Author Topic: Chicago Pizza and Oven Grinder Co. (Read 12800 times)

foodblogger · « **on:** January 25, 2006, 10:51:34 AM »

The last time I was in Chicago I had an unusual type of deep dish pizza. I was planning on eating at RJ Grunt's, a place I used to eat at right by Lincoln Park when I was in the vicinity. It was packed at lunchtime and there were like 400 of those Eddie Bauer strollers blocking every aisle so I decided to try somewhere else. Right around the corner was a place called the Chicago Pizza and Oven Grinder Co.

This restaurant has the dubious distinction of being located directly across the street from where the St. Valentine's Day Massacre took place. There used to be a garage there but now it is just an empty lot.

As it turns out, the pizza they serve is actually a pizza pot pie!

It was a very unique take on pizza. To make it they place a layer of cheese on the bottom of an oven proof bowl. Then they fill the bowl with sausage, mushrooms, onions, and marinara. Then they cover the bowl with a round piece of thinly rolled out dough and bake it in the oven. To serve it they turn it over on the plate and use a spoon to shell it out.

It wasn't what I would think of as 'traditional' Chicago-style deep dish, but it was an interesting twist and actually quite tasty.

Buffalo · « **Reply #1 on:** January 25, 2006, 12:27:48 PM »

Hello Foodblogger;
Very unusal "pizza"; maybe even unique. Do you have any dimensions on it? The width, the heigth, etc? I would like to try to duplicate it at home, but am not sure of the dimensions. I am assuming that the entire "pizza" is a serving for one person?? Thanks...

Buffalo

Buffalo · « **Reply #2 on:** January 25, 2006, 12:32:38 PM »

Foodblogger;
By the way.......did you notice a "vent" hole or slice on top of the dough to allow steam to escape? Thanks......

Buffalo

foodblogger · « **Reply #3 on:** January 25, 2006, 12:59:40 PM »

Buffalo -

Dimensions of the finished pie were 6 inches wide by 2 inches deep. The bowl they made it in was a 6 inch straight-sided ceramic bowl with a little lip at the top. The dough overlapped the lip and extended down the sides of the bowl. When they served it they brought it out upside down like a pot pie. To serve it to me they then flipped it upside down (crust side down) on a plate. To get the bowl out of the pot pie they ran a spoon around the inside of the crust and shelled the bowl out that way. I haven't tried making these at home yet but I have thought about how I would do it.

1) The dough was a soft, bready dough, not a biscuity dough. I am sure it is just a fairly standard bread dough recipe that they are using so I would probably just make up my favorite white bread recipe and go from there.

2) The dough rose, but the crust wasn't too thick, and it wasn't browned and hard. To achieve that result I will probably bake the toppings separately from the dough for a while until the cheese melts. I would probably have the oven at about 350 so that when I put the dough in it wouldn't brown too quickly or get hard on the outside. I would take the toppings out of the oven, let the dish cool momentarily, and then put the dough on and return it to the oven. I plan to have the dough rolled out very thin.

3) The bowl is very important. I haven't gone looking for anything like that yet but I am sure you could find one at Williams-Sonoma or wherever you go for cooking stuff.

I do have to say that I never have seen pizza like it anywhere else. I might attempt to recreate the pizza-pot-pie in the near future, but I have to try some of the recipes from this forum first. I am so excited that I finally found a group of people who are as crazy about making good pizza as I am.

foodblogger · « **Reply #4 on:** January 25, 2006, 01:04:08 PM »

One more thing -

There was no vent hole.

Another thing to notice about the pizza is that the crust has the texture/doneness that I would associate more with pizza-chain style breadstick than a Uno's/Malnati's style crust. If nothing else it is nice to have a pie to make every once in a while to change things up.

Here is a photo from inside the Chicago Pizza and Oven Grinder Co.

foodblogger · « **Reply #5 on:** January 25, 2006, 01:08:42 PM »

Here is a link to their site -

http://www.chicagopizzaandovengrinder.com/default.htm

gottabedapan · « **Reply #6 on:** January 25, 2006, 09:53:49 PM »

Quote from: foodblogger on January 25, 2006, 12:59:40 PM

3) The bowl is very important. I haven't gone looking for anything like that yet but I am sure you could find one at Williams-Sonoma or wherever you go for cooking stuff.

Don't waste your time or money looking for a special bowl. Any ovenproof bowl will work. I've been using Corelle soup bowls to make pizza potpies since I ran across Evelyne Slomon's instructions for making pizza pot pies in The Pizza Book 15+ years ago.

foodblogger · « **Reply #7 on:** January 26, 2006, 07:12:46 AM »

Quote from: gottabedapan on January 25, 2006, 09:53:49 PM

Don't waste your time or money looking for a special bowl. Any ovenproof bowl will work. I've been using Corelle soup bowls to make pizza potpies since I ran across Evelyne Slomon's instructions for making pizza pot pies in The Pizza Book 15+ years ago.

