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Crust - CLOSED
Categories: Restaurants Pizza Restaurants American (New) Pizza, American (New) [Edit]
2056 W Division St(between Damen Ave & Hoyne Ave)
Chicago, IL 60622
Neighborhood: Wicker Park
(773) 235-5511
- Nearest Transit:
-
Damen-O'Hare (Blue Line)
- Attire:
- Casual
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street, Valet
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- Yes
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- Yes
- Good For:
- Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Noise Level:
- Average
- Ambience:
- Casual
- Has TV:
- No
- Caters:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
About This Business:
Pizzas, bread sticks (regular or garlic parmesan), chicken fingers and wings, cheese sticks, cinnapie dessert pizza... all delicious!
517 reviews for Crust
Review Highlights
"What they do have is fresh light organic deliciousness."
(in 207 reviews)
"amazing goat cheese and mushroom pizza."
(in 44 reviews)
"And the beer selection is full of yummy yummy beers."
(in 35 reviews)
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517 reviews in English
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Review from Angela R.
Chicago, IL
1/3/2012
This was about the tenth time we've been to Crust this evening. We go there all the time, but honest too goodness, we always have a terrible host/hostess experience. The service and food is always great, but our greeting at the restaurant always seem snarky.
Still worth going too. The flamklucken flatbread is amazing (has a white sauce and is light, smokey deliciousness). The beer selection is decent that salads have never disappointed.
Overall, it's still a fav, but try to get to the table as soon as possible. -
Review from Meg r.
Chicago, IL
1/1/2012
This placed announced they were closing when we were there last night., NYE.
Over shots of Jameson handed out us and the 3 other tables, a nice guy announced from behind the bar, "tonight is our last night. We will be closing, and this is our last service."
We got another round of free shots and watched bottles of bubbly being sprayed over the bar area. On us and on each other.
They went out with a bang.
It was a fun, yet unexpected way to bring in the new year. Thank goodness we thought to use our rest. com discount. -
Review from kris r.
Chicago, IL
12/1/2011 1 Check-in Here
i like this place. it's delish and satisfying. they have a great selection of pizzas - each of them serve about 1-2 people.
i came here with my bff and her family over thanksgiving weekend. we started off with the foccacia and evoo, and then we ordered the sausage & fennel, the jacinto, and the flamkuchen pizzas. there were 6 of us. it was perfect. each of us had a piece of every pie.
everything is organic - even the beer and liquor. we all drank a few before hitting up small bar across the street. it was a great dinner and the perfect setting to drink, eat, and get to know each other! -
Review from Michael S.
Chicago, IL
11/16/2011
I dunno... When I first moved around the area I did eat here quite a bit, but after a while it just gets expensive and honestly, I never thought the pizzas were that good.
I like how it's organic and all, but really besides that it's really just okay. -
Review from Alexis R.
Chicago, IL
1/13/2012
Closed?? So, I take it they won't be honoring the http://restaurant.com gift certificate I recently purchased - that's nice.
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Review from John B.
10/11/2011
It's late in the season to be telling you about their fabulous beer garden, which is just too bad. You'll have to keep it in mind for next year. It's huge and covered and back from the street (though they also have streetside dining out front). The night I was there, no one was eating inside. It was hilarious.
The place is called Crust, and you should take that seriously. If you're not looking for carbs, look somewhere else. Oh, there's a smattering of soups and salads, but they're really all about the pizza -- excuse me, *flatbread* -- and sandwiches. Even the apps are mostly spreads served with or on some kind of bread. The big disappointment of the evening was the brussel sprouts, which were over-done. Stick with the breads.
Which were very good. I got the pulled pork, which was served stuffed, so it was like the love child of a pizza and a sandwich. I forget what everyone else had, because I wasn't sharing. The pizzas are single-serving, though a couple could easily share a pizza and salad. I mean flatbread.
Crust is organic and locally sourced, which is nice. They also offer soy, seitan, and gluten-free options. The gluten-free crust is a $5 upcharge, which is a 30% increase in price, which is less nice. Service is somewhat forgetful, which can be annoying. -
Review from Arwen A.
