rmtraut wrote:The Art of Pizza is my go-to for thin. One of my favorites. Their Chicago Style is what gets all of the attention, and is quite good - I just prefer thin crust in general. I've never had their pan, and never really consider ordering pan anywhere - besides Pequod's. With that said, I'm still trying to understand how someone can put Pizza Hut over the Art of Pizza!!

I was in the neighborhood Wednesday around lunchtime so I stopped in to Art of Pizza for a slice of thin crust. All they had was a special, sausage, mushroom, green pepper, onion. Fine. First bad sign:they were being kept in a glass cage with the heat lamp deal, and not heated in the oven. Second the slice was sort of thick and doughy, not a good thin. It had too much cheese for the crust, ingredients may have been good at one point but were limp and fairly tasteless. There was a long line that moved quickly, so turnover was not a problem. But it was not interesting enough for me to return, Cafe Luigi has been in my experience consistently better.

Art of Pizza has been nominated as a Great Neighborhood Restaurant. Please post your comments here. Discussion continues through March 7.

Thanks,

=R=
for the GNRs

A deafening silence.

Yeah, a whole day without a post. On the 19th of the month, no less!

Look, you don't judge a pizza place by their pizza-by-the-slice. Having said that, I stopped by on Thursday for a slice of deep dish. It was excellent. Dough was flavorful and not too bready. Normally I prefer thin and stuffed, but I wanted to try the deep dish and I'm glad I did. Their stuffed is excellent. It's been a long time since I've had their thin crust, so I'll have to give that a try soon.

I need to re-visit Art Of Pizza. The one time I tried it was on a Friday night a few years ago, not long after they were named the top deep dish pizza by Time Out. My brother and I got there around 10:00 and were shocked that they were closing at 10:30 (on a Friday night in the city?!). All they had were slices, stuffed and pan. I asked about the famous deep dish. They said it was right in front of me. I am one that considers deep dish and stuffed two different categories, so I was a little disappointed that it was stuffed (one of my least favorite pizza styles). However, the stuffed pizza looked a lot better than the horrible looking, rubbery cheese pan pizza.

My brother and I got stuffed slices and thought they were possibly the best stuffed pizza we ever had, but we were still pissed off that it wasn't deep dish! Anyway, I remember it being really good and I want to go back to try it when it's fresh.

Ram4 wrote:I need to re-visit Art Of Pizza. The one time I tried it was on a Friday night a few years ago, not long after they were named the top deep dish pizza by Time Out. My brother and I got there around 10:00 and were shocked that they were closing at 10:30 (on a Friday night in the city?!). All they had were slices, stuffed and pan. I asked about the famous deep dish. They said it was right in front of me. I am one that considers deep dish and stuffed two different categories, so I was a little disappointed that it was stuffed (one of my least favorite pizza styles). However, the stuffed pizza looked a lot better than the horrible looking, rubbery cheese pan pizza.

My brother and I got stuffed slices and thought they were possibly the best stuffed pizza we ever had, but we were still pissed off that it wasn't deep dish! Anyway, I remember it being really good and I want to go back to try it when it's fresh.

The stuffed pizza at Art of Pizza is kind of like a hybrid between traditional deep dish and stuffed. The thicker, crisper bottom crust is much closer to a deep dish pizza, but the pie also has the paper thin top layer of dough under the sauce and the substantial amount of cheese typically found in a stuffed pizza. The end crust is also flaky like a stuffed pizza.

And yes, it's substantially better when fresh. Well, it's also outstanding cold the next day. It's just the slices that have been sitting in the heated boxes that suck.

Personally, I'd endorse Art of Pizza as a GNR but I'm not sure there's been enough support across the board so far to justify its selection.

Based on the current GNR nomination, I made my inaugural visit to Art of Pizza yesterday. When I arrived, I was like "oh, this place." I'd driven by it dozens of times over the years but had never stopped in before . . .


