cito wrote:At some point, the trendiness and newness of this place will wear off and the owners will be wondering where the fickle masses have gone---- and bad "word of mouth" by disgruntled customers is not conducive to bringing in new ones. Please do not attempt to tell me that the owners are not in it for the money---- To believe that shows extreme naivety.

I'm sorry, but you're wrong. I know them personally (went to our neighbors wedding with them this summer). They don't like the publicity, but they didn't turn it down because it was going to happen anyway so they did interviews. But there are plenty of local people within the few blocks surrounding that used to go a lot more when it was less popular, myself included. If it dies down, those locals will come back more - and they want them to. They're riding it out for the time being, and trying not to stress out too much so they will still want to do it.

robert40 wrote:.

haha. Oh wait, are you the guy who friended me on Yelp?

Chitown B wrote:

robert40 wrote:.

haha. Oh wait, are you the guy who friended me on Yelp?

Yes.

oh hi sorry, been awhile. You're crazy! I remember you went to some place on the west coast too.

Chitown B wrote:oh hi sorry, been awhile. You're crazy! I remember you went to some place on the west coast too.

All the way to Yountville. Then hit Pizzeria Bianco in Phoenix on the way back. So Chicago is a Sunday drive. Well truth be told I may no longer be up to those long journeys anymore. But I enjoyed it while I could!

Mike G wrote:That's pretty funny, under the circumstances.
Yes, I too will not shed a tear if Great Lake's hardnosed commitment to quality which has attracted such a loyal following does them in because their following is so loyal nobody goes there and they have to lower the quality thus achieving at last the popularity they already have. Or something.

I am not questioning their "hardnosed commitment to quality" For all I know, they are serving manna from heaven on a pizza crust. What I am stating is that if enough people get pissed off at some of the antics---and the perceptions conveyed in articles about the restaurant, they will be hard pressed to attract new customers to their business.

People ARE fickle,this month's hot spot could become next month's dud---- and that process could be accelerated if there is a perception of insensitivity on the part of the staff.

cito wrote:I am not questioning their "hardnosed commitment to quality" For all I know, they are serving manna from heaven on a pizza crust. What I am stating is that if enough people get pissed off at some of the antics---and the perceptions conveyed in articles about the restaurant, they will be hard pressed to attract new customers to their business.

People ARE fickle,this month's hot spot could become next month's dud---- and that process could be accelerated if there is a perception of insensitivity on the part of the staff.

While it's true that hot spots come and go, I think that line of thinking applies much more to places that are using a whole lot more than quality food to bring in customers. Great Lake, cozy though it may be, is 100% about the food. As long as the pizza is great, the customers will keep coming in. What comparable hot spots do you think became duds?

More to the point, if enough people get so pissed off that they stop going to Great Lake, then as long as they continue to put out a quality product, the absolutely worst thing that can happen is they return to being a neighborhood pizzeria that also draws in people who are particularly enamored with their pies. That will take them back to pre-GQ times, which was a time of great success.

People who never went to Great Lake before the GQ article seem to think that it was easy to just walk in and get a pie whenever you wanted. That was not the case at all. It was an extraordinary pizzeria with very limited space. Sure, they didn't stop taking orders at 7:00 like they sometimes have to now, but they were selling just about as many pies as Nick could make at the speed he works at.

Also, I disagree with your claim about attracting new customers. If things do slow down and word gets out that the crazy waits are no more, you're going to see plenty of people heading over there to see what all the fuss was about.

Lydia says hi!

Spinach was wonderful. Not soggy, chopped very fine. Not too overpowering either, just enough garlic and salt. Pics:

cito wrote:How could there possibly be anything wrong with someone hoping that a business alters its methods or its products?

Well, there's nothing wrong with it but especially in this instance, it's not time well-spent. Better to spend the time deciding whether Great Lake -- in its current form -- is a place that one could deal with, because it doesn't appear that fundamental changes there are likely.

Also want to clarify that my position has nothing to do with whether or not the place is astounding, even though it happens to be. What I'm trying to express is that the business owners can run the place the way they want. It's completely useless to whine or wish for change. Deciding whether to patronize the business is essentially the only action that those who disagree can take. Anything more is a complete waste of time, IMO. There's a certain sense of entitlement that accompanies complaining about how someone else runs their business. As was mentioned many times above, if you don't like it, don't go there. In reality, what other meaningful choice is there?

=R=

Chitown B wrote:Spinach was wonderful. Not soggy, chopped very fine. Not too overpowering either, just enough garlic and salt. Pics:

How refreshing, pictures of terrific looking Great Lake pizza with no they should, they shouldn't commentary.

Loving the "Perez Hilton" quality of this thread--people spouting off in earnest outrage about a place they've NEVER BEEN TO and DON'T KNOW!! Hilarious! i love LTH!!!

I don't pretend to speak for anyone else, but I make no bones about not commenting on a place I haven't been to. My comment had to do with customer service expectations in general, and if the moderators choose to move it into a thread on that topic that's fine with me.

For the record, I am looking forward to an opportunity to go to Great Lake and trying their famously wonderful pizza. I'd like to think I'm a pretty laid-back person without high-strung customer service expectations, so if there's a type of customer who won't be flustered by a long wait to be filled by reading a magazine, chatting, or enjoying a few glasses of wine with a friend, I'm that type.

I had a dream last night that I ate at Great Lake! I don't remember the wait or the service, but the pizza was good.

From now on, I'm choosing not to click on this thread....but, it's hard.

Katie wrote:I don't pretend to speak for anyone else, but I make no bones about not commenting on a place I haven't been to.