San Francisco, CA
11/8/2011
It was my first trip to Chicago. I had less than 24 hours in town and one chance at dinner. I'm a vegetarian and a picky eater. My boyfriends' family was not sure what to do with me. They took me to Crust. They used to live in the neighborhood and it was one of their old favorites. I was impressed with the organic ingredients, the variety of the menu (good veggie choices!), the friendliness of the waitstaff, the quality of the food, the awesomeness of my martini and the fact that it was later in the evening on Halloween night and I was the only one who was ordering a full dinner (family was just having drinks and dessert) and they were super cool about that. No attitude. Maybe I'm just used to San Francisco snobbery, but I was duly impressed.
As an additional note, I left my super special favorite hat under my chair and didn't realize it until I was back at my hotel room. I was leaving early the next morning and had no car and could not get back to the restaurant to retrieve it. I called the restaurant pretty late that night expecting to get a machine, but instead got Jose, who already had my hat in hand and was willing to ship it back to me in San Francisco! Talk about customer service! Thank you so much for giving me a wonderful evening in Chicago and reuniting me with my favorite hat. :) -
Review from LK P.
Chicagoland, IL
11/19/2011 4 photos
Good food, cute hipster-y kinda place, service ok - not particularly friendly, big beer garden. Had good selections for both our vegetarian friend and the rest of us regular folk ;-). Walked in here after happy hour at Boundary down the block on a weeknight, not busy. Music a bit too loud, especially when you get seated right under the speaker and they have "no place else to move us". In a half empty restaurant. Really.
Not running back for another visit, but if our friends wanted to come back we wouldn't say no. -
Review from Morgan C.
10/19/2011
Crust was certainly A-OK!
Pros:
-graciously accepted my http://Restaurant.com certificate
-creamy potato pizza
-thin coal fired crust
-organic ingredients
-huge open space with patio
Cons:
-empty at lunch
-bbq pizza was too heavy on the mustard slaw
I would definitely give Crust a second chance. -
Review from Jean C.
9/27/2011 1 Check-in Here
Crust has been on my list of places to try and finally we made it. We had one of those coupons for $10 off that we purchased at Baconfest. Like the Drink Decks but for meals. I made a reservation for Friday at 8:30pm. Parking is a nightmare! Valet is $10 and I'm kind of cheap so I avoid it if at all possible. After 15 minutes of driving around, we found s spot a few blocks away.
Some of the people in our party were already seated. I was surprised that it was not busy. There were people dining but to me, it was dead on a Friday evening.
We ordered two salads, Sun and a baby arugula with quinoa as well as a Leek and goat cheese flat bread for apps. Both salads were tasty and I especially liked the seaweed salad on top of the sun salad. The leek and goat cheese spread was delicious. I just love the creaminess of goat cheese.
I ordered the New Haven pizza and found it to be ok. I was expecting some garlic and if there was some, I couldn't detect it. The caramelized onions gave it a sweetness that helped enhance the clams. Overall, I just that it was a bit bland. Not a lot of flavor and I was expecting it to be. It must not have been that bad since I at it all. Or I was just hungry. Everyone else seemed to enjoy the pizza.
I probably won't rush back here for pizza any time soon. With all the different pizza places, I have the pick of the litter. And I would like to try as many of the pizza places without having to repeat. One thing I do like about this place is that it is organic and I buy organic. But it's not enough for me to come back for that reason alone. -
Review from Taufiq H.
Chicago, IL
The hostess was rude. Asked if we had reservations when all tables were empty, then ignored us.
Waiter was good.
Food was mediocre
Dont see what all the hubbub is about.
Waste of money to go here -
Review from Matthew S.
Skokie, IL
10/10/2011 1 Check-in Here
On a beautiful Sunday evening in early October my girlfriend and I both met up with the Windy City Pizza Club at Crust in Ukrainian Village.
This was our first time at Crust and I looking forward to coming back. I really enjoyed the outdoor beer garden. I could see myself coming back again and just having drinks. They have a solid beer list but the drinks aren't cheap.
