uhockey wrote:

Darren72 wrote:Try calling them. You'll get the definitive answer and can share it with the rest of us. (I think they are open at noon on Saturdays and they don't let you order a day early, but I could be wrong.)

Try answering questions in a helpful manner, and when you actually have some semblance of legitimate information - then you can share it with the rest of us.

Wow, that's uncalled for. What's wrong with calling the restaurant directly and asking them your question? Wouldn't they be in the best position to give you an accurate answer?

uhockey wrote:

Darren72 wrote:Try calling them. You'll get the definitive answer and can share it with the rest of us. (I think they are open at noon on Saturdays and they don't let you order a day early, but I could be wrong.)

Try answering questions in a helpful manner, and when you actually have some semblance of legitimate information - then you can share it with the rest of us.

I think you misinterpreted the tone of my post. I tried to answer your question -- I gave you a link to their hours posted on Metromix. I told you that my understanding is that you can only order on the same day as pick-up -- but admitted that I am not 100 percent certain.

I'm not sure how much more helpful I could be, other than calling them myself. If you aren't satisfied with my answers, call yourself or wait for someone else to post who is more certain in their knowledge than I am. In the meantime, how about giving people who reply to your posts the benefit of the doubt that they are trying to be helpful.

uhockey wrote:

Darren72 wrote:Try calling them. You'll get the definitive answer and can share it with the rest of us. (I think they are open at noon on Saturdays and they don't let you order a day early, but I could be wrong.)

Try answering questions in a helpful manner, and when you actually have some semblance of legitimate information - then you can share it with the rest of us.

And what, exactly, prevented you from picking up the telephone yourself? And sharing it with us yourself? Presumably you thought someone on this board might have tried doing what you're interested in doing and would have knowledge to share.

If you've looked at this pages and pages of posts on this thread, you'll have noticed that hours at Great Lake change--sometimes often. And the issue or ordering a day ahead has never come up before. So you posted. Fair enough. But when you got a post that tried to help but the tone of which annoyed you, you whined about it. Seems to me that Darren72's post can be interpreted in a completely innocent way. But rather than give him the benefit of the doubt, you chose to complain. I'm with jestein on this: completely uncalled for.

Fortuitously found ourselves with a free afternoon and the child at a friend's house and so seized the opportunity for liesurely holiday browsing-shopping (Brown Elephant, City Olive, Women and Children 1st), and dinner with a whole bottle of wine and the time to drink it.
(Sidebar: I tend to be a bit skeptical and cranky with boutique-y places like City Olive. But, I really like that they have every single oil in the shop available for tasting and the offers of help/info seem balanced just right between letting you know they're there without being pushy about it.)
So, we hadn't been to GL yet and thought that maybe, popping in on the early side, we'd have a chance. As it turned out, 30-40 min. for a 2-top. We said fine and killed time in the bookstore. They rang me on my cell at just 40 min. and over we went.
As far as attitude, they were perfectly pleasant about everything for our initial inquiry, to shuffling poeple there for pick up around others waiting for tables in the very small space.
We ordered as soon as we sat down: the mushroom-white cheddar pizza with the bacon add-on. $26 seems a bit pricey, but if you factor in all that local sourcing and artisaning and such---and the fact that they're sure don't have economy of scale working for them, it's not outrageous.
We started by splitting the market salad with mustard vinagraitte. I loved the variety of greens in the salad, several of which I couldn't identify, but all of which contributed noticeable taste/texture to the whole. It was also very judiciously dressed.
We waited a full 50 min. for our pizza, which seemed a tad long even under their obvious space constraints.
Sadly, a near perfect crust (chewy, crunchy, puffy, just about ideally blistered/charred), was topped with ingredients so over-salted it was nearly inedible. Under any other circs. I really would have said something and tried to order something else. But given that I was now very hungry and we'd just waited 50 min., I couldn't imagine anything within their capacity to do that would help. So, we ate the pizza. Washed down with copious amounts of chianti we sort of got used to the salt. But I was quite taken aback at just how mouth-searingly salty this was. I couldn't really tell if it was entirely due to the bacon, or if the mushrooms themselves were also salted and/or if the cheese was salty. I can only say that the overall effect was blistering.
I would still go back, because they clearly have a good crust going on, and bake it up right. But I would think hard about what to order.
I have to say that the neighboring table, with whom we struck up a brief conversation, and who seemed very simpatico in all sorts of ways, didn't have any complaints at all and I believe they also had a 'shroom pizza as well as one with sausage. So ours may have been an anomaly.
Nonetheless it was startling and made for a highly qualified experience.

