Barbeque Chicken Pizza

I've looked around on the board for any thoughts/reviews on good barbeque chicken pizza, a personal favorite of mine, to no avail. This came up last night as I was dining on a Barbeque Chicken Crispani at Panera Bread, another in a long, long string of subpar BBQ chicken pizzas I've had over the years. Too many times, I find that barbeque chicken pizzas use sauces that are too sweet and hardly resemble BBQ sauce as I know it.

Does anyone know of a place that does a good barbeque chicken pizza? The only one I've really found that I like is Pazzini (division of Connie's pizza) in the Mart.

rdstoll wrote:The only one I've really found that I like is Pazzini (division of Connie's pizza) in the Mart.

Mart? K-Mart, Wal-Mart, Fashion Mart, Merchandise Mart, Double-Yum Mart...........

BBQ Chicken Pizza does not sound appealing, but I guess that's why Baskin Robin's has 31-flavors. Have you tried California Pizza Kitchen? It's been years (and years) since I've been, but sounds a perfect fit.

Enjoy,
Gary

CPK's, as memory serves (King's Thursday was once rather fond of them), has a not too obnoxiously sweet sauce, fresh chicken that hasn't been stewed to death or reconstituted or something, and the taste of real cilantro, making it a likely winner in this category, if I were likely to try enough of them to judge, which is unlikely.

I would be afraid to order this in most places that would be likely to offer it, out of fear that the sauce would render it BBQ Chicken Candy.

I, too, am a fan. The California Pizza Kitchen version is okay (certainly not great) and you now can buy them in the freezer section at Jewel. Dan's Pizza on Maple Avenue in Downers Grove is the only place I know of that serves a really good barbeque pizza, but it's probably out of your way.

There are those who will ask what the hell I'm doing ordering a BBQ pizza at Piece, but -- that said -- a Piece BBQ with chicken, bacon and onions is mighty fine

I think Pizza Capri also sells a BBQ chicken pizza, though I honestly can't remember if I've ever eaten it.

Wolfgang Puck invented it, so his cafes sell it. My favorite incarnation of this, though is Aurelio's. Also cracker thin crust with a well toasted top, it's generally good Chicago-thin pizza, but I do love the BBQ Chicken as well

There are locations around Chicagoland

aureliospizza.com

kafein wrote:Wolfgang Puck invented it, so his cafes sell it.

Quite a while ago, our company used to do a lot for work for Little Caesars Pizza Pizza. Once, during a show we were doing at the Grand 'Ole Opry circa 1978, the director of product development brought a bunch of pizzas they had been experimenting with "back in the lab" for the crew to try. Among them was a BBQ chicken pizza. The only thing I remember about the piece I tried was the overwhelming taste of liquid smoke in the BBQ sauce. Surely this pizza predates Wolfgang Puck's version.

A story about Little Caesar's -- my husband used to be a paid-on-call firefighter for a village in the southern suburbs. When Little Caesar's opened an outlet in the village, they would deliver free pizzas to the firehouse whenever they had a prank call for pizzas (before the days of caller id). Most pizza places in the village would do this from time to time.

The firehouse finally had to call Little Caesar's up and ask them to stop delivering the free pizzas because nobody in the firehouse would eat them. They were THAT bad.

My husband told me this story the night I met him and I always thought it was hilarious.

Suzy

Whatever you do, don't get the BBQ Chicken Pizza from the freezer case at Trader Joe's--that stuff is a gastrointestinal nightmare.

I, also, shamefully, admit to a BBQ pizza craving now and again. It was the most readily available and edible food available in my college town after about 10 PM at night, so thus I have fond memories of consuming it while in varying degrees of inebriation.

I find the best rendition I can come by is at home: but when in a pinch, Homemade Pizzas (on whole wheat crust) gets the job done, if not cheaply.

If you're ever in Saratoga Springs, New York, however, I've got the bbq pizza hookup for ya.

I must admit I am not a huge fan of pizza that does not involve some form of pork product, but Mrs. Greasy Spoon enjoys the barbecue chicken pizza from Marcello's. It comes on their "Thin and Crispy" crust, topped with red onion. She has also had it more than once at Innjoy, whose crust is surprisingly good for the Wicker Park/Bucktown "scene". Perhaps not as good as Marcello's, but probably better than California Pizza Kitchen.

Marcello's
645 W North Ave
Chicago, IL 60610
(312) 654-2550
http://www.marcellos.com
Hours: Sun-Thurs 9am-10pm; Fri-Sat 9am-11pm

Innjoy
2051 W Division St
Chicago, IL 60622
(773) 394-2066
Hours: Sun-Fri 5pm-2am; Sat 5pm-3am

~GS

Greasy Spoon wrote:Mrs. Greasy Spoon enjoys the barbecue chicken pizza from Marcello's.

I'm right there with Mrs. Greasy Spoon. Marcello's is my second choice, though I have them add pineapple.

BBQ Chicken Pizza (extra pineapple) is my Thursday night staple at Cleo's, when they have all their pizzas for $3.99.

Cleo's also has the coldest PBR draft you can find in the city.

Cleos
1935 W. Chicago Ave.
312-243-5600


Jamie

G Wiv wrote:Mart? K-Mart, Wal-Mart, Fashion Mart, Merchandise Mart, Double-Yum Mart...........

Sorry, the Merchandise Mart.

Very nice! I'll have to give Marcello's and Innjoy a try.

I first had this as a kid growing up in Wisconsin. There was this dive pizza place in town that did bbq chicken pizzas and they were superb!