Neither is their food. The pizza's are rather small and all range from $13 to $16. I tried the Southsider (don't tell my fellow Cubs fans this) and it was the best of the different pizza's I tried. Some of us shared the bruscetta trio and it was tasty but i didn't feel like it was worth $8. It also doesn't make sense to share because then you only really get to try one.
The goat cheese spread wasn't very good and it was also not worth $8.
I was ok with the food taking a while because of how chill the beer garden is. I will be back for the relaxing atmosphere and tasty yum yums. I will most likely skip the apps and just drink more beer. :) -
Review from Kerri A.
Chicago, IL
8/22/2011
Who goes to a place called Crust and doesn't order pizza?
This girl!
For once in my life, I wasn't craving pizza on a Friday night so I branched out and tried their BLT. Holy moly delicious. The bacon wasn't cooked to be as crispy as I normally prefer, but whatever bread they make this sandwich on is darn good bread. I know it's hard to mess up a BLT, but when I found myself excited to eat the second half of the sandwich instead of diving into the other five pizza options which were on our table, I know I made the right decision.
Only downside? A $15 corkage fee to bring your own wine. Meh - you win some, you lose some. -
Review from HRH J.
Chicago, IL
12/16/2011 1 Check-in Here
The flavors are fresh and rich. The crusts are just perfectly cooked and just the right size.
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Review from Melanie S.
Chicago, IL
7/20/2011
I'm teetering between three and four stars but since it's hot outside and I'm shvitzing and crabby, I'm rounding down.
I'd been carrying around one of those damn $10 A La Card thingies for Crust around in my wallet for the longest time and finally got to use it last night. Sometimes saving a little money is just the nudge I need to get me to try someplace new and not in an area I frequent often.
My gf and I dined on the front patio because I wanted to sit outside. I only wish I'd known about the outside seating area in the back instead because sitting smack dab on Division Street wasn't the most relaxing way to enjoy a leisurely dinner.
We each started with cocktails, an Islander for me, and a Cucumber Collins for her. As seems to be the case lately, I liked my friend's drink better (cucumber-infused vodka, Hendrick's, muddled cucumbers, simple syrup, mint and soda), so I drank most of hers. Mine was a mix of Crusoe rum, grapefruit-infused Prairie organic vodka, pomegranate and grapefruit juice. Apparently Crust infuses their own vodka, so good for them.
Our waiter was a pleasant fellow and checked in on us several times after we got our drinks to see if we were ready to order. My friend and I hadn't seen each other in a while, so we were too busy gabbing to look at the menu. After the fourth time he asked, we felt bad and finally ordered.
Friend started with a fennel and green apple salad and I with the grilled portabello mushrooms. Her salad was light and fresh, and the apple contrasted nicely with the fennel. My mushrooms were meaty and smoky, and quite a generous portion, especially for the low price.
All of their pizzas sounded quite tasty so we had a hard time narrowing down our choices, but eventually we settled on a 'Verde' and a 'Basilico' which was more than enough to share.
The pizzas came out pretty quickly and looked fantastic. The Verde pizza had a light bechamel sauce base, hearts of palm, ricotta, pecorino, fresh spinach and arugula, and was topped with shaved parmesan. I'd never had hearts of palm on a pizza before but I really liked it and thought it complemented the other ingredients well.
The Basilico was fine, if a little boring. Standard-issue tomatoes, mozzarella and basil. It tasted fresh, but I'd probably go for something more exotic next time.
I heard they had rice pudding and since I love a good rice pudding, I had to try it. Sadly, it wasn't the best. It was really dense, not creamy at all (sad face) and tasted faintly of coconut (blech!).
I recently discovered that the chef/owner, Michael Altenberg, also owns Bistro Campagne (which is one of my favorite restaurants), and used to own Campagnola in Evanston. It's also worth noting that he was doing the whole local/organic thing long before everyone else jumped on the bandwagon.
I'll be sure and give Crust another try.Listed in: Uki Village/Bucktown/Wicker…, Recessionista
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Review from Andrea D.
