Pizza Metro

Has anyone tried the pizza here? A friend who loves thin pizza swears by this place. I don't necessarily trust their judgement. I need feedback from the experts here at LTH. It's located on Division.

I went there after reading from metromix or the reader that two Roman bakers started the place. They weren't preparing or cooking the pizza, however, when I was there.

The crust was very crispy, but not thin. It has a lot of oil to make it that way.

Unfortunately, I found the sauce bland and toppings average. We ordered a sausage and onion pizza.

Nothing here that makes me want to go out of my to go back again, though I did like the crust very much.

I'm definitely not a pizza conoisseur, but I really enjoy Metro's potato-rosemary pizza. Their crust is a bit odd to me, somewhat like foccaccia, not that that's necessarily a bad thing.

I've only had it from the Division St. location, not from their second location on Ashland, for whatever that's worth.

I have. It's a rather unique pizza. The crust is very, very short, similar to a Lou's butter crust, but it's a thin crust pie. It's rectangular. The toppings I had were nice quality, and it had a good sauce. Their signature is potato and rosemary, which I haven't tried, but I'd imagine would be good.

Give it a shot, it's not a bad pizza.

Was just there late on Sunday (my post-midnight options that night were limited). I'd say that it's a fair approximation of Roman-style pizza. A bread-like yet crisp crust. It does have a buttery taste as well. I think it holds up nicely.

I should add that the Roman bakers weren't there when I was there (they were on a visit I made very shortly after their opening). The pizza-maker that night was not Italian (Mexican, I believe) was attentively preparing the pizza albeit on pre-made, par-baked crusts.

Marco is the guy in charge, the owner. He split with the people at Pizza Metro II on Ashland, so he has no affiliation anymore with them. When he is there, the pizza is really spot on. When he is not there, it is still pretty good. While working across the street, myself and my staff would usually order from there at least two to three times a week. They would rave about the potato and rosemary, but I always stick to pepperoni and green olive. He also opened a location in Lakeview somewhere, but not sure of the address.

Ryan, pepperoni and green olive is what I had, too. It's such a great combo, and they do a good job there.

I'm surprised that Roman bakers turn out such a short crust...I suppose it is a bit like the Pizza a Taglio places that sell it by the square, but the truly yummy roman pizza (found in the pizzerie) has a very thin non-buttery crust, in my experience....

Pizza Mero has a decent potato-rosemary.
However -- if you can make it over to the intersection of Halsted and North (two doors down from Kabul House) -- which is admittedly hellish, traffic-wise, and infested with the rudest SUV-drivers in the history of locomotion -- Pizza Roma has great slices for sale. (I haven't been there in a while so I can't give a full description, but it had enough of a narcotic effect for me to go back 4 consecutive days after first trying it). Their tomato sauce is addictive; and it's more of a non-english-muffin style crust.
Has anyone else tried Pizza Roma? I never see it mentioned on Lth for some reason...Pizza DOC fans would dig it, I'd think.

I've spent a great deal of time in Rome, and would be positively thrilled if Pizza Metro is a good approximation, especially since they're just a few blocks away. I'll drop by this afternoon and report back.

FYI, if you're talking Roman pizza, you really have two types. First, you have the trattoria-style, which is rolled out round(ish) and usually cooked in a brick oven, so that you get that paper-thin crust. Generally speaking, you'll get more traditional toppings on these... tomatoes, cheese, artichokes, prosciutto, olives, mushrooms, etc. My personal favorite is tuna and onions. Ho, buddy... salivating already.

The other most common type of Roman pizza is the more casual stuff you'll buy from windows on the street, or sometimes at a tavola calda. They're formed in a pan and cooked in a conventional oven, so the crust is thick. It isn't quite what Americans think of as focaccia (though what Americans think of as focaccia isn't entirely accurate , but it's headed in that direction. The crust is laden with olive oil, and this gives it a nice, crispy exterior. They'll cut out rectangles, sell them by weight and wrap them in paper for you to walk with. Here, you usually get into some less "traditional" toppings, or at least what we think of as traditional. There'll be the standard tomato-based ones, of course, but they'll usually have some form of potato topping, often one that's covered with a melange of marinated seafood (octopus, squid, etc), I've seen a pesto on a few occasions... still Italian, but it's more of a "hey, we'll throw some of this on bread and cook it" mentality.