Art of Pizza - 3033 N Ashland Ave, Chicago



Art of Pizza - 3033 N Ashland Ave, Chicago



Art's Meaty Delight...small, stuffed
Sausage, bacon, ground beef, pepperoni and sliced beef



Inside The Pie

With the significant caveat that stuffed pizza is just not my thing, I'd say this is the best version I've had. The sauce was tangy and tomatoey, and even though it was a tad too sweet for me, I liked it. As for the combo we ordered, I wasn't in love with the ground beef, which took more away from the pizza than it added but being our first visit, I wanted to go with a menu-listed combo. The other toppings -- or stuffings in this case -- were tasty and even deep within the bowels of this pizza, that bacon stayed crispy, which impressed me. I could see returning and easily being able to order an entirely successful combination of ingredients.

MarlaCollins'Husband wrote:The stuffed pizza at Art of Pizza is kind of like a hybrid between traditional deep dish and stuffed. The thicker, crisper bottom crust is much closer to a deep dish pizza, but the pie also has the paper thin top layer of dough under the sauce and the substantial amount of cheese typically found in a stuffed pizza. The end crust is also flaky like a stuffed pizza.

I agree that the bottom crust is indeed crispy -- surprisingly and satisfyingly so. It was also much lighter than I expected it would be. I thought the flavor was excellent, too. It continued and developed all the way through the chew. However, I don't know that I'll ever fully enjoy (or even understand) the top crust of a stuffed pizza, as they're always gummy at best. Is there really a point to it? Why is this better than a pizza that doesn't have a top layer of wet, relatively undercooked dough atop it? It seems superfluous and unnecessary to me. But in the world of excess that deep dish pizza is, I suppose the working philosophy is that more is always more.

MarlaCollins'Husband wrote:And yes, it's substantially better when fresh. Well, it's also outstanding cold the next day. It's just the slices that have been sitting in the heated boxes that suck.

It was also good to know in advance about the slices. We sacrificed the 40 minutes required to get one ready and ordered a fresh, whole pizza, which definitely seemed worth it (though, I can't say that for sure because I've never had one of their slices).

The bottom line for me is that this was a tasty pizza, which greatly exceeded my expectations and slightly outpaced my pre-conceived notions about the stuffed pizza genre. This was stop #2 of 4 on a GNR-nominee crawl but if it hadn't been, I would have happily eaten a second slice. Instead, we brought 2/3 of the pizza home, where my 14-year-old son and a friend made quick work of it. I'd hoped for a refrigerator piece today but alas . . .

MarlaCollins'Husband wrote:Personally, I'd endorse Art of Pizza as a GNR but I'm not sure there's been enough support across the board so far to justify its selection.

Perhaps the picture will become more clear over the next couple weeks of discussion.

=R=

As to GNR status... best stuffed in town, period. I could take or leave their other styles, though I do appreciate that their thin crust is something different from the run-of-the-mill cracker-crust pizza found all over the city. At the end of the day, they have clearly become a north side institution, which lends credibility to the GNR claim.

I support AOP for GNR. Every once in a while, I want some stuffed pizza---without wanting the wait or investment of an entire pie. AOP is unique in that their slices are entirely reliable. And prices are exceedingly *reasonable*. I'd get a stuffed slice at no other place.

I support this GNR nomination. After trying all the different stuffed and deep dish restaurants in Chicago, The Art of Pizza always stood out amongst the pack. It is the only pizza place I order delivery from and the first place I recommend to friends and family when they want to try "stuffed" pizza.

I was not surprised when Slice titled their review with "A Shining Beacon of Stuffed Pizza Excellence"

http://slice.seriouseats.com/archives/2 ... pizza.html

In support of the nomination, here are a couple threads where Art of Pizza has been mentioned over the past year. I should have included them in the nomination, but I can't edit it.

pizza - Chicago - deep dish - stuffed wars

Chicago Magazine's List of the 25 Best Pizzas

turkob wrote:In support of the nomination, here are a couple threads where Art of Pizza has been mentioned over the past year. I should have included them in the nomination, but I can't edit it.

pizza - Chicago - deep dish - stuffed wars

Chicago Magazine's List of the 25 Best Pizzas

I added them to your nomination post.