Chicago, IL
12/17/2011
LOVE their pizza. And their beer list is great as well. Salads equally good. Have eaten here enough to be pretty close to saying that I can recommend almost anything on the menu. But I do love their pizzas more than their calzones. Fresh and innovative ingredients. I dare say this is better than Piece. And closer - big bonus! Love their outdoor patio. Very relaxed place to get a great thin crust pie. Oh, and did I mention it is cheap!! :)
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Review from Joshua M.
Updated - 8/20/2011
Walked in on a Friday night with boat loads of open tables indoors and out. We asked to be seated outside, and we were told there was an hour wait. Maybe they had reservations for outdoor tables, but there was nobody in line and at least 5 open tables.
So we ended up indoors. We did the "pick 3" bruschetta and ordered two pizzas for 3 people. We had their mushroom pizza (I forget what they call it) and their special pizza which consisted of all ingredients from some farm in Wisconsin. It had squash and some fancy hard cheese in the romano family.
The mushroom pizza was good. The "Harvest" pizza was dry to say the least. Picture trying to eat a 12-inch wide cracker with no moisture whatsoever, then shaving giant pieces of dry cheese on top of that. The only thing with moisture was the squash, which was seriously sparse on the pizza. The result was emptied drinks and people reaching across to get more of the mushroom pizza.
The crust wasn't that good, either. I really got a chance to taste it in the pizza with no toppings. Pizza crust is supposed to have salt in it. I'm just not a fan: Better ingredients should mean better food. These people aren't doing organic farmers any favors serving this stuff.1 Previous Review: Show all »
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11/10/2010
Not impressed by this place at all. A small pizza and a caesar salad is $28 delivered... Pretty… Read more »
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Review from Bobby C.
New Orleans, LA
10/17/2011
My fault for ordering takeout instead of eating in-house, but the kid is sick and wouldn't have made a good dining companion.
Had a pepperoni and a margherita, both were super cold. So much so that I suspect they were made before I placed the order.
Olive+fig tampenade was good, however, and a huge portion for the price. -
Review from Andrea A.
Chicago, IL
Updated - 7/21/2011
Just went here for lunch again last Saturday...it still was a wonderful spot to relax, drink deliciously strong drinks, and eat tasty food!
My fiance and I both had the calzones (sausage for him and veggie for me)- they were both amazing and gigantic! We also brought our dog on the patio, and actually got $5 greyhound drinks for bringing our dog (who just so happens to be an Italian Greyhound). The server and busboy were attentive and friendly, and my dog loved the busboy! He even brought a huge water bowl out for Jackson. It is pretty cool to see a spot that actually encourages you to bring your dog!1 Previous Review: Show all »
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7/15/2011
I ate here a year ago, but I have been wanting to go back ever since!
I have nothing but wonderful… Read more »
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Review from Gary C.
I think it was the sign that drew me in. So simple. Crust. I knew what it was all about. But could they deliver?
Crust was actually our like third, fourth, or fifth choice for the evening. We started out near the lake, then gradually made out way west to Ukrainian Village, and eventually to Crust. Parking was a biznatch, but somehow I landed some baller spot across the street [after 9PM its free like Willy].
I dropped my friends off to put our names down for a table...little did we know that it wasn't very busy. The hostess couldn't count, apparently. My friends said we were a group of 3, and she repeated it then left. There were like seven other tables, but she took a minute to look for a one for us. She sat them at a table for two. Umm...*carry the one, divided by 12, square root, multiple by pi* that doesn't work. I'm a math teacher. I double checked my work. Oh well. It was a good laugh.
Well, we were seated and looked at the menu. Pre-set pizzas, but apparently you can request to leave off ingredients on their masterpieces. We wound up ordering the flamkuchen, chicoria, and stuffed bbq brisket. Imagine California Pizza Kitchen-sized pizzas for a couple dollars more than CPK. Keep in mind, you're getting organic shiznit.
Here's the skinny on the pies:
Flamkuchen: Definitely the top dog of the three. Applewood smoked bacon, caramelized onions, *drooL* must have when you go.
Chicoria: Imagine eating the Earth. yeah...it tastes like that. So if you're into the Earth and stuff, this one's for you.
Stuffed BBQ Brisket: Giant calzone-type pie, with a sweet bbq sauce and tender brisket.
