Pizza Rustica (brief report/announcement)

This is a new storefront at 3913 N. Sheridan (1/2 block south of TAC and on the other side of the street) where attractive if generic storefront endeavors seem to come and go with melancholy-inducing frequency.

I blundered in on their first day at around 6:30. As one might expect of a smallish operation on its first day, business was slow and there was an air of mild expectancy and nervousness hanging over the small staff waiting for something to happen and not entirely certain they would know what to do if it did.

The space is small with just a few tables in the front and all the cooking and assembling done right behind a counter. There's a vulcan oven (no "legno" alas) and a stove.

The menu is sensibly small and focused: Soups, salads, panini, pasta, pizza. BYO is a plus.

I am not a soldier in the philosophical pizza wars. I like it thin, thick, panned, stuffed, wedge-shaped or square - as long as the ingredients are good.

I can't give a full report because I was on my way elsewhere and simply took a slice to go. The very nice part was that each slice is created to order. It's a rectangle, about 5X8". You can order it any way you like just as if you were ordering a whole pie. It comes out fresh and hot in about 6-7 min. No old pies dedicated to take-out sitting under lamps slowly turning into pizza jerky.

The crust is thin-ish. Not ultra-thin. Not cornmeal. Mozzeralla is fresh not standard commercial, pre-grated "pizza cheese."

Plain slice is $2.50 w/ ea. ingredient .25. Not bad at all.

I saw a basket of their sandwich rolls and they looked very fresh but also as if they might be a bit soft and cottony. Can't tell, and perhaps, toasted with olive oil etc. soaking in, that might end up a plus.

Pastas are done on a mix-and-match noodle/sauce basis. All the standard noodle shapes are represented with the welcome addition of papardelle. Also cheese tortellini, artichoke ravioli and gnocchi. (No idea if any or all are produced there.)

Sauces are plain pomodoro, a tom. w/ cream, Bolognese, arrabbiata, 4-cheese, alfredo.

Two desserts produced in-house are a torta di mele and a torta di ricotta with swirls of Nutella. (I'm a sucker for that, but had the apple this time.) T'm pretty sure the apple slices were commercial, but the crust was nice and the portion generous.

Looks to be a welcome, if not life-altering, addition to the neighborhood and well situated near the red line stop. I look forward to going back, particularly with kids and my own wine on a warm spring day.

The owner appears to be Italian, FWIW.

I received a very friendly email from "Mrs. Pizza Rustica," Juliana. (Apparently she lurks in her spare time.)

The owners are indeed Italian. Been here since around the mid-90's; one from Venice, the other from Rome. She didn't say if they were professional restaurateurs to begin with, or taking their first shot.

She did say that business was taking off, so I just hope they can handle it.

I went back and had the "giardino" salad. The base was the standard organic greens mix that one sees everywhere, but very fresh, perfectly dressed and with the marvelous addition of whole marinated mushrooms.

I'm sure they're still working out some kinks, but well worth a try.

Well, they seemed nice enough inside

Not the worst I've ever had, but pretty lousy, in my opinion. I'll start with the dough. I've never seen pizza made this way. Apparently, they roll out the dough, and cook it somewhat. Then they stack layers of slice-dough on the counter. When you want a slice they take a section of dough, which looked like it had the slightest amount of sauce already on it. Then they put more sauce and cheese on it and pt it in a small oven and cooked it at 450 degrees for about 5 or 6 minutes. I don't need to explain what happens to crust at 450 degrees (think slightly better than microwaving).

The cheese? Fresh mozerrella? Maybe. Fresh in a literal sense? Probably not. Certainly no flavor but I will admit it wasn't the yellow-ish aged mozzerella usually on pizza. But lots of it. WAY too much, in fact. To the point where it weighed down the thin crust slice and made it difficult to eat. I'm sure this fine for drunk guys in backward baseball caps "dude check out all this cheese!"

I guess there was sauce, it looked like sauce, but I really couldn't tast anything.

Bottom line is that this place needs some work. It's not beyond repair, though. Jack up the heat, stop cooking the dough in two stages, lower the amount of cheese and even with the lack of taste in the primary ingredients the pizza wouldn't be half-bad by Chicago thin-crust standards. Of course, this won't happen because it's cheap and filling, which is the main concern of the majority of it's customers in that area.

I see that Pizza Rustica is mentioned on the "front page" of the Metromix dining section. No doubt that will boost traffic.

