North Branch Pizza & Burger Co. Glenview

In the doomed slot most recently occupied by Gulliver's Pizza has recently opened as North Branch.
The menu is somewhat similar (pizza and burgers, a few pastas and other sandwiches), the delivery is aiming a little more upscale (though not significantly different in price) -- the Gulliver's interior has had only minor changes but it looks more classy.

We ordered a thick-crust pizza, hoping for a Gullivers/Burt's style, or perhaps a Malnati's/Uno's style. It's not up to either of those, but it's very good. The crust is lighter, and if there's cornmeal I couldn't detect it. Sauce is plentiful, smooth and somewhat sweet. Cheese and toppings are done with a light hand (no sausage disk, certainly).

For an appetizer, we had their pulled pork nachos -- excellent, although perhaps a little too composed for what is classically a big sloppy pile. Black beans, pulled pork, BBQ sour cream, lettuce, tomato, onion, cheese. Very tasty, good smoky pork without gloppy sauce that's too common elsewhere.

Service was very attentive (we were served by a pair that probably included a trainee but I'm not sure which), and aside from a minor billing error (we ordered a medium pie, a large was delivered, we confirmed that we'd ordered a medium, and the bill still had a large on it, but they corrected that), everything went very smoothly including bringing out the pizza in less than the stated 35 minutes.

The burger menu includes a couple nice sounding ones including The North Branch (gruyere, caramelized onions, rosemari aioli), the Double Deuce (pastrami, mushrooms, gruyere), and the Hilly Billy (BBQ sauce, pulled pork, crisp onions, cheddar). Other items are easy to deduce from the burger menu: pulled pork, pastrami, salmon as a sammy or an entree, same for fried chicken, etc. There's shakes on the menu but we went (cough) light last night.

The menu claims that the only thing that comes out of a freezer is the ice cream (Homer's).

North Branch Pizza & Burger Co.
4520 W. Lake
Glenview, Illinois 60025
847.813.6400
http://northbranchglenview.com/

JoelF wrote:The menu claims that the only thing that comes out of a freezer is the ice cream (Homer's).

So you can't get ice in your drinks?

The only restaurant that could revive that intersection is a Portillo's at this point.

And Joel, I'm sorry to pick on you, but when you say thick crust, I am thinking of Connie's, or Pizza Hut with their thick, bready dough. Uno's, Malnati's, Burt's, Gulliver's are all deep dish as in the dish/pan they are cooked in. The dough is not really that thick and they are pressed into the pan (and from what I hear, no cornmeal in their dough). But if that's what you refer to as thick crust, ok and I will assume you had a deep dish pizza at North Branch. Thanks for the review. I might give it a try if I hear better things about that pizza.

Ram4, you're right I should have said deep dish. That's what the menu says, that's how it was served (in the pan). But cornmeal isn't there, nor is it the level of short crust you find at what I consider the classic deep dish. It does have the crispiness of those, but not the density. Burt's isn't dense either, but it's chewier.

With the demise of Bogie's, and its relative convenience (only two miles from home and kitty-corner from SueF's office), North Branch has become our go-to burger joint. (TGIFuggedaboudit is across the street, and F1 Burger has had signs up for a few months but isn't open yet).

We started with fried pickles. These are not your typical: Inch-thick slices of a large kosher dill and covered in crunchy breading. I've seen smaller crab cakes. They're delicious, but tend to slide out of the breading and are rather ungainly. Certainly filling. They come with a spicy ranch dressing for dipping. An additional one will arrive speared on your burger.

Last night I ordered the B&B, but mine is technically an M&B as I subbed in sauteed mushrooms for the bacon. It included onion strings, blue cheese sauce, lettuce and tomato (I removed the mealy winter tomatoes, note to self: remember to ask they not bother with them next time). On point with medium rare. Only downside is a slightly soggy bun - perhaps select the pretzel bun?

SueF had "El Guapos" [sic] which had avocado, mozz, pico de gallo. Hers held together a little better, but the sliced avocado liked to eject itself to avoid being eaten.


Definitely an enjoyable place -- we've been meaning to go back for $5 AYCE pizza on Mondays (thin only).

Ok, I looked at the pictures on the site and take a look Pequod and Burt's fans...


Here's the thin.


Menu looks like my kind of place, I'll be there soon. Might be just close enough for lunch once in a while.

I went to North Branch last night, and we tried the thin and the deep dish. But first, we ordered the Wisconsin Cheese curds. They were very good, but all we got were a handful for $8.00. A bit expensive. Then came the thin pizza. It was average at best. Nothing special about it at all. It was more like a Home Run Inn thickness, not a paper thin pizza. The sauce was a little sweet and just fair. The deep dish looked great, like Pequod's. The dough resembled Pequod's too, same texture and similar flavor. But two things killed it for me. The sauce was that same sweet, nothing special sauce and the dough was so bready it was almost 2 inches thick and totally made the balance of the pizza wrong. Each bite was 70% dough, 20% cheese and 10% sauce. It was just a big letdown.

I will not eat the pizzas here again, though I may try some of the food.

Their online menu is of such low resolution that the descriptions are illegible. Unfortunate and all too common.

imsscott wrote:Their online menu is of such low resolution that the descriptions are illegible. Unfortunate and all too common.

Really? I can read it fine on any computer I have.

Update: I did have some leftover pizza last night that I reheated in the oven. I would still not get the thin again, but the deep dish does resemble Pequod in taste (I got a better slice where the sauce had more spices in it) and appearance. But it needed more sauce and way less dough.

Ram4 wrote:

imsscott wrote:Their online menu is of such low resolution that the descriptions are illegible. Unfortunate and all too common.

Really? I can read it fine on any computer I have.

Are you looking at the same menu I am?

A couple of unaltered examples that I couldn't see anybody saying that they can read them fine no matter what computer they're using:or

imsscott wrote:Are you looking at the same menu I am?

A couple of unaltered examples that I couldn't see anybody saying that they can read them fine no matter what computer they're using:or

psssst -- just click on the menu, it zooms in and you can scroll around