There are TWO outdoor seating areas: one in the front and one in the back #twss. So you can get lucky if eating outdoors is your thing.
I was very happy, and am actually a little surprised by the lack of love on Yelp. I honestly can't wait to head back to Crust and order other pies. I hear the OG [original gangster] is where it's at. So that's next on the list.
Oh, if you're down with some trivia, they do it on Thursday nights at 8 PM. Thursdays are also $10 312 pitchers. Cha-ching!! -
Review from Sandra W.
Chicago, IL
9/13/2011
Crust. Eat Real.
Kind of catchy. The place is very chic. I went there with 2 other of my girlfriends to enjoy a nice lunch. The weather was extremely nice so we sat outside in the back. It was really nice. We all ordered a "flatbread". I really like customized thin crust pizzas. Maybe I just wasn't "feeling" it. I enjoyed what I ate, but I wish I had gotten something more marinara-y. I guess I just like my pizza like that.
I got the New Haven, my friend got the Jacinto, and my other friend got something marinara-y, I don't remember. The New Haven had little chunks of clams which I enjoyed. The Jacinto had avocados and chicken. I had a good time\meal there. I would go back, it's a nice place.
I'm just "ehhhhh" about the place.
Saturday and Sundays - Mimosas and Bloody Marys (REALLY GOOD) is $5. -
Review from Francesca L.
Chicago, IL
8/22/2011
I really want to like Crust and my rating is purely based on the price v. quality and taste aspect - price being a major issue for me. I think Crust is pretty overpriced for the pizza portion, crust and overall taste. I was recently here with different couples and our bill was close to $90 per couple with tip. It doesn't sound that bad until I say each couple shared a pizza and we did not order desserts.
I think the pizza is decent but I think there are similar pizza places around the city where the pizza is a little bigger, more reasonable and tastes just a bit better.
I think their drinks are good but again, just a little overpriced for a pizza place. Crust is a solid place but just not within my budget for a standard pizza place. -
Review from Megan G.
5/15/2011
*Insert lament that Yelp doesn't allow half stars here*
Crust's current 3.5 star average is exactly right. Four of us met here for dinner on a freezing, rainy Saturday night. There was a little confusion about our reservation, but the hostess handled it with great humor and we were quickly seated. The inside of Crust is really cute - it's brightly lit, is decorated in light, bright colors and just seems overall very cheery.
Soup sounded like the perfect starter to battle the weather, so I opted for the day's special: minestrone. It was listed as being $6 on the menu, but only showed as $2 on the check and the end, which is good because the soup I was served was teeny tiny. Like, think those little, useless coffee cups that always come in plate sets tiny. It was also way too salty. As anyone who has dined with me can attest, I love salt. I salt everything. If I think something's too salty, it'd be virtually inedible for 75% of the population.
The carbonara pizza I had was much better (though this one, ironically, I felt needed salt and there's no salt on the tables). My three friends all really seemed to enjoy their pizzas, too. Overall I'd say the pizza was fine. It wasn't bad by any stretch, but it didn't wow me, either. I'd still rather have Apart. As other people have mentioned, the pizzas aren't cheap. I think mine was $14 and they're definitely personal pizza sized. I don't feel the prices are out of line given the fact that the ingredients are locally sourced and organic, though.
At the end of the night there was a little confusion trying to find the valet (btw, valet parking for $10 is totally worth it, especially in awful weather when you don't want to trudge blocks to the restaurant) but that too got worked out. Overall, Crust is truly A-Ok, but I'm not in any hurry to visit again.Listed in: Dead List
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Review from Carolyn L.
Palatine, IL
6/10/2011 1 Check-in Here
The service here wasn't that great this weekend but the food was sure good. It was Do Division fest and my friend and I wanted to sit down somewhere to enjoy a meal and do some people watching. Our waiter didn't get to us as quickly as we would have liked even though almost the entire indoor dining area was empty.
But besides that, the food was pretty good! I ordered the asparagus salad-
chilled asparagus, white anchovy filets, crumbled maytag blue cheese & herbed vinaigrette. It was a very cool and refreshing salad after walking around in the hot sun. I also ordered the Brussels sprouts (I order them everywhere I go. I LOVE Brussels sprouts!!!) These were HUGE and very tasty. There were so many vegetables, I had to take some of the asparagus home and eat it for dinner. But that was OK.