=R=

We love this place. It's our go to place for pizza Friday in our house. Stuffed is best in the city hands down, Pan pizza is great as well.

I highly second the nomination for GNR status.

Their stuffed and pan pizzas are the reason to go to this place, but I'd also like to add that their daily specials are pretty great too. For $5.25, I can get a baked mostaccioli dinner on a Friday night with the same sweet tomato sauce they use on their pizza. On top of a generous portion of mostaccioli, you also get soup, salad, and bread. Best value for the amount of food they give you.

It had been a number of years since I had been to Art of Pizza. And all that I recall is that I liked their stuffed pizza, but I couldn't remember too much about the place. But last night a couple of friends and I shared a stuffed spinach pizza. Overall, I'd say it was good, nothing more, nothing less.

The crust was nice and crisp, and a good vehicle for delivering the pizza, but I can't really say that I found it any more flavorful than the crusts you'll find at so many other pizza places in town (Edwardo's, Bacino's, Gino's, etc.). I much prefer the buttercrusts at Malnati's and Pizano's and the caramelized crust at Burt's.

I also was not a huge fan of the sweet sauce, but I realize this is a bit of a personal taste issue (one of my friends really liked it, but she admittedly favors the sweet sauce). I can survive without tomato chunks in the sauce, but sweet sauce just ain't my thing.

The one thing we all agreed on was that there was not enough spinach in the pie - far less than I've seen over the years in versions from Edwardo's and Bacino's. I don't know if this is the norm at Art of Pizza, but the cheese, sauce and crust almost made the spinach disappear.

Overall, a good pie in my book, and of course my sweet sauce-loving friend enjoyed it much more than I did. She probably would have loved it given more spinach. But in my opinion, not in the class of a GNR. Instead, I was only reminded that it's been too long since I've been to Burt's.

This thread got me in the mood to order from The Art of Pizza last night. I always go with the Stuffed Vegetarian Special. In contrast to BR's post, I am personally a big fan of Art's tangy sweet sauce. I do prefer Malnati's buttercrust though. What makes The Art of Pizza particularly stand out for me is that the quality of the pizza maintains itself extremely well when reheated in the oven. I always experience a significant drop-off from Malnati's, Nancy's and Edwardo's.

Here are some pics from last night's meal:

I just had a slice of the stuffed pizza from Art of Pizza. I just can't get past the pasty top crust on this style of pizza. The ingredients tasted OK, but to quote Bob Dylan, it ain't my cup of meat. To each their own, I suppose.

Art of Pizza
3033 North Ashland
Chicago, IL 60657
773-327-5600

I have had and liked their thin crust.

I have had and liked their thin crust.

Yes, don't discount Art's thin crust. One of my 3 go to thin crust pizzas (including Marie's and Piece). I also love that I can get a more then decent by-the-slice thin, pan, or stuffed here. Count me as a big fan of Art of Pizza's pizza, but GNR..... eh. Shouldn't a GNR have some sort of atmospohere? Art of Pizza has zero.

I would definitely support the nomination of AoP as a GNR. So much better than any other stuffed pizza, that it has basically ruined everywhere else for me. This is tough because while we used to live roughly in the neighborhood, we are now outside of their delivery range and don't have a car. We have Giordano's and Uno's/Due less than 2 blocks away, so when I was having a craving for AoP during a slushy grey day and couldn't face a bus ride up there, I got Giordano's, my former favorite. I made it through one piece and threw the rest away since it seemed bland, too heavy and just not tasty at all.

Art of Pizza has a delicious crust, great flavored cheese, and I love the sweet but tangy sauce. We always buy an extra pizza now, divide it up and freeze slices since they heat up gorgeously on the pizza pan in the oven. One of my favorites in Chicago for sure.