There are, of course, other variants, but those two cover most of the territory. From the notes above, it sounds like Pizza Metro is in the vein of the latter, which would be great. You can find a good trattoria-style pizza without too much difficulty in the states, but I've never located a place that does a good Roman casual pan-style.

Update later today.

My husband loves Pizza Metro. But, I'm not the hugest fan. The crust is very buttery and the pizza is usually a little greasy, which just doesn't tend to sit well with me. Nor do I really understand why they call it "Roman Style" pizza since the pizza I had in Rome had a very, very different crust.
Anyways, it's not horrific, and every once in awhile I'll give in and share one with the hubby.

Back from Pizza Metro!

Let it be said up front that while I've been to Rome somewhere in the neighborhood of 15 times, it's been almost two years since I was last there. As such, I'm missing the place dearly and was definitely in a frame of mind to be kind. That said, here's what I think:

To sum up... is it good? Yeah, I liked it a lot. Is it authentic? Very close. There are a couple of small differences that I think are borne of necessity (and will discuss in further detail later), but in spirit, I think it's fairly authentic Roman pan-style pizza. So here's the photo tour:


First, just an establishing shot of the outside, for those who might be seeking it out. It's located at 1707 W. Division, a block and a half west of the Division/Ashland/Milwaukee megacorner, on the south side of the street.


And a look at the kitchen. That's the oven on the right. Small oven, but it's a small joint.


Behind the counter, one of the fellows spreads dough out in a well-oiled pan. This much is absolutely authentic. Personally, I think it could be a little more oily, but we'll get to that in a moment.


Here is one of the areas where I think Pizza Metro strays a bit from the traditional Roman places. At a casual Roman joint, they'll have a huge counter where they lay out 6-8 fully cooked pizzas, from which they'll cut off slices to sell. If it's been sitting for a while, they'll pop your slice back in the oven just for a minute to refresh it, and I personally think it's none worse for the wear. Pizza Metro, however, is a very, very small place, and they don't have space to lay out all of their pizzas. Plus, I doubt they get enough foot traffic to support such a system. As a result, they cook all of the slices to order(!), using a par-baked crust. What you see above are the par-baked crusts, which they cut down, top, and pop back in the oven for 5-10 minutes to cook. This makes for one critical difference between the Pizza Metro crust and what I think of as a traditional Roman crust, but we'll get to that in a moment.


I ordered myself a slice of sausage and a slice of potato. The size of the slices is definitely authentic. The chopping into six small squares definitely isn't


First, the sausage. Crust discussion for both is below. Toppings-wise, while it was tasty, I'm a fan of chunks of sausage, while this was crumbled all over. A light hit of tomato sauce, a touch of mozzarella... not too much... it satisfied the craving for Roman pizza, but didn't knock my socks off.


The potato, on the other hand, took me right back. The potato pizzas are frequently my favorites. Here, the potatoes are sliced and seasoned, then par-baked before being added to the pizza. Flavor-wise, this was spot on. I prefer mine a little heavier on the garlic, but this was entirely worthy.


Aaaaaaaand, now we get to the crust. In terms of thickness, this is almost exactly what I expect from a Roman pan-style pizza. Pizza Metro's is maybe a touch on the thin end of the spectrum, but this is just about right. The difference, however, is in the consistency. In my experience, a Roman pan-style crust is generally lightly crisped on the outside, and still a little bready on the inside. It's also generally very, very oily. It's usually wrapped in paper for on-the-go munching, and if it's a good one, the paper has started to soak through within a minute or two. Pizza Metro's crust, for starters, doesn't seem to be as oily. However, it could just be that due to the double-cooking, the oil is absorbed further into the crust. Unlike a traditional Roman-style, Pizza Metro's crust is very crispy, top and bottom, and even to a certain degree in between. This isn't entirely unwelcome, just different.