For BBQ chicken pizza, Geppetto's in Oak Park gets my my vote. Besides chicken, it includes red onions, kalamata olives, smoked mozzarella, provolone, havarti, and roasted garlic. And this is one case where I prefer deep dish crust over thin crust. Try it, it's great.

Geppetto's
113 N. Oak Park Ave.
Oak Park, IL
708.386.9200

Venice Cafe used to do a BBQ Chicken pizza as a special. They moved to the Sears Tower and I have not been back to check, but my recollection is that is was quite good.

Venice Cafe
233 S Wacker Drive
Lower Level 1
Chicago, IL 60686
(312) 382-0300

kafein wrote:Wolfgang Puck invented it, so his cafes sell it.

I'm wondering about the origins of BBQ pizza. I had it in Memphis about 12 years ago and thought it pretty good. The people who had taken me out to try it told me it was a Memphis thing. Anyone around here from Memphis? Please. I just don't like the thought of the very enterprising, very corporate Chef Puck getting credit for an American regional variation on pizza.

The best bbq pizza I've had is from Jake's Pizza in Des Plaines. Supparossa on Central (near Montrose) also has a pretty good one!

Josephine wrote:I just don't like the thought of the very enterprising, very corporate Chef Puck getting credit for an American regional variation on pizza.

Well, Puck is widely regarded as popularizing California pizza, but depending on who you ask, his pizzas weren't even the genesis of the wider trend much less BBQ pizza, specifically. My understanding is that Ed LaDou, who worked under Puck and now runs Caioti, feels California pizza was his creation... and from what I've heard, he's absolutely right

A little postscript...

If this article is correct, LaDou's BBQ chicken pizza was officially launched circa 1985.

In the 70s in Wichita I certainly remember the various pizza chains--not just the big ones like Pizza Hut but little regional chains like Pizza John's, Big Cheese, Straw Hat, etc.-- playing around with different combinations of this sort. I definitely remember Taco Pizzas being the rage for about three weeks while I was in school in the 70s, and BBQ pizza (with fairly gross stewed chicken) turned up while I was still in college in the early 80s. So my guess is, even if Puck never saw one like this (and let's remember, he was in Indianapolis in the mid-70s) before the idea hit him, lots of people in the parts of the world where they make BBQ were messing around with pizza back then, it's inconceivable that BBQ pizza didn't get invented multiple times in the 70s or even earlier.

Duck sausage and goat cheese, sure, but BBQ sauce and some white meat, no.

Interesting thing about that article-- Ed LaDoux was a 17-year-old dropout in 1970, but only 47 in 2003?

I guess there's a lot of that in Southern California....

Mike G wrote:Interesting thing about that article-- Ed LaDoux was a 17-year-old dropout in 1970, but only 47 in 2003?

I guess there's a lot of that in Southern California....

If all he's getting is three years, he's clearly seeing the wrong people by L.A. standards

JeanneBean wrote:The best bbq pizza I've had is from Jake's Pizza in Des Plaines. Supparossa on Central (near Montrose) also has a pretty good one!

I live two minutes from there and have heard good things about Jake's in general, so I'll give it a try!!

Mike G wrote: So my guess is, even if Puck never saw one like this (and let's remember, he was in Indianapolis in the mid-70s) before the idea hit him, lots of people in the parts of the world where they make BBQ were messing around with pizza back then, it's inconceivable that BBQ pizza didn't get invented multiple times in the 70s or even earlier.

A point well-taken, Mike. There is, of course, the matter of what constitutes an "invention" in cuisine. This is something of a philosophical issue on the board (as in the discussion of what constitutes a sandwich), and a scholarly question related to discussions of origins and authenticity. When does a dish become something new? Is BBQ pizza BBQ, or is it a thing in itself? Maybe it is like a marriage, where I becomes "we" some or most of the time. As in marriages, some combinations "take" and some do not. So, when a place like Memphis appears to have a BBQ tradition and BBQ pizza is served all around town, doesn't Memphis get to lay claim to the dish? If LaDou came up with BBQ pizza for Puck's establishment, that's nice. But saying he invented BBQ pizza is like giving credit to Robuchon for mashed potatoes, though I am sure this has been done! I guess I am arguing against a cosmopolitan view where food is concerned.

At the same time, notions of authenticity seem to bump up against innovation in a way that makes my anti-cosmopolitan position awkward. Frankly, I can't imagine Honey1 rib tips would make a good pizza. So, should we call it BBQ pizza then, or meat-jello pizza? On second thought, it seems like hot links might make a good pizza. The question is which crust to use. But this example/digression has me talking in circles, which illustrates the difficulty of resolving this sort of issue. I suspect the answer may be found in some anthropological text.

Taking a more mystical view, it's possible that, like most "inventions," BBQ pizza probably emerged from the great soup of consciousness in a number of locations simultaneously. A quick Google search on my dim memory of that dish yields claims that The King Himself used to order BBQ pizza at Colletta's in Memphis. Apparently Colletta's claims to be THE originators of BBQ Pizza. One of the blogs even claims Colletta's invented it for Elvis. (If that is the case, it seems a shame that their site's musicial theme evokes another legendary gourmand, Marlon Brando.) Certainly, there is no shortage of invention claims in restaurant marketing. I imagine that with a bit of investigation, a classical scholar might find such a claim in graffiti carved on a wall near the Roman Forum: "Chez Marcus Gavius -- originators of songbirds with cardoons in honey, Tiberius' favorite!" It just may be that, as Mike speculates above, BBQ pizza got "invented" even earlier than the 70's and indeed has been around since the 50's in Memphis.

I'm wondering if anyone from Memphis cares to share early recollections of this pizza.

And, depending on how one defines BBQ, they've been doing this in Brazil forever.

So who invented Chicken Vesuvio pizza?