My husband is the co-owner of Pizza Rustica and I just want to make it clear that we are adults and understand that everyone is, of course, entitled to their own opinion. Try as they may, they won't please all of the people all of the time.

Pizza Rustica has had so many repeat customers over the last week - so many wonderful reviews from the folks who've eaten there...So okay, they'll have to accept that not everyone will love it (although they try their hardest to keep that from happening)!

But the main reason I'm writing is just that I found the comments of CMC to be overwhelmingly brutal in that this particular post managed to insult an entire neighborhood of people: "Cheap and filling" is not "the main concern of the majority of customers in that area". (An area in which we live in by the way, thank you very much).

There's also been a huge variety of customers that have thouroughly enjoyed the food and the pizza, as they don't cater to "drunk guys in backward baseball caps" as the post puts it. (Not that there's anything wrong with that if someone out there is reading this, right now, drunk and wearing a baseball cap...backwards. And you like cheese).

Pizza Rustica's main concern is providing good food with quality ingredients at reasonble prices in a warm, friendly atmosphere. If you are unhappy with your meal, please let the owners know - they would be horrified to know you disliked it so and would do whatever they could to fix it to your satisfaction.

I'd like to end with that I'm really sorry you didn't like your pizza and I defend your right to give your opinion.

CMC wrote:I don't need to explain what happens to crust at 450 degrees (think slightly better than microwaving).

While I certainly believe, as I have stated elsewhere on this board, that "real pizza," in the sense of pizza alla Napoletana, pizza which is flat bread with, as I'm wont to say, a little stuff on top, certainly benefits from being cooked quickly and briefly at very high temperature, I find the above statement curious. Home-cooks can't get much above 450 and, whatever my oven reaches at setting number 11 (gratuitous Spinal Tap reference), that's what I cook my pizzas at (pizzas which, incidentally, are otherwise made very much in the traditional way).

So then, I think I know what happens to simply made Italian bread- (i.e., pizza-) dough with a little stuff on it at circa 450 degrees and in my humble opinion, it neither necessarily looks bad nor tastes bad either:




For further evidence of what can be done at ca. 450º, see these illustrated posts:
[url=http://lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?t=3242] Pizza e pasta casalinga: Home-made pizza and pasta.
[/url]IHDP: Internationales Haus der Pizza: Pizze casalinghe encore une fois.

What I don't know is what happens to anything with a microwave oven -- I've never had one and for that matter never have tried using one... though I can imagine that would not be a good thing to try to bake a pizza in.

***

bpneighbour:

Thank you for writing in and welcome. I have two questions:

1) From the comments of mrbarolo and CMC, it seems the folks at Pizza Rustica use fresh fior di latte/mozzarella (di mucca) rather than the usual low-moisture loaf "mozzarella." Is that indeed the case?

2) To me, the basic question to be asked about a place that produces pizza in Chicago is what kind of dough do they use: do they use bread dough with no fat or very little fat added or do they make Chicago-style pizza dough, with a sigificant amount of fat added so that the final product is more pastry-like than bread-like?

If your husband and his partner are using fresh mozzarella and bread dough, they're making a pizza that is presumably not the familiar type to many people who live and were raised in this area. Some will surely find the differences objectionable and prefer the style they're used to. But surely many natives of this area as well as transplants from other pizza-culture-zones will appreciate the more Italian or traditional approach. In any event, buona fortuna a voi tutti.

Antonius

I'm curious about cooking in two stages criticism. I mean, after all, that is the way that 80% of the pizza that you buy from "slice places" in New York is cooked. Maybe you luck out and get a pie right out of the oven sometimes.

Chicagoans seem to like more cheese on their pies than do New Yorkers. The original Ray's of Greenwich Village, a well known "slice institution" tends to lay out a pretty hefty load of cheese on its Pie. The Chicago deep dish, which should be served with a glass of Metamucil, is proof of Chicagoans love for lotsa cheese. Of course, we're all familiar with what an overload of cheese can do to an otherwise traditional thin pie ala Pizza DOC. Yuck.

I'm going to stop by and give the place a try...as soon as I find that darned baseball cap of mine. I'll let you know what I think.

FWIW, Antonius, that's another great looking pie from your home kitchen.

Will, the two-stage pizza heating method you are referring to that 80% of the pizza world uses is NOT what I'm referring to here. I've been to upwards of 30 or slice places in New York and none of them make a slice like Pizza Rustica. In fact, I'm still not 100% sure what Pizza Rustica does. All I know is that when I ordered my slice a piece of dough was taken off the shelf that seemed to be already somewhat cooked. Then cheese and sauce were put on the dough and it was put into the oven.