I think that if it's permissible to link to a New York Times interview with the owners, it ought to be permissible to react to it, and share one's impressions of the interview. Likewise, it ought to be permissible to react to the restaurant experiences of others on the thread, as long as one is not representing that one has been there herself. So I support your posts in this vein. (In fact, I find them interesting and valuable.)

I'm also completely in sympathy with those who say that it's out of line (not to mention ridiculous) to assert, "The owners should/must/ought-to-be doing business some other way than they're doing it, because that's the way I want it." It is their business, not ours.

I think of these threads as akin to cocktail party conversations. Some people in the conversation have direct experience. Others in the conversation are reacting to that direct experience. People in the latter group ought not to have to censor themselves, nor should they have to endure the censure of those in the first group, as long as the context of their reaction is clear. If at a party, someone describes an experience, and I say, "Wow, that sounds terrific," or "Wow, that sounds awful," I don't expect someone to rebuke me by saying, "What do you know? You weren't there." There is a line that can be crossed (just as it can be crossed at a cocktail party) in which people begin pontificating about subjects they know nothing about, but IMO that's not what you've done. Is the post of someone who has been to Great Lake "worth more" than the post of someone who hasn't? Assuredly. Is there a place in this thread for the posts of those who haven't? I hope so.

Quite right, Riddlemay. I look forward to many more pages of posts about the New York Times article about a place just up the street.

Mike G., if you don't like the thread, then don't read it.

So what, you're trying to silence my dissenting opinion?

I'd read something else if there was anything else. What should I read, page 36 of the Kuma's thread? Page 5 of the second Smoque thread? It's a sad commentary when the most informative thread at LTHForum is about Mountain Dew, and the second is about tilapia.

There's a whole city out there. I am absolutely convinced that Kuma's, Smoque and Jibek Jolu are not the only three restaurants in it. Somebody go out and try one of them, for God's sake. That you didn't have to read the New York Times to find out about.

I have eaten at Great Lake more than a handful of times. Every pizza I have gotten there has been made with extraordinary care and superlative ingredients. All have been delicious (some topping combinations more than others). My favorite pizza (pictured above on my kitchen table--though the pizza is really at it's peak right out of the oven) was the chorizo and peppers. The salads are also excellent (the portion pictured above is a half salad). This is a board for people who really love food. If you haven't been to Great Lake because of reports about the service and attitude, you are missing the chance to put a really transcendent piece of pizza into your mouth (which is fine with me --I'm not trying to increase the crowds there, because the more people who go, the harder it is to get a pizza). It's not that hard to get a pizza on most weeknights. Call at 5, say you'll be there at 7:30 and voila.

Love the chorizo and orange peppers! And I don't even like peppers normally.

LTH,

If the Great Lake thread veers any further off track it will be locked.

Gary for the moderators

First time at great lake. Short wait after putting name on thr list - just enough time for two drinks at In Fine Spirits. Servce was very friendly. I enjoyed the open kitchen and intimacy of the room but am not really charmed on the nerdy Americana vibe the decor gives off. Appreciated the little tumblers provided for our wine however, made me feel like I was in a small trattoria in Italy. Salad of shaved sunchokes with carrots parsnips w/ a light mustaed vinnagrette and microgreans was very satisfying, and a generous portion. Staying in theme, we ordered a pizza with sunchokes, garlic and a Greek sheep's milk cheese. The pizza was excellent, the sheeps milk cheese and thin slices of caramelized sunchoke leading the show. I also enjoyed the crust.

Two criticisms:

1. Why not put tomato sauce on a pizza dominated with sweet, rich and starchy tones. Even by the second slice I was wishing for a wedge of lemon to squeeze on. Or, and I know this is nuts, the coulda put a thin layer of tart tomato sauce underneath all tha cheese.

2. Crust is good, but at the edges, even a little too much for a guy whose favorite part of Damato's coal-fired super dark and crusty "sourdough" loaf are the ends. In this respect I think I prefer Spacca Napoli's edge which has a lot of char, but is chewy and airy enough to go down wihout the help of a glass of water.

Certainly one of the best pizzas Ive had ina while, a d I will return to try their margherita. But best in Chicago? Even for the style, not so sure. My money is still on Spacca (on a good day) or Coalfire. Maybe my opinion will change when I try their margherita.

I've never had their sunchoke, but they do not sound like they should include tomato sauce - sounds more like an EVOO pizza. So, seems like they were correct. Their crust is light and airy and chewy (at least normally) so maybe something was off with your pizza. Their crust is the best part, IMO.

Chitown B wrote:I've never had their sunchoke... So, seems like they were correct.

I love the certainty of this statement.

Darren72 wrote:

Chitown B wrote:I've never had their sunchoke... So, seems like they were correct.

I love the certainty of this statement.

I love the biting sarcasm of this one. Apparently you didn't read the previous message about getting off track.

I've had sunchoke before, just not THEIRS. It's something that seems more like a white/olive oil style topping than a tomato sauce.

The girlfriend and I agreed that the sunchoke pizza would be better with tomato sauce. We are also correct B.

In the spirit of Jeffersonian interlocutory amity (or is that interlocutory Jeffersonian amity?), we are all right, we are all wrong.


(For those inclined to read too much, too little, or too oddly into the above statement, please note the appended smilie.)

Chitown B wrote:I've never had their sunchoke, but they do not sound like they should include tomato sauce - sounds more like an EVOO pizza.

This seems to be the general consensus with the starchy toppings...like when potato-rosemary pizzas were all the rage a few years back, and came with just olive oil in place of proper sauce. However, I dunno, I've never fully enjoyed the no-sauce pizzas with the starchy toppings. They strike me as bland & one-note...but then, I like having notes of acidity in my food (just ask my wife, I go through vinegars at an alarming pace).

their mushroom pizza would be awful with tomato sauce, so it does work on certain types. It's so good how it is, I hope they bring that back soon.