They have a decent beer selection and prices are pretty average for the area. Just wish the service had been a bit better. But my friend really enjoyed her meal too...the chicken sandwich. -
Review from Jeremy H.
Chicago, IL
7/7/2011
Came in last night with great expectations after hearing good things. Sat down outside, ordered drinks + appetizers, and then found our pizzas.
That's about where everything fell apart.
The server was more interested in doing his closing sidework (the walls are glass - we can see through them!) than asking if my date wanted another glass of wine as it sat empty for 10+ minutes. The pizzas, which were quoted as taking 10-15 minutes to make, came to us well over an hour later. There were only 5 other tables going, so they WEREN'T busy.
The excuse? The computers were down and there was confusion. I worked in the restaurant business for over 10 years in high turnover environments when the computers went down - never experienced delays of 4-5x. So, didn't buy that excuse one bit.
When the pizza came, it was good, except one of them, the order was wrong (we asked that olives only be placed on half the pizza, they seemingly put extra olives all over the pizza). Our server asked if we wanted the pizza remade - to which I smiled and said no. Seriously, at that point, the 10-15 minute pizza took over an hour to get to me, why should I wait another hour? We'll pick the olives off that half the pizza, thanks...
When the bill came, he did comp one of the pizzas for us waiting so long (well done) but somehow I was charged an extra drink (not good) - when I contested, it took about 2 minutes of explaining that I never ordered a second drink before he understood that I only, in fact, consumed one beer.
So, in all, the service and tempo was pretty rough - we weren't in any hurry, but hey, we were starving, and waiting that long for super thin crust pizza on a slow night and blaming it on computers being down (the receipt + credit card machines worked just fine at the end of the night - odd!) left a lot to be desired. Food was tasty, drinks well-priced, but everything else will make me think twice about making a second, or third, or fourth, visit back here....disappointing. -
Review from Colleen F.
Chicago, IL
6/28/2011
Finally came out of my far North side sanctuary and made my way down to Wicker Park. With a name like Crust they better make a good one and for my money they do. The crust is thin and crisp but with a nice chewiness that really reminded me of the pizza they serve in Florence. We shared the Flamkuchen which was a delicious mix of bacon, caramelized onions and a bechamel sauce and the Original Gangsta which was good but didn't blow us away.
I was a little dissappointed by their appetizer list. Only a few options, one of which, the Deconstructed Tampanade is more like a Deconstructed Pizza. It tasted good but was too similar to our entrees. They also have a selection of antipastos for $4, or 4 for $12. What kind of deal is that?
Lucky us, Mondays is 1/2 priced bottles of wine. We had the Lini 1910 Lambrusco Rosso for $16. It was a nice dry sparkling red. We also tried the Mad Hatter Margharita, Islander and Cucumber Collins which is made with Hendricks mint and lime and is really refreshing. The drinks are strong too so at least you feel like $10 is worth it. -
Review from Leigh C.
Chicago, IL
1/5/2012
CLOSED? What? No warning or nothing!!!!!
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Review from Heather L.
Des Plaines, IL
7/20/2011 1 Check-in Here
Yes, it really is all abou tthe crust. The best crust, the way I have only read crust is supposed to be on a true pizza. Crunchy with a little elasticity underneath. Thin and light and yummy. Now I love deep dish as much as the next proud Chicagoan, but this is another animal and this pizza is a wonderful thing. This is not a canned tomato paste kind of pizza.
A group of four girlfriends ordered the Mexacalil Blues, Chicoria and The Original Gangsta all to share. I was so in food heaven on each and everyone of those I didn't bother analyzing the ingredients. I just know they were all delicious with the Chicoria probably being my hearty earthy favorite. We also ordered the goat cheese appetizer which was wonderful.
The baby beet salad and shaved fennel salad were pretty but not that flavorful to me. And certainly not that fullfilling - not good for sharing as they were rather small.
