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Brian Erst

@brianerst

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Chicago’s Pizza Mascot
Pizza Lab @pizzalab.erst
Non-pizza @alt.erst

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The long-awaited issue No. 5 is dropping tonight at 6PM! Our long national nightmare is coming to an end…

Two great new spots and one with work to do

#pizzalab #pizzascout #neighborhoodgem #itlldo taken in Bucktown Pizza by @brianerst

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a day ago

I’m taking the new Pizza Scout (finding good pizza all over Chicagoland) seriously. We’ll see if Chester’s in the western suburb of Summit will make the cut in a future issue.

The first issue featuring Pizza Scout drops soon

#pizzalab #pizzascout #whathaveigottenmyselfinto by @brianerst

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15 days ago

Dropping soon - Pizza Lab 05!

And introducing Pizza Scout - the beginning of a big new project to find great pizza in every neighborhood! I will be soliciting suggestions for places that you think everyone should know about in every neighborhood in the city and the suburbs.

It’s ambitious and a little daunting but the journey will be a blast!

#pizzalab #comingsoon #pizzascout by @brianerst

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15 days ago

Another behind the scenes, this time @bucktown.pizza

As mentioned previously, I’ve been sick for a while but I’m preparing the next issue of Pizza Lab. Joe Smith of Bucktown Pizza and previously of Pie Life and the Slice Spot in the western suburbs is bringing his New Jersey style pizza to an intersection that could use some good pizza. Great stuff!

More to come

#pizzalab #newjerseypizza #goandgetyousome taken in Bucktown, Chicago by @brianerst

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16 days ago

Behind the scenes at @pizzaamelia_chicago

It’s been a while! I’ve been sick for most of a month so everything ground to a halt, but the next edition of Pizza Lab drops this weekend. Sorry for the interruption - big plans for the newsletter to come!

#pizzalab #eastcoastpizza #goandgetyousome taken in Roscoe Village by @brianerst

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16 days ago

Hangin’ out with my pizza homies

Got a chance to hang out with a bunch of my favorite pizza people at @millys_pizza_in_the_pan

@pizzacamp was in town for a visit and @nachosandlager stopped by as well. @subbu4 (not pictured 😢 but looking healthy and happy) was taking Joe to @pizz.amici to visit @billyfederighi and @cecilymariefederighi

I also met John’s neighbor and @crustfundpizza helper Brian as well and blanking on a few names I’m sure.

Robert showed of the old Cutler rotary oven 🔥🔥🔥and made a bunch of pizzas to try. The very popular Only Pans was delicious as expected (I personally would order without honey but I’m weird) with pepperoni, peppadews and pesto while the No Comply was a sleeper hit - Nduja and saba is a tasty, tasty treat.

I had to leave too soon - was meeting my son @georgesdeepdish for one of his Tommy’s Tavern pies.

Fun to see everyone - need to do it again! taken in Milly's Pizza In The Pan by @brianerst

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2 months ago

A long time ago in a suburb far,
far away....

PIZZA WARS
EPISODE I: LET’S GO DEEP

It is a period of civil war. Rebel
tavern-cut squares, striking from
hidden pizzerias south of Madison
Street, have won their first victory
against the DEEP DISH EMPIRE.�..

Rumors persist that the Empire’s
greatest weapon was not built by the
men whose names hang on the signs,
but by two sisters from the South  itself....

Beyond the city limits, on a remote
outpost of the Outer Rim known only
as Cary, a single family works in
secret, guarding a recipe that may
end the argument forever....

Issue 04 is live. Link in bio.

#pizzalab #destinationpizza #deep dish taken in Cary, Illinois by @brianerst

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2 months ago

Pepperoni Pizza at Kung Fu Pizza Bar

The first thing you’ll notice about Kung Fu Pizza is that it’s literally a window along the street. The windows have been papered (plasticked?) over with empty Kung Fu noodle wrappers, some Japanese toys and a SLICES sign. A sign in the window tells you to knock loudly on the window for service, that they only serve cheese and pepperoni pizza slices - the unlikely pairing of NYC and deep dish - and to stop asking for sausage because they don’t have it.