The way I'm used to it (which is what you are referring to I believe) is to make a pie and then have slices cut off when a customer wants one and have it reheated in the oven.

Pizza Rustica person, could you please address my criticisms? I understand you wanting to defend your business and if you read my post I did say that, with a few changes, your pizza could some of best thin crust in Chicago. Was I brutal? Sure. The slice I had was almost impossibe to eat and had no taste. I'm brutal when it comes to pizza because I believe it is something that can be done properly if a place wants to. I'm not saying everybody has what it takes to make the best pie in the world. However, there are a simple things that aren't done usually in order to cut costs or time or appeal to the Pizza Hut nation.
And, loving food, that just makes me angry.

Was I unfair to the neighborhood in general? Maybe. But that is besides the point. Unfortunately that is all you defended--your customers and your neighborhood, which is understandable. However, your pizza, was not really defended at all.

Could you please defend the following:
1.Why the pizza is made in the stages?
2.The amount of cheese.
3.Cooking at so low a temperature (while 450 isn't exactly cold, it's below what most pizzerias cook at).
4.The sauce (heated/cooked?)


Antonius, I've never microwaved pizza dough either. I just assumed it would produce a similar slice. And you know as well as I do, that just because we have to cook pizza at home with a 500 degree oven that doesn't mean we wouldn't cook at a higher temperature if we could.
I'd also like to point out that your pizza looks almost identical to the pizzas I make at home (although you seem to be better skilled at keeping it's shape), so we are pretty much on the same level as to the perfect pie.

CMC wrote:Antonius, I've never microwaved pizza dough either. I just assumed it would produce a similar slice. And you know as well as I do, that just because we have to cook pizza at home with a 500 degree oven that doesn't mean we wouldn't cook at a higher temperature if we could.
I'd also like to point out that your pizza looks almost identical to the pizzas I make at home (although you seem to be better skilled at keeping it's shape), so we are pretty much on the same level as to the perfect pie.

Yes, in a perfect world (or at least one in which I had a vastly larger budget), I would be on the phone straight away to James at fornobravo (link) to order a custom-made pizza oven from Naples. Under present circumstances, my pizzas are cooked at a temperature most likely in the 460-480º range; even turned up to "11" (theoretically 500º), my current home oven, like virtually all I've ever known, runs a little cooler than the settings indicate.

But with regard to cooking pizzas, though, I think it is most especially those made with the maximally simple, Neapolitan-style bread dough that benefit most from the extremely high oven temperatures. (Alas, that is precisely what I make at home and so an oven temperature of ca. 470º is an unwelcome –– though hardly catastrophic –– limitation.) But with a short dough of the sort favoured in Chicago, a really high oven temperature would to my mind neither be necessary nor perhaps even desirable –– I can't say this on the basis of lots of personal experience, mind you, for I do not make pizzas with such dough, but it seems to me the crust would be in danger of cooking too quickly and ending up more like a cracker than a pizza crust... ... Yes, yes, just yanking chains...

I once had a pie at Caponie's and they use a wood-burning oven at (what I surmise to be) fairly high temperature along with a Chicago-style short-crust. Not my favourite style, obviously, but a decent pie and of a sort (cracker-style crust) that some of my native Chicagoan friends prize highly. But what is the usual oven temperature used for Chicago-style thin crust? Does anybody know?

One last note in this regard: Italian bakery-style pan pizzas around town, my favourite local variety of pizza, is surely baked at the same temperature as the bread. At Masi's Italian Superior Bakery, I know that to be in the 450-470º range from personal observation and I strongly surmise that the same is true at D'Amato's. A few months back, I was discussing oven temps with a professional Italian baker and mentioned that at the top pizzerie in Naples and New York, the temperatures aimed at are in the 700-800º range, even 900º at Lombardi's in Manhattan. He refused to believe this and shook his head in incredulity and disgust.

Antonius

I can't defend the cooking methods of Pizza Rustica because it is my husband's restaurant and I do not know exactly how they make the pizza. All I know is that the great majority of people (including myself) absolutely love it. The proof is that people keep coming back. Not only have we heard that it's good; folks are saying "excellent", "amazing", "the best they've ever had". This is not a joke or the rantings of a defending wife - it's true! They also make wonderful pastas, salads and sandwiches which many, many people seem to really enjoy as well.