So in sum, if Pizza Metro were in Rome, there are other places I'd go first. But even despite the slight differences, it's definitely Roman street pizza in spirit, and it's the best I've had stateside. I have to strongly disagree with those who feel that this isn't authentic. This is very similar in both taste and preparation to what you get from the pizza windows all across the city. I think the only way you could feel this wasn't authentic is if your pizza consumption was limited to the trattorias (as mentioned in my previous post, above), or if your criteria for what defines authentic are very, very exacting... which isn't wrong, of course, I just disagree So while Pizza Metro isn't the best Roman pan-style pizza I've had, it's pretty darn good and it makes me happy.

And I miss Rome.

Dmnkly, have you tried the pizza at D'Amato's? I think Antonius has described their pizza as Sicilian in style, but it sounds a lot like how you describe Roman pizza. (And as Antonius points out, Masi's serves a similar slice.) D'Amato's serves two kinds, cheese and sausage. The cheese is really thin, like they applied it in slices rather than shreds. (Has anyone here ever eaten what my sister in law refers to as "beach pizza" from Hampton Beach in NH? Cheese is like that sort of.) Sausage is big chunks. Crust is a bit thicker than Metro, and a bit softer, definitely oilier. More like foccacia. (I've heard it referred to as tomato bread, probably in one of the threads I linked to above.) Red sauce is very fresh tasting. Wrapped in white butcher paper, the slices soon stain the paper with grease (Homer's window to obesity). D'Amato's is primarily a bakery, so you can't eat them there, but a few minutes in an oven at home (or they'll heat them for you), and they're crispy on the bottom, soft inside.

D'Amato's Bakery
1124 W. Grand Ave.
(312) 733-5456

(Masi's) Italian Superior Bakery
933 South Western Avenue
(312) 733-5092

Thanks for the fantastic post on Metro.

Kristen

Oh, good golly, yes... the pizza bread at D'Amato's is positively DIVINE

I thought about mentioning it, except that I don't think of D'Amato's as Roman-style. It really is more of a pizza bread, I think. And it may very well be authentic Sicilan, but I'm in no position to comment on that. Sadly, I've never gotten south of Naples, and even that was a brief and busy stay. But if we're talking Roman-style, I think Pizza Metro is much, much closer than D'Amato's.

But holy cow, is D'Amato's pizza bread GOOD.

Guess I know what I'm getting for lunch tomorrow, now.

I always preferred the trattoria-style thin and crispier to the a taglio pan-style in Rome, personally -- so, as far as a taglio goes, Pizza Metro's good and I wouldn't say inauthentic...

I realize that part of the reason noone seems to have anything to say about the joint I was referring to as "Pizza Roma" might be because the restaurant name is actually "Mangia Roma"....ah, details....

So, if anyone's interested in the non-pan, more trattoria-esque, Roman style, I'd be curious about what you think about Mangia Roma (-- maybe not perfect, but for a quick 2-dollar or so slice......meow!)


The accurate info:

Mangia Roma
1623 N. Halsted St.
312-475-9801

i live just down the st from pizza metro and i too would describe it as not the best i've ever had in italy, but very respectable for chi. the crust does have a buttery sweetnees to it in a kind of uno's way, but not nearly as thick. the roasted vegie and the garbage pizza are nice as well as the already mentioned potato and rosemary.

they also do a slight variation on the crust that they use for a ricotta cheesecake or torte w/nutella. excellent. and a very good espresso. all that besides being very inexpensive and open late.

I used to live a few blocks from Pizza Metro and about all I can say about the pizza is that looks are deceiving. It looks quite delicious, yet I would rate it as average or just a bit below. It was a) too doughy and b) too greasy. I know it's a popular spot but it's not on my A-list.

For the record, I don't think I described either D'Amato's or Masi's pizza or, as the old timers here say, 'pizza bread' as Sicilian tout court, though I might well have said that that style is in some ways similar to Sicilian style. Those products and ones made by some other bakeries around town (e.g. Ferrara's) are in ways also similar to Roman style in that they are baked on a more or less well greased pan. They differ from Roman style, however, in that they are made with plain bread dough (at least in the cases of D'Amato's and Masi's; I can't remember with some of the others). That style is the very old and traditional by-product of bread making, with an oven at a temperature appropriate for bread baking (i.e., it's not made in the special, extra-hot conditions required for pizza alla napolitana).