After banging the window, no one arrived or said anything, so I banged again. A curmudgeonly fella showed up and just looked at me, so I ordered two pepperoni slices and he disappeared. A long time later, he showed up with a box, asked for $5, took it and disappeared back inside. The sum total of our interactions was about 15 seconds.

But hey - if the pizza is great, you can overlook the service, right? And honestly, the pizza looked very well baked - the crust was deeply golden, the pepperonis had crisped up and slightly curled on the rebake and the place has four stars on Yelp, so…

I figure those reviews are mostly from folks who are looking for something to soak up the alcohol after a hard night drinking at the local bars and people who really need a $2.50 slice of pizza. Again, the bake looked great but the crust is obviously baked on a pan (look at the little circular light spots from the perforated pan), it has no flavor or lift and was quite floppy (that side shot took some careful folding). It tasted like a same-day dough with no yeast or fermentation flavor - underwhelming commercial white bread. You’d think imported tomatoes would make for a good sauce but it was underseasoned. The top was a little greasy from the plentiful cheese but the pepperoni was crisp if not amazing.

Look, we all can appreciate some cheap late-night drunk pizza every once in a while. The fact that it’s served out of a window by a guy who maybe doesn’t want to deal with half the people who come to his place, surrounded by noodle bags and toys, gives it real character. I love that places like this exist - our city could use some weird and this delivers that in spades.

#thepizzalab #itlldo taken in West Town, Chicago by @brianerst

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2 months ago

Pizza Lab Issue 03! Read it to find out what Chicago could learn from New York…

New York City?!?

#pizzalab #pacepiquante by @brianerst

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3 months ago

Pizza Lab Issue 03 comes out on Wednesday with a spicy take on what New York gets right that Chicago should learn from.

#pizzalab #witnessprotection by @brianerst

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3 months ago

The Sausage Slice @sids_pizza_calabrese

A few months back, I drove down to southwest suburban Blue Island to check out a new pizzeria started by @the_dingaling called Sid's Pizza Calabrese. I first learned about Sid's from @casazzahousepizza posting about it and I really wanted to check out the new kid on the block.

Sid's makes what I would call sheet pan pizza - a bakery bread style dough, pressed into the pan, topped and baked. In this case, Timmy mixes all the dough by hand, using a blend of @caputoflour and @kingarthurbaking flours at a 70% hydration, using a no-knead method of stretch and folds over the course of three hours to build the gluten. He uses just a touch of yeast so he can do a 24-36 hour room temperature fermentation, building flavor into the dough.

Timmy presses the dough into Detroit-style pans about 20 at a time and as orders come in, they are immediately topped and baked in a convection oven (@millys_pizza_in_the_pan - we'll need to talk to him about that). Because convection ovens don't give you a lot of bottom heat, you can't expect a deeply colored bottom crust and you don't get one. But it's crisp, not greasy at all and zero flop.

The crust itself has a mild yeastiness and a fine, dense crumb - surprising for so much hydration but there isn't a lot of pan rise time. It eats like good bakery bread as opposed to the more open crumbed Detroit or Sicilian you might be expecting.

The sausage is the way to go here - Timmy sources the sausage from Russo but then blends in his own spices, including a bunch of whole toasted fennel he gets from an Amish supply store in Fort Atkinson, WI. The sausage is superb - if you love fennel-forward sausage, you'll be happy. On my trip, my biggest complaint was there wasn't enough of it but from pictures I've seen since, that has been remedied.

The sauce is fresh tasting - lightly cooked with aromatics and seasonings. The cheese is spread to the edge for that frico crust.

You can read more, including some thoughts about Blue Island and pizza's place in America, at read.pizzalab.app (link in my bio).

#neighborhoodgem #happybirthdayamerica #pizzalab taken in Jebens Hardware by @brianerst

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3 months ago

This weekend’s special Fourth of July issue of Pizza Lab is our first review, featuring Blue Island’s own @the_dingaling of @sids_pizza_calabrese

Come for the interminable explanation of my theory of reviewing, stay for the pizza fun times!

#neighborhoodgem #spoilers #howdohashtagsworkagain taken in Jebens Hardware by @brianerst

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3 months ago