I wouldn't call it an anomaly: I've been there twice this year, ordered two pizzas each time, and in both cases one was definitely over-salted (wanna say it was the mushroom pizza last time).

I know the cost and effort required of GL renders a dust-yourself-off-and-try-again recommendation a little specious, but you have to taste a pie of his that's perfect--it's, well, perfect.

Shared two pizzas tonight at Great Lake, one mushroom/white cheddar/black pepper another tomato sauce/fresh mozzarella/house-made sausage/marjoram.

The mushroom pie was delicious, though I expected a slightly more pronounced cheddar flavor. When it was brought out, Lydia let us know that the sausage pizza had come out a bit soupy, and was going to be remade. The remade pie was brought out a bit later, and was itself quite soupy.

In my opinion, the culprit was a broken sausage bind, which pooled the center of the pie with grease. It's unfortunate, but having made a ton of sausage myself over the years, I know that it does happen. I don't know if house-made sausage is a new thing (I haven't been to GL in a few months), but I don't doubt that he'll resolve this in short order. In the meantime, I'd steer clear of the ($5) sausage add-on.

All said, still my absolute favorite pizza in town.

In other news, they've got bags of salted English toffee, dipped in dark chocolate and topped with toasted pecans. Made by "Barn House H.C." here in Chicago, and from Nordic Creamery butter and Kilgus cream. Awesome stuff.

-Dan

And now, just as the uproar over Alan Richman had finally (just about) died down, comes Food & Wine, bless their copycat little hearts. In "The Best Pizza Spots in the U.S.," number one is Co. (featuring crust by Jim Lahey of Sullivan Street Bakery) in NYC. Thank God someone else tops this list! But just behind them, number two spot in the United States. You'll never guess. Ah, go on. Take a guess. Take a wild guess. I'll give you a hint: it's in Chicago. And it's run by a husband and wife. "Great Lake," you say?! How did you guess? Just when it was safe to go back to neighborhood pizza.... (There is a link at the bottom of the page to an also undated slideshow that contains "Top 25 Pizza Spots in the US." Burt's shows up in the slides at #12.)

P.S. In the interest of thoroughness, the top 10 list seems to be compiled with the aim of finding someplace in every region of the country. (Otherwise, one wonders whether Portland, Boston, and SF would all be represented in the top 10.) No part of the country really had more than one place--certainly no city did, although there ARE repeats in the top 25. And the list isn't numbered.

P.P.S. There is a link on Nick Lessins's name to a page (dated June 2009), "Where to Go Next: New Pizza Artisans" and two places showing up on that list repeat on the "Best Pizza List": Co. and Great Lake. Go figure. Otherwise, this list is completely different. The "Best Pizza Spots" list is on a completely undated page, however.

P.P.P.S. For completists who are too lazy to click the link, Pizzeria Bianco in Phoenix comes in at #10 and Pizzeria Mozza in LA, #4.

Does anyone know what the current pies they have on the menu? Specifically the third and usually most different one? First couple tend to be pretty standard if I remember correctly (like earlier poster's).

boshow48111 wrote:Does anyone know what the current pies they have on the menu? Specifically the third and usually most different one? First couple tend to be pretty standard if I remember correctly (like earlier poster's).

When I was there last week, it was butternut squash with fresh cream and black pepper, optional bacon add-on. I had a variation of this pie last year and really enjoyed it.

-Dan

PSA: Don't know if this has been mentioned already, but Great Lake is closed until January 12. Tonight, they were sold out of pies by 6:30.

happy_stomach wrote:PSA: Don't know if this has been mentioned already, but Great Lake is closed until January 12. Tonight, they were sold out of pies by 6:30.

