have serious issues getting up out of my chair after.
I’m torn (Natalie Imbruglia-style) because while this is an incredibly enoyable and well written article that includes a deep and comprehensive list of some of Chicago’s best burgers, it also features a grown man who, at multiple points, refers to them ‘burgies’. Dammit if that man doesn’t make some solid picks, though. Leavitt Inn for the win.
The Daily Show just announced they’ll be in town from from Aug. 19-22 to film some episodes during the Democratic National Convention. If anyone hears anything about tickets, please let me know immediately, as I will do everything within my power to end up in that audience. There are a few people I would genuinely take a bullet for, and Jon Stewart is absolutely one of them (depsite his casserole rant).
And finally, Maggie Hennessy wrote a really interesting post about the psychology of waiting in line for food:
With the sudden closure of all 15 Foxtrot locations last week, a lot of local vendors are experiencing staggering losses in both orders and product. A sliver of good news is that a lot of local businesses are doing their best to help out.
Andale Market — whom Foxtrot once tried to open near until the neighborhood chased them out — is lending their patio space.
Ditto for Publican (and that event is happening this weekend):
And Paulie Gee’s is offering all former Foxtrot and Dom’s employees some free pizza and beer when they stop by with a pay stub.
Yes, Chicago is a very big city, but it certainly feels a little smaller when we all look out for each other.
And a hat tip to Michael Nagrant, who has been reposting these (and any reason is a good reason to recommend his fantastic Substack as well).