The dough may be cooked in two stages (?) but that's so a slice can be given fresh out of the oven, not totally pre-cooked and then reheated. You'd really have to ask them how and why they do what they do.

I guess I would just say that you're not the only one that understands good food or good pizza and that you're entitled to your opinion.

From this point, I don't want to take up space battling or defending - I'm not sure that's the purpose of this forum. So you clearly didn't like the pizza, just don't go there anymore, what can I say?

"I can't defend the cooking methods of Pizza Rustica because it is my husband's restaurant and I do not know exactly how they make the pizza. All I know is that the great majority of people (including myself) absolutely love it. The proof is that people keep coming back. Not only have we heard that it's good; folks are saying "excellent", "amazing", "the best they've ever had". This is not a joke or the rantings of a defending wife - it's true! They also make wonderful pastas, salads and sandwiches which many, many people seem to really enjoy as well."

I don't doubt it. There are plenty of people who think that Pizza Hut is the best pizza in the world too. I guess I was hoping for a little deeper discussion on the merits of the pizza outside of how much people who eat there like it.

"From this point, I don't want to take up space battling or defending - I'm not sure that's the purpose of this forum."

It's about discussing food, which, at times, may include differences of opinion, which could be seen as battling. So far, though, very little has taken place in the way of defending the actual pizza. There have been two posts so far from somebody involved with the place and all I know is that people love the place, but I know nothing more about my original questions about the pizza, which I think are more than reasonable and fair. Pizza is a simple food made up of just a few ingredients along with a fairly simple way of cooking (which is not to say that everybody does it properly). If a place is doing it right, it's very easy to defend.

go to pizza metro & see how it's done there; same way. they cook the crust partially, so when customers come in to order, you can make them their requested slices MUCH quicker.

yes, some people hate their pizza, but i really enjoy it.

so, CMC, if it's not your cup of tea, don't go back & don't keep harping on the process. if others enjoy it, no reason to knock them either.

miss ellen

bpneighbor wrote:I'd like to end with that I'm really sorry you didn't like your pizza and I defend your right to give your opinion.

Thank you for taking the time to reply. This exchange of opinion has me very anxious to try the pizza for myself.

bpneighbor wrote:Pizza Rustica has had so many repeat customers over the last week - so many wonderful reviews from the folks who've eaten there...

If that is true--and I do know a couple of these satisfied customers--I would not fret over the [lone] sour opinion expressed here.*

Regards,
Erik M.

* Insofar as this sour opinion involves superfluous and somewhat hostile commentary, I will say that in many matters which concern your neighbourhood and its denizens, White Sox fans are a predictably shrill bunch. And, as I think this sort of commentary clearly demonstrates, they would so often seem to be convenient conscripts in Chicago's class wars. Tools, really.

so, CMC, if it's not your cup of tea, don't go back & don't keep harping on the process. if others enjoy it, no reason to knock them either.

I'm not really harping on that part of it. Honestly, I've just never seen it before. I was just disappointed with the crust overall and thought maybe that had something to do with it. Moreover, I don't think I've knocked anybody personally, not to mention the fact that nobody who's responded, to my knowledge, has even tried the pizza yet. I do look forward to other opinions.

* Insofar as this sour opinion involves superfluous and somewhat hostile commentary, I will say that in many matters which concern your neighbourhood and its denizens, White Sox fans are a predictably shrill bunch. And, as I think this sort of commentary clearly demonstrates, they would so often seem to be convenient conscripts in Chicago's class wars. Tools, really.

Not sure what part of my post was hostile and I'm really not sure what the White Sox and their 24-7 start has to do with this. I do know that I never go out of my way to attack an individual and I would never resort to name calling.

Well, if this isn't the damned oddest thread.

Let's all keep it pleasant.

Couple of points relayed to the above. Antonius, the regular pizzas at Caponies are very similar to what you and many would consider a proper Neopolitan pizza. The special extra thin pies, which the place suggests are the more "old world," have the texture and structure you describe. The Margherita, especially, is an odd pie. Halfway through the cooking process (a theme?) the pie is removed and rolled with a rolling pin, squeezing the life out of the otherwise very good crust. The airier regular is much better hot, but the other stuff, similar as it is to Chicago tavern pizza, fares better left over. I think this is generally true when comparing thin crust styles. You are probably correct to suggest that even Caponies uses some oil in the dough, but the regular crust is much closer to the modestly shortened NYC dough than it is to the full-out butter and oil attack of say a Malnati's thin or Home Run Inn.