I would support the nom based purely on the stuffed pizza alone. I've lived within walking distance of them for about 7 years now and until recently, had not tried the stuffed as I'm generally not a huge fan of stuffed pizza. I have tried the thin crust a handful of times and while it's not bad, it's certainly nothing worthy of noting in a pizza city like Chicago. For years their pan style was my go to, generally just plain cheese as I find their sausage to be very bland. It's nice to have a thicker crust option that isn't stuffed or deep dish. One day there weren't any pan slices available so I went with stuffed and felt like an idiot for not having tried it earlier. I enjoy the tart sauce and the thick bottom crust retains its crunch even beneath the mass of sauce, cheese and toppings. I don't mind their sausage as much in a stuffed slice, but pepperoni is generally my go-to.

As others have mentioned, the slices are very reliable. Even at off times I've never had a particularly bad slice and the staff can sometimes be seen tossing out older slices that are past their prime. Unfortunately the rest of the menu is to be avoided IMO, but it's called Art of Pizza, not Art of Sandwiches.

lettezilla wrote: We always buy an extra pizza now, divide it up and freeze slices since they heat up gorgeously on the pizza pan in the oven.

We do this with Gulliver's stuffed, taking advantage of their every day half-off-a-second-pizza deal. To us, it's just as special as going out to eat, and quite frugal that way!

My only disappointment with Art of Pizza is the Red Baron-style sausage nugs, which have nothing on the sausage in Lou's, Uno's and Gulliver's pies.

I strongly support Art of Pizza for a GNR award. I've had the stuffed slices and fresh pies and they are both excellent. I particularly like the stuffed spinach, mushroom and onion, and the meat lovers special. Great crust, delicious sauce and a good balance of ingredients.

never had the stuffed, I should try it sometime. I almost always get a deep dish Meaty Delight

I returned to Art of Pizza after a long absence last week and was pleased to find it as remembered, redolent of good dough and brightly acidic tomatoes. I believe it worth the recommendation to visitors wanting the no-frills version of some of the better days of now-lesser places in the deep dish and stuffed history.

I had my first opportunity to try Art of Pizza this past weekend. My host was gracious enough to order (for delivery) a pie from each category available at AoP: thin crust, pan, and stuffed. It was quite a feast.

I suspect that the thin crust pie lost its magic during delivery. It was warm, but droopy by the time it got to my mouth. I see potential in AoP's thin, but only if eaten onsite. I wouldn't order one to go or for delivery again.

The bacon and jalapeno pan pizza didn't do it for me at all. I thought that the balance of ingredients was way off. Crust too bready; too much cheese; not enough sauce. The bacon was buried under all of the cheese, so it remained almost as limp and soggy as if it were raw.

The stuffed pizza is clearly where AoP shines. Our spinach, mushroom (and maybe onion?) pie was delicious (and filling!) -- great balance of sweet and tangy sauce, dough, and toppings. I'm no expert in stuffed pizza, but I think that AoP makes a very good rendition of the style. If I ever find myself jonesing for a stuffed pizza, I'll head for AoP.

--Rich

I'd like to pick up a stuffed pizza to try from Art of Pizza, but I live about 45 minutes away. Anyone have an opinion on how well it travels? If it can survive the car ride and reheating well, I'd try the second-at-half-price deal.

Katie wrote:I'd like to pick up a stuffed pizza to try from Art of Pizza, but I live about 45 minutes away. Anyone have an opinion on how well it travels? If it can survive the car ride and reheating well, I'd try the second-at-half-price deal.

In case this is in response to my post, I want to clarify that I was referring to Gulliver's second-at-half-price deal. I don't think Art of Pizza offers such a deal, but I could be wrong. I searched for 'half' in their recent Yelp reviews to see if anyone mentioned it and couldn't find a reference. Just didn't want to have misled you!

I think it would travel OK, only based on the fact that sometimes I like it even better the second day

We took a pan pizza from Art of Pizza on a half hour drive to the northern burbs. The crust was a little soggy but overall the pizza was good.