Wow! Hmm, I guess I'll get back in 2011. Lydia & Nick are well deserving of a break.

Great Pizza. Lovely people.

So we called tonight, a Friday, at 5:02 p.m.

Surprise number 1: We learned that Great Lake's offerings are now listed on menupages! This will no doubt be a huge time savings for them on the telephone and make it a lot easier for us to know exactly what the options are. A great step forward. Then, after we said we'd pick it up and Lydia asked if we were nearby. I said we were walking distance.

Surprise number 2: She said the pizza would be ready at 5:20. We got there at precisely 5:20 and it had just come out of the oven.

Surprise number 3: There was no one--not a single, solitary customer in the place. I don't think I have ever, in our many, many trips to Great Lake, seen it with nary a person there. They had about five or six orders posted by the time we got there but we were astonished at how quiet it was on a Friday evening.

And, surprise number 4: both Lydia AND Nick were chatty, friendly, smiling. I imagine that the lack of frenzy makes this a nice job. No jam-packed storefront, phone ringing off the hook, work coming out of your ears. Kinda nice for us. And, I'm sure, for them as well.

Gypsy Boy wrote:
Surprise number 3: There was no one--not a single, solitary customer in the place. I don't think I have ever, in our many, many trips to Great Lake, seen it with nary a person there. They had about five or six orders posted by the time we got there but we were astonished at how quiet it was on a Friday evening.

.

Walked in at 6. Must have missed you. It was packed. Order was picked up as an amuse before dinner at Vincent.

I have read much about this place, and about the prickliness of the owners, and I must say, Lydia seemed to glare frigidly at me when we walked in. Once she saw pairs4life, though, she warmed to a semi-freddo.

Had much of the pie reheated this morning (we were headed to Vincent for dinner). It was very good, and actually more enjoyable than my first bite (which I ate standing in front of the restaurant); a night in the refrigerator firmed up the crust and toppings so that they held together more tightly and edibly.



The pie was a #1 with salami, which I believe is one of their most basic and unadventurous, but when I called enroute to order it, I thought it best just to go with the Lydia’s recommendation (“Have you had our pizza before?””No, I haven’t,” “Then I’d recommend the #1,” “Okay.”). I had spoken with a friend earlier in the day and she goes to Great Lake a lot; she counseled that it was best to just follow and obey.

It was, inarguably, a fine pie.

(Mrbarolo and chezbrad: I added salt this morning, but I may have a problem in that area).

David Hammond wrote:It was, inarguably, a fine pie.

So, David. I have to ask: is this damning with faint praise? I'm not sure I'd order it as an appetizer prelude to dinner at Vincent, but coming the distance you did, I certainly understand the impulse. And much as I always enjoy the cold slices the day after, I don't think they hold a candle to the admittedly somewhat less..."intact" pieces fresh from the oven.

Gypsy Boy wrote:

David Hammond wrote:It was, inarguably, a fine pie.

So, David. I have to ask: is this damning with faint praise?

No, I meant to come across as emphatic.

I agree the eating circumstances were not ideal, but I get up to Andersonville at exactly the right time for GL very infrequently, so I wanted to take advantage of the moment.

I just read they won't seat parties of 5

I guess there's always take out!

spiffytriphy wrote:I just read they won't seat parties of 5

I guess there's always take out!

5 takes up almost all of their seating area. There is one communal table that seats maybe 6-8 total & 2 tiny tables of 2.

It really is one of the smallest spaces I've ever seen that let's you eat inside.

My husband thinks that front-of house is probably no more than 400 sq. feet if that gives you any indication.

In my opinion, 5 would be tight, unless you all came together, because they won't take your order, for eat in, until your party is complete. Great Lake is a place I would never go with someone who wasn't known for arriving early, if I wanted to eat in.

pairs4life wrote:

spiffytriphy wrote:I just read they won't seat parties of 5

I guess there's always take out!