The bottle of Torrontes was very flavorful and hit the spot on this 95 degree visit. Still we sat outside in the back and under the canopy. They had a fan running I think, because we were quite comfortable. The service was slow but we weren't in a hurry and I guess he figured that out.
The pizzas ran about $14-16 each, the salads were $8 each and the goat cheese was $5. The wine was $27.
Such a great spot on this fun stretch of Division street. Plenty of choices for a night cap across the street even on a Tuesday night, all with sidewalk seating. Fun, fun, fun. -
Review from Mike K.
Chicago, IL
Updated - 10/20/2011
Please don't patronize this place until they start to respect their neighborhood.
On Thursday nights they have this trivia or something with a crazy loud P.A. system and an announcer. It's not a live band so they get away with it, but the effect is the same. No other restaurant or bar in Wicker Park cares less for their neighbors.1 Previous Review: Show all »
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7/7/2011
You cats were pretty rude last week when I called to ask about the volume of your P.A. late on a… Read more »
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Review from cassie r.
4/30/2011
After recently trying Piece, I was riding high on a wave of pizza love. Which may explain my slight disappointment at Crust the other night. They are significantly different when it comes to quality, taste and overall delectability. Sadly, Crust is a distant second all around.
All was not lost at Crust though - I love the fact that their pizzas come in the personal pan sizes, and their topping options are far from the standard pepporoni, sausage and cheese. I tried the flammkuchen - a combo of carmelized onion (a little sweet), bacon ( a little salty), caraway seeds and aged parmigiano reggiano. Though I wish the cheese would have been a bit hotter and melty-ier (and quite honestly, more plentiful), the sweet/salty combo was excellent.
Luckily, they have some fun non-alcoholic drinking options to choose from as well - I opted for a fruity blackberry drink (with a little mint mixed in) - it was refreshing and just the right amount of sweetness.
Great location, pretty good service, and moderately reasonable pricing. If organic is your thing, this might be the perfect spot for you. -
Review from Carine M.
Chicago, IL
7/15/2011 8 Check-ins Here
Crust has changed over the years, and right now I think it is at it's prime. Recent reviews state how it is trendy, or people think they are cool or something. I don't feel that AT ALL.
First of all, the bruschette (a semi recent addition to the menu) are delicious and well done. The salads (namely the beet and Sun) are healthy alternatives if you don't feel like pizza. With that being said, this is relatively healthy pizza, if you get one without the béchamel (i did not add the thing on the e, autocorrected to that!). It is thin and light on the cheese. The pizzas are good, not the BEST, but solid.
Vodka infusions are yummy and they have pretty good beer too.
Best part of all though is Thursday trivia! -
Review from Kristen H.
Chicago, IL
9/29/2011 1 Check-in Here
I've been here twice and the first time was better than the second time. I wasn't all that impressed & I'm not sure why. We had 2 salads - the sun and the arugulua quinoa salad - they were okay nothing that knocked my socks off. I feel like the seaweed salad took over the flavors of everything else in the sun salad and I could not taste the ginger in the vinegarette - which I was looking forward to. The goat cheese & leek spread on flatbread & veggies was a pleasant surprise as it was light and fluffy and full of flavor. I ordered the jacinto - argula pesto, chicken breast, 4 cheese, garnished with avocado and I felt it was lacking flavor. I stole some of the leek & goat cheese spread & some olives from my roomie to perk it up. Kind of a shame as all the ingredients sound great & are organic, but for some reason, the taste just wasn't there as I hoped.
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Review from Becca H.
Chicago, IL
7/21/2011
Pizzas are all delicious, especially the mushroom one. I also love their mushroom and goat cheese sandwich. I've tried one of their salads, and it was just OK.
They have great cocktails and beer selection. Different specials throughout the week, such as half off bottles of wine. Service can be hit or miss, only had one bad experience. The only bad experience I've had there, and I've been there a handful of times, was when I went for a friend's birthday and the place was packed, and I think our server must have been new. We had HORRIBLE service, and they even charged my friend for his birthday dessert. However, the food is always good!
Great date spot. I will continue to go back there! -
Review from mary a.
Chicago, IL
8/17/2011
What happened, Crust?
