You might see a familiar face next time you grab some pizza or a hot dog, as one of the greatest athletes in the history of athleticism is going to be calling Chicago her home soon.
After news broke that Simone Biles’ husband (NFL safety Jonathan Owens) signed with the Chicago Bears, this was her initial response:
Followed then by this:
Her priorities are clearly in order.
And you might see Simone and Jonathan dining with running back D’Andre Swift, who also just signed with the Bears and can’t wait for the pizza as well.
One of my favorite pizza creators on YouTube is Charlie Anderson. He takes a pretty straight forward, scientific approach to pizza making (mind those variables!), and the pizza I make the most at home is a Frankensteined version of his NY-style recipe and method.
Charlie has recently started doing pop-ups in the Cleveland area — he calls his shop Good Pizza — and he just posted a new video showing all the work he does to prepare for an event.
Eater just put up a new video about chef Josiah Bartlett and his shop Wizard Hat Pizza in Brooklyn, which is so small scale and word of mouth that they don’t even have a proper sign (or a door or window you can see through). There’s a lot of work that goes into making good pizza, as you’ll see, and the fact the Josiah uses a blend of five (!!!!!) different types of flour is something I’ve never heard before.
And because watching food prep videos is endlessly interesting to me, I also have to mention the channel Travel Thirsty, which silently observes restaurants all over the world and films them as they run through a typical day of prep work and service.
Travel Thirsty has become my go to at night when I’m still too awake to fall asleep and I need something gentle to focus on while I get there.
Not that you know some of what goes into it, anybody want to start making some pizzas for $$$?
The Nemec family — who owns both Zaza’s in Lakeview and Nemec Brothers in Geneva — is opening a third shop in Glen Ellyn, and they’re looking for help:
And Milly’s recently posted that they’re looking for a pizza maker as well, but when I went to find that post it wasn’t on their profile, so it must have just been in their stories. I don’t know if that necessarily means that they’ve hired someone, so keep an eye on their profile if you’re interested (and you can always drop Robert a DM too).
I’m going to call these things out as often as I see them (here is the original thread for anyone interested):
Here’s the TLDR (for all you true Redditors); Professor Pizza delivered a pizza to a customer after their Door Dasher falsely canceled their order. Professor Pizza had closed. Professor Pizza does not offer delivery. They delivered the pizza anyway.
Not only does Tony make some of the best pizza in Chicago, but you can also feel how much it matters to him, and that absolutely shines through when you treat your customers like this. I have zero doubt that his new shop is going to blow up, and there’s a whole lot of us who can’t wait to check it out.
And while we’re talking Reddit, this user’s Wu-Tang inspired pizza made me wonder whether there’s any shape a pizza could be (non-phallic division) that would make me not want to eat it? So far, I haven’t been able to come up with one.
There are two new thin crust, pizza-centric podcast episodes to check out should you feel so inclined:
Looped In: Chicago explores the sudden national interest in tavern-style.
And David Manilow at The Dining Table hit up six different restaurants on a search to try some of the best thin crust pizzas in (and around) the city. I’ve eaten all six pizzas on his list (if you count Kim’s and Pizza Fried Chicken Ice Cream as the same entity, which I do), and I love all six pizzas on his list.
Chicago’s Very Own Eats brought back their Pizza Madness Tournament for 2024. They recently announced their bracket and due to the inclusion of a significant amount of suburban representatives on the list, complaining immediately ensued.
They were awesome enough to include a comprehensive list of the best way to find every single one of the participants, and even though the voting for round two closed yesterday, you’ll be able to cast your vote for the Elite Eight moving forward if you still want to join in on the MADNESS.
They also added an accompanying podcast episode where they talk to Courtney Miller, who is the GM of the winning restaurant from last year’s pizza bracket, Georgio’s Pizzeria & Pub in Crystal Lake.
Looking for life advice from an old school pizza man? Block Club has a great story about Joe “The Chach” Chacho, who’s been waiting tables and passing out sage advice for the last two decades at the Pizano’s in The Loop (61 E. Madison).
“Goodness is the greatest force in the world,” Chacho said in between snapping photos with customers and coworkers. “Friendship is the glue that holds us together. Every day here means something to me. Every table, every person is another moment. I live life by the moment.”
Microsoft used their new “AI companion” app called Copilot to take a guided tour of Chicago and try to answer the question that any self-respecting resident would gladly answer for you for free:
And just in case you find yourself getting a little too impressed with AI’s Chicago instincts, make sure to check out this article at Slurrp (which was absolutely “written” by AI) wherein they refer to an Al’s beef as an “Italian meat sandwich.”
I have a lot of questions, Slurrp. Number one, how dare you?
If you or anyone you know will be in New York on Thursday, April 18th, Scott Weiner is bringing back his $1 Pizza Party (that’s a dollar per slice) where you can eat a ton of delicious pizza and all the proceeds go directly to his Pie It Forward project, which sends pizza to hunger relief organizations like soup kitchens, shelters, and food pantries.
They’ll be announcing the participating restaurants on their Instagram over the next few weeks, and there is a ten slice limit per person.
They’re also looking for volunteers to help at the event, should you feel so inclined.
Mashed went to The Inspired Home Show earlier this week, which is North America’s largest housewares trade show, and put together a list of their favorite portable pizza ovens that were showcased in the event you’re in the market for a new one.
And finally, I’ll leave you with this question:
I just had the meatball sandwich from Tempesta Market for lunch, so, yes please.
St. Patrick’s Day (March 17th) marked Chicago’s first sunset after 7 p.m. since last fall. Every sunset in Chicago will now take place after 7 p.m. until Sept. 14, a streak of 182 consecutive days.
I know that we’re in the midst of one of the weirdest non-winter winters I’ve ever experienced, but that still makes me happy in a very specific way. Chicago summer is the best.
No newsletter next week as I’ll be in Los Angeles enjoying even later sunsets. I’ve got plans to try and hit up a few new, really cool pizza spots while I’m there, so keep an eye out for those in the not too distant future.