Roman pizza is made with some olive oil in the dough itself (the amount varying a bit but generally it's not all that much), as well as on the pan and on top of the pie.

Thanks to Dmnkly for the very nice post and pictures. I hope to visit Pizza Metro one of these days.

Antonius

A li Romani tutto je se pò dí, fora che gonzi.

Here’s an old Chowhound post on D’Amato’s, Masi’s, Metro and a few others. I should add that my subsequent visits to Metro were better than my first but it’s still not one of my favorites.

I found myself with an hour to spare before a show last night at the Royal George (Gutenberg! The Musical! - a musical for people that hate musicals), so I stepped into Mangia Roma for a bite. I briefly considered a pizza, until I remembered that Pizza Metro had rankled my delicate sensibilities with its conflation of Roman Pizza & Sicilian Pizza & Pizza Bianca, so I decided on their spaghetti carbonara dinner special - salad, pasta & "foccaccia-bread".

I know I'm a pedant, but although the meal was decent (the carbonara was a little heavy on the cream and light on the egg and had pancetta instead of guanciale, but it was satisfying) I mostly came out of the experience with grammatical quibbles:

1. Foccaccia-bread? Do we really need the hyphenate-helper-word???
2. The special dinners had no price. I asked the waitress-how much? She said "Oh, we don't put the prices because the specials are market-price". What does this mean??? They adjust the pricing based on pancetta futures? The spaghetti-cost-index? It's not like it's high-grade tuna bought at auction! How unpredictable can the cost of eggs be, day to day, even in these topsy-turvy times?

Anyway, not a bad spot for a pre-theater meal, and the NYC-style pizza didn't look horrible.

can anyone explan to me the three locations and who owns which ones?

there's two on division... one at 1500-1600 or so west and another newer location at 2500 w division (nearish to western but a block or two west)... another on ashland.

they seem to not all be owned by the same person (a rift?), as the one division location wouldn't take the ashland locations' coupon (free delivery or something)... the one on western/division seems to close earlier than the others.

has anyone noticed that one location's pizza is better than the others? i've read reviews that tend to indicate this is true sometimes, and my own personal experience is that may be the case as well. though the problem is they all seem to deliver to me so i can never remember which i ordered from last time. i'm pretty certain my preference is towards either the one at division/western and ashland vs the more popular one on 15/600 division...

i have to say, when the pizza is good, it's some of the best thin crust of it's style i've had in chicago... they have a spinach salad that's nice too.


just curious what others' thoughts are on this.

Pizza Metro on Division tends to use too much cheese for my taste. Even when I ask for easy on the cheese, their pizza seems greasier than Pizza Metro II's. Or maybe Division uses more sauce. OTOH, the Division one has fresh mushrooms, whereas the Ashland one only has canned. My husband refuses to eat pizza from Division - it disagrees with him. I have yet to try the Western location.

I have long been a fan of Pizza Metro's potato-rosemary, though I eat it a lot less now than I used to. That said, I find that the location on Ashland often doesn't cook the potato all the way through. Disgusting. The Division/Paulina location has better consistency.

The west-most Metro has a decent Meatball sandwich. The pizza is not very good - thicker/breadier than usual chicago-thin style bland crust.

I ordered once, probably will not again.

I never hear about it anymore (word on the street or LTH), but had a great pie at the Division Pizza Metro last night, sausage and garlic. A post-Roman lardy style that is a nice counterpoint to classic Chicago deep-dish, modern Neapolitan influx, and old school cracker crust.

Santander wrote:I never hear about it anymore (word on the street or LTH), but had a great pie at the Division Pizza Metro last night, sausage and garlic. A post-Roman lardy style that is a nice counterpoint to classic Chicago deep-dish, modern Neapolitan influx, and old school cracker crust.

I actually had Metro last night as well, it is my favorite delivery pizza. Last night was half sausage / half potato rosemary.

SSDD