I am interested in your recipe/techniques. With that much experience I bet you could lend a lot of insite on this subject. Care to share with us?

gottabedapan · « **Reply #8 on:** January 27, 2006, 04:50:28 PM »

Don't mean to blow you off, but there's really not that much to share. Slomon does a good job covering all the bases. Pam posted a condensed version of Slomon's instructions here. The only thing I do differently is I put the cheese in the bowl before the sauce, but other than that, I follow her instructions to a "T."

For the crust, I use my basic recipe of 3.5 c flour, 1 c water, 1 tsp yeast, 1 tsp salt. Toppings (fillings?) are whatever I've got on hand.

I've never had a problem with the crust not browning, as appears to be the case with the pie in your picture, but if the crust isn't browning to your satisfaction you could always turn on the broiler for a couple minutes to "finish" it.

Lydia · « **Reply #9 on:** February 20, 2006, 07:26:31 PM »

This is the best recipe I have located on the web. It has some research behind it. Haven't given it a try yet, so if someone gets to it before I do. Please let us know the how it turned out for you?

http://www.recipelink.com/mf/14/18683

Let me know if you have any problems with the link.

gottabedapan · « **Reply #10 on:** February 20, 2006, 11:26:33 PM »

Quote from: Lydia on February 20, 2006, 07:26:31 PM

This is the best recipe I have located on the web. It has some research behind it. Haven't given it a try yet, so if someone gets to it before I do. Please let us know the how it turned out for you?

http://www.recipelink.com/mf/14/18683

Let me know if you have any problems with the link.

That's stolen word-for-word from Evelyne Slomon's book, and, yes, "stolen" is the proper term in this instance. While a recipe itself can't be copyrighted, per se, a description, the presentation, and the specific wording can be, and in this instance, the description, presentation format, hints, suggestions, and notes are copied, word-for-word, without credit or attribution.

Lydia · « **Reply #11 on:** February 21, 2006, 12:01:53 PM »

I've seen this alot especially with Tod Wilburs, Top Secret Recipes. I've been wondering who's recipe is was, since I was confident it wasn't owned by the poster.

Thanks for letting us know.

buzz · « **Reply #12 on:** February 21, 2006, 12:44:37 PM »

I just saw this place profiled on the Food Network (I think). If I recall, they lay slices of cheese into the bowl, then drop in a couple of whole mushrooms, add sauce, and then drape a large sheet of dough over the whole bowl and bake.

Interesting idea!

foodblogger · « **Reply #13 on:** February 21, 2006, 01:34:36 PM »

I really enjoyed my trip there. I've thought about doing something like this at home but I can only make so many pizzas a week and I'm fixating on thin crust at the moment. I was hoping that someone else would take an interest and give it a shot. Another thing they probably do is brush the finished pies with butter. I remember a distinct butter flavor on the surface of the crust. Look at the picture above. See the oily sheen?

Lydia · « **Reply #14 on:** February 21, 2006, 02:25:30 PM »

I was thnking on using Bill (member of this forum) recipe for Ginder Hoagie Rolls. He said that this recipe is a scaled down version from PMQ. The pictures look great!

http://www.pizzamaniac.com/index.php/archives/2005/08/10/grinder-hoagie-roll-recipe

PizzaPolice · « **Reply #15 on:** February 21, 2006, 02:25:46 PM »

Garlic Butter! MMmmm!

I'd like to see this done. I'm wonderin' if a man could par-bake the shell, unmold it, dump in the cheese and stuff then bake it off.

foodblogger · « **Reply #16 on:** February 21, 2006, 02:37:57 PM »

It would probably just be easier to put all the toppings in the bowl and then put the rolled out dough over the top, rather than par-baking it. The photo of the pizza above is actually a pizza served at the restaurant. The pie I was served was baked until the dough was done, but not brown and hard. The crust was very very soft with little or no browning.

gottabedapan · « **Reply #17 on:** February 21, 2006, 03:02:12 PM »

Quote

I'd like to see this done. I'm wonderin' if a man could par-bake the shell, unmold it, dump in the cheese and stuff then bake it off.

Don't bother parbaking; it ain't worth the trouble. If you want some browning on the crust, flip on the broiler for a couple of minutes toward the end.

Lydia · « **Reply #18 on:** February 21, 2006, 04:22:58 PM »

I imagine an important aspect of this pie would be the baking and melding of the flavors that are trapped by the unvented crust.

I won't be able to try this for a while yet either. I'm trouble-shooting my brewhouse deep dish crust right now.

foodblogger · « **Reply #19 on:** February 21, 2006, 04:47:42 PM »

Quote

I'm trouble-shooting my brewhouse deep dish crust right now.

That sounds interesting...is there a thread?