1909 N. Lincoln Ave. (1900N, 300W)
Chicago, IL 60614
(312) 255-0851
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Created December 31, 2005 |
©
The
Chicago Bar Project |
1909 N. Lincoln Ave. (1900N, 300W)
Chicago, IL 60614
(312) 255-0851
"Serving the finest pizza in Chicago since 1997"
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Not to be confused with “Brick” Tamland of Anchorman infamy, Bricks Chicago Pizza lies at garden level, steps from the corner of Lincoln, Wisconsin and Lincoln Park West in Chicago's Old Town Triangle District, and just down the block from competitor Ranalli's, who serves pizza and beer in buckets above ground. A red awning helps guide you into the depths where not only Bricks can be found, but also its partner in crime, Katacomb, which is one of the best late-night bars in all of Lincoln Park. Walk under the brick (what else?) archway, turn right at the red neon Bricks Pizza sign, walk through the wooden plate glass door and you're in.
Bricks consists of two smallish rooms: a front room (as you walk in) with a bar and dining room just off to the right and separated from the main room by a brick wall with what looks like portals clawed out by hand. Up until 2006, smoking was permitted in the bar, but you'll know have to step outside, though the area is covered so you'll not get rained or snowed on. A wooden bar runs the length of the front room, and features a mirrored backdrop, "STAY OFF THE GRASS" sign, and a paper Mache face of the late Pope John Paul, who used to wear a Bricks baseball until the time of his passing. The powers that be are thinking of putting up the face of the new Pope but, considering his rather striking Germanic looks, they thought better of it so as not to frighten off the regulars. A smattering of low-slung wooden tables, recently upgraded from those covered with traditional red & white-checked tablecloths, and a black banquette can be found across from the bar, within view of the pub's only television set next to perhaps the only Anchor Brewing neon bar sign in the city.
The dining room features more low-slung tables along with another banquette running along the eastern wall, upon which are hung such randomly framed items as the cover of Mad Magazine's "Pizza Edition," a hand-painted Blackhawks logo, and a mirror. What appears to be a speckled floor made out of plastic lies under a (ron) burgundy-painted ceiling with tiny recessed lighting, just below which hang pipes carrying radiated steam heat that may start clicking in winter when they turn on.
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“You better cut the pizza in four pieces because I'm not hungry enough to eat six.”
– Yogi Berra
Either
here or in the bar, you can order from a menu whose brevity is made up for by
its creativity. The kitchen at Bricks is located in the southeast corner, and
churns out such 10", 12" and 14" specialties as the "Painful" (spicy pepperoni,
purple onion, fresh jalapeño, garlic, tomato sauce, and mozzarella), "Red
Planet" (sausage, red pepper, purple onion, goat cheese, tomato sauce, and
mozzarella), the Ditka ("da'za with all the meat, lots of cheese"), and the "Berzerkeley"
(smoked ham, artichoke hearts, sweet red peppers, tomato sauce, and mozzarella).
I've personally had the Brickhouse (pureed artichoke sauce, sweet red peppers,
roasted garlic, mozzarella, and asiago), and "Sweet Heat" (chicken breast,
bacon, diced jalapeño, smoked gouda, bbq-tomato sauce, and mozzarella), and both
were magnificent. Bricks also features a couple of sandwiches and salads, but
why someone wouldn't order a pie at Bricks is beyond me... They even have a
vegetarian pizza at Bricks, for the love of dog.
In recognition of its accomplishments in the flat doughy sciences, Bricks was rated three out of four forks by the Chicago Tribune and, in the 2005/06 edition of Zagat's Chicago restaurant survey, the "soul-soothing" Bricks was rated as having very good food, good decor and good service, with an average meal costing you about $18. Zagat's went on to note that Bricks is a "'friendly place' place for 'casual times with friends', even if the setting is 'just like your college boyfriend's basement.'" Sound good? See for yourself. Takeout and delivery are also available from the underground wonder.
"Without question, the greatest invention in the history of mankind is beer. Oh, I grant you that the wheel was also a fine invention, but the wheel does not go nearly as well with pizza."
– Dave Barry
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As to the aforementioned manager, he went on to give our party the last of
the Bricks 2005 Christmas CDs as we were leaving, and told us of the Mick Jagger
bust that used to be located on the corner of the bar (reminiscent of the bust
of the owner mounted on the bar at Weed's Tavern), until a hooligan grabbed
it and ran out with it one night. The owner, Bill Brandt, ran him down as he was
getting into a cab and wrestled it back from the bust-bandit, but you won't find
it at Bricks any longer – it can be found in the
owners residence to prevent another theft. However, you'll still find a framed photo of
Mike Ditka as coach of the
Chicago Bears, wearing his finest
Bears sweater and flipping off the press (God love him) as you walk out. Those
of you with sticky fingers can just forget about it!
For those of you interested in a bit of history, Bricks opened in 1997 and, prior to that, the location housed a Siamese restaurant that went by the name of Jada Thai. Sometime prior to that, from 1964 to 1980, the location was the original location of Chicago’s first Turkish restaurant Topkapi. Fans of Ottoman cuisine, take note: after an elongated stint as a dry cleaner of all things, the original owner recently reopened Topkapi has in a new location at 2544 W. Peterson, at the southern edge of Chicago's Nortown neighborhood.
“The perfect lover is one who turns into a pizza at 4:00 a.m.”
– Charles Pierce
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~ Have a good story relating to this bar? E-mail it to me. ~
[back to the Chicago Bar Project]
– written by Sean Parnell
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