Food/Drinks - 5
Service - 1
Drinks were late out of the gate. Pizza arrived before apps, even though we ordered apps at the same time as drinks allowing ample time. Beer was gone before another was offered. Gelato arrived without spoons. We tried to eat it with a fork as neither busser nor server were around and it was melting. Got gelato on dress. Half way through soupy gelato, we asked for and received.
The apps were taken off the bill without us asking but I'd rather pay for an app that comes out before dinner. I'd also like a beer offered when my current is 1/2-1/3 to the bottom. And it would prefer to get a spoon with my gelato. And someone to pick up the menus from the table so I don't have to wrestle them all night.
I'm a relaxed gal. I was a waitress all throughout college so I always give the benefit of the doubt. But this was one of those rare times where the service actually ruins an experience.
Hire some new servers/bussers, or train the ones you have, Crust. I want to love you and spend my money on you but I can't with this insanity! -
Review from Santiago A.
Chicago, IL
4/7/2011
Excellent pizza! Ton of great choices. Plus, the pizza looks as good as it tastes.
Pepperoni pizza is great, but it is best saved for another day if you are close to this place. They have great topping combinations that mabye you haven't seen or thought of, but you should definitely try.
This place was delicious. I'm glad it is close to where I live. -
Review from Kate L.
Chicago, IL
9/14/2011
Really liked Crust. The pizzas are good for individuals or to share, the salads are great to share between 1-2 people. Very affordable, nice atmosphere, great service.
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Review from Laura K.
Chicago, IL
Updated - 7/17/2011
Stopped in again last nite for my pizza fix and Crust is even better than I remembered! Food: a+ for the beet salad and the Original Gangsta (worst food item name ever!!!), Service: a+++: Patrick was fast helpful and funny. Music: a++++: looooove that they played Cut Copy at a pizza joint!
Love you Crust!1 Previous Review: Show all »
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5/26/2010
Went to Crust with a few friends last night. It was my first time and I left very impressed.
Walked… Read more »
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Review from jane M.
Chicago, IL
7/26/2011
If you missed the kindergarden days, crying babies and more babies go to Crust. They have full blown day care on their patio on Sundays. But that's not all, the patio was full of kids on Friday night, yes Friday night. I mean babies under 5 years old. Yes!!!! Every single table had at least two, some tables had 5 (they put a bunch of tables together). What a nightmare. I felt like I was part of Gulliver's travels.
Food is mediocre. Most of it sounds good on the menu, but they clearly must not have a chef, food is bland and is missing something. They used to have an extensive beer menu, now it is still big but not as extensive.
If you are curious, just pick into the patio first before going in, see who's there. -
Review from Rachel H.
6/3/2011
Oh pizza, what an enigma. Easily overthought, and yet so simple it's often underappreciated.
Upon entering Crust, it almost feels gimmicky, like you've walked into a comic book. Light gray formica tables and bright orangey red acrylic chairs. But no worries, we were seated on the rear patio, which was lovely (excepting the toddler nearby who was quite rambunctious indeed).
After ordering it seemed as if we waited quite a long time for our appetizer to come out (deconstructed tapenade). The aforementioned "tapendade" was so delicious; so worth the wait. Whole cloves of roasted garlic? Yes, puh LEASE.
When the pizza came out, I was a bit surprised by how small they were, but that was fine because were weren't super hungry, but I was glad we had ordered the starter.
We had the Flamkuchen and the Gangsta. Both were very delicious. The flamkuchen was my favorite of the two. The bechamel was so creamy and the bacon was delectable. I didn't detect any caraway flavor, but it didn't matter, so yummy. The gangsta was also really good, yummy artisanal charcuterie meats and spicy tomato sauce.
My only complaint is that our waiter wasn't very attentive, and that the pizza crust was a bit too chewy. I expect wood oven baked pizza to be way crispier than that. Still mega tasty, though. -
Review from Anna P.
Chicago, IL
9/12/2011
I LOVE this place for pizza. The Mexicali pizza and the Original Gangster pizza are to die for! Their outdoor patio, ambiance, and music are outstanding. It's California Pizza Kitchen, only better, way better!