5 takes up almost all of their seating area. There is one communal table that seats maybe 6-8 total & 2 tiny tables of 2.

It really is one of the smallest spaces I've ever seen that let's you eat inside.

My husband thinks that front-of house is probably no more than 400 sq. feet if that gives you any indication.

In my opinion, 5 would be tight, unless you all came together, because they won't take your order, for eat in, until your party is complete. Great Lake is a place I would never go with someone who wasn't known for arriving early, if I wanted to eat in.

lol I guess the 5 of us will show up before they open and see what they say. If we get rejected then we'll do do take-out I suppose. I'll just keep my fingers crossed that the stars align on Saturday!

spiffytriphy wrote:I just read they won't seat parties of 5

Party of Five
you could put a chair at the end
or push the tables together
but dont bother
This banged-up little restaurant
where you would expect no rules at all
has a firm policy against seating
parties of five
And you know you are a party of five
It doesn't matter if one of you
offers to leave or if
you say you could split into
a party of three and a party of two
or if the five of you come back tomorrow
in Richard Nixon masks and try to pretend
that you don't know each other
It won't work: You're a party of five
even if you're a beloved regular
Even if the place is empty
Even if you bring logic to bear
Even if you're a tackle for the Chicago Bears
it won't work
You're a party of five
You will always be a party of five
Ahundred blocks from here
a hundred years from now
you will still be a party of five
and you will never savor the soup
or compare the coffee
or hear the wisdom of the cook
and the wit of the waitress or
get to hum the old -time tunes
among which you will find
no quintets

For the curious, the quotation in SCUBAchef's post is from Kenny Shopsin's lovable little place in NYC. If you are unfamiliar with it or him, I strongly recommend the little documentary about him and his place, "I Like Killing Flies."

spiffytriphy wrote:I just read they won't seat parties of 5

Where did you hear this?
Has anyone else heard this?

Gypsy Boy wrote:For the curious, the quotation in SCUBAchef's post is from Kenny Shopsin's lovable little place in NYC. If you are unfamiliar with it or him, I strongly recommend the little documentary about him and his place, "I Like Killing Flies."

Thanks for the citation; I figured that was the source. "I Like Killing Flies" is available through Netflix (available on-demand).

Darren72 wrote:

spiffytriphy wrote:I just read they won't seat parties of 5

Where did you hear this?
Has anyone else heard this?

It wouldn't surprise me one bit. Maybe they hate the number 5. Perhaps it's an unlucky number for pizza eating. They are known to have some idiosyncratic rules about seating.

stevez wrote:While I was there, I witnessed some strange interactions between the owners and their customers. At one point in the middle of making a pizza, Nick came out from behind the counter to scold a table of two women who were talking on their cell phone to a friend who was on the way to meet them for pizza. Later, when the friend arrived, Lidia came over to the same table and made one of the women stand up because she had moved a chair over to the table to join her friends. Linda didn't like that. That's not a very nice way to treat their customers, but I guess that's part of the charm.

I was reading a Yelp review from 01.15.2011. The reviewer was eating there and said a party of 5 walked in and were given a long explanation of why Great Lake couldn't and wouldn't seat parties of 5. The reviewer enjoyed their meal so I don't think they would have written the rule about parties of 5 for nothing.

Hum, not that I discount anything I read on Yelp, but this one just cries out for a call to the restaurant to confirm.

Two facts about parties of five.

1. Yes it is a policy. Which is understandable due to it's tight space.

2. As in most cases it likely depends on the approach.

Gypsy Boy wrote:For the curious, the quotation in SCUBAchef's post is from Kenny Shopsin's lovable little place in NYC.

Actually, it is a poem by Robert "The German Lunatic" Hershon
(that happens to be posted at Shopsin's).

SCUBAchef wrote:

Gypsy Boy wrote:For the curious, the quotation in SCUBAchef's post is from Kenny Shopsin's lovable little place in NYC.

Actually, it is a poem by Robert "The German Lunatic" Hershon
(that happens to be posted at Shopsin's).

And I stand corrected.

Their answering machine states a maximum party of 4 for dining in.