Which brings me to my next point. Wasting some time around the house this weekend, I made a large tray of foccacia (following Hazan's strict advice, except I used mostly "00" flour) and a bucket of lime/sour cherry Italian ice (aka water ice). The focaccia was the best thing I ever baked. (The ice is very good too. Those new freeze-the container ice cream machines stink IMO for ice cream, but they are great for granita/sorbet.) Half was oinion with some anchovy the other sauteed potatoes. I worked fresh sage into the dough throughout. OK, the point: upon pressing some of the leftover bread on the plancha for perhaps too long, the compacted, cripy result was Chicago thin crust, or at least a very good version of it.

Chicago pizza is Italian bread with stuff on it too, just a different kind of Italian bread (and more stuff).

There are many good things to be said about Pizza Rustica but I really didn’t care for the potato pizza I had. It was completely overwhelmed by the amount of cheese used. Next time I’ll be sure to ask them to use a little restraint.

"dude check out all this cheese!"

I've been to pizza rustica several times and I have always loved their pizza. Its one of those places that I expect to be good and it invariably beats my expectations. I always leave there thinking "Hey, I should come here more often!"
I especially like their crust--- it strkes me as flakier and a little buttery tasting. I would venture that someone searching for a very traditional crust would be disapointed with this pizza because this crust seems to have some butter or maybe a lot of olive oil added to it. It strikes me as a little more pastrylike. I personally find it to be delicious and so does everyone (about 8 different people) that I've taken there. Their garbage piza is my favorite (blue cheese+olives= crazy delicious) though I guess that it is not terribly traditional either.

I would also like to add that the men that work there (I am guessing the owners) have always been incredibly friendly to me and are also quite charming.

The secret of the delicious crust at Pizza Rustica is neither butter nor olive oil. It's pure lard, which to me is irreplaceable. I love the potato-rosemary pizza, but do concur that it's best to ask for less than the usual quantity of cheese.

I happened to be back last week after a long time and still enjoyed it. I also noticed that in addition to the owners, my server as well as some others had off-the-boat accents and appeared to be extended family, which, if it doesn't guarantee "authenticity" at least makes for a nice feeling.

They've added pricier specials than they had when they opened: a pasta with fresh tuna at $15-ish, etc. Also a table card advertised a Valentine's pre-fixe that looked very nice and good value for $30. (I wouldn't say that the ambience there quite screams "valentine's day" - but it looked like a nice menu.)

Also, in the authenticity dept., one of the specials was spaghetti (or a spaghetti-like long noodle) cooked with onions and anchovy. This seemed to me a real in-yo'-face bit of authenticity -- as there was nothing in the ingredients list or prep. to glamorize it for American tastes. No shallot, or sun-dried anything, no pesto, no cheese. Just aromatic (read: stinky) onions and clearly visible anchovies rising up at you in a cloud of very Italianate steam. It could have been a quick, cheap, late-night dinner almost anywhere in Italy and I liked it.

FWIW: the owners are Veronese and while I know nothing about that region's cooking (except that I believe I read that they go for a soupier risotto than elsewhere), perhaps some of the apparent anomalies there (the unaccountably flaky pizza crust, etc.) can be explained by their being neither Tuscan, Roman, Milanese nor Sicilian - which are the styles that seem to dominate "Italian" cooking in America.

BYO is a plus.

I'm headed here tonight. Is this place still BYO?

Thanks!

Beware!

I think their dark day is Tues. I can never remember, but whatever their day off is, it alway surprises me. I have made arrangements to meet my wife there at least 3 times and arrived to find it closed.

As for the BYO - I think so but am not 100% certain.

I think their dark day is Tues.

Thanks for the heads up...you are correct! Closed on Tuesdays.

I think we may try Anna Maria Pasteria on Clark and Montrose instead.

Went to Pizza Rustica for dinner tonight-- had a great tasting, inexpensive dinner here! My sister and I ordered a caprese salad which was not too heavy on the oil and was made with very fresh, fresh mozzarella.

Up next we had a half pizza with great thin crust, we got the veggie and it had a very nice flavor to it. I would suggest to ask for cheese on the light side...but the sauce used on the dough and the veggies were seasoned nicely.

A great experience, the service is attentive and friendly. The crowd very relaxed and laid back. We had to wait about 5 minutes for a table (which is great for them) and when we left at around 8:15 there was a small crowd waiting to be seated. I hope this place makes it... but not so much so that it is on Check, Please.