Piece Brewery & Pizzeria (Chicago, IL)

Nephew with newly arrived pizzas.  

11/23/12

This is our second, and much anticipated, visit to Piece Brewery and Pizzeria.  We stopped on a 2009 trip and loved it.  My favorite beer on that trip was the Moose Knuckle barleywine and G's was the Prodigal Porter.  I wouldn't have returned just for the better than average beer--the pizza rocks.  Beer and pizza together being a personal craving, the combo is hard to pass up.

According to the website, it's New Haven style thin crust pizza; I wouldn't know what that means except it is very reminiscent of Bru Rm @ Bar.  While the Bru Rm is actually in New Haven, Piece's version is far better.  Very thin and cooked at high heat, it comes out crispy with a few burnt spots.  However, since even a small is oversized, it's an acceptable loss in the pizza process.

We left the car downtown and exited the blue line very near the pub.  Just a block or so walk.  Our last visit was on New Year's Day and, somehow, much quieter than it was on Black Friday.  Music was too loud today and the patrons were struggling to talk over it and each other.  So popular a place, even at 2 pm on a Saturday afternoon, that the very close tables makes it impossible to not hear a neighbor's conversation.  With a little understanding, everyone still has a good time.

Started with The Weight, a pale ale, since there was a sign advertising its GABF silver medal.  Full bodied with a big grapefruit and biscuit nose that leads to a hefty bite.  Nice start.
Though the wait staff was working hard, it was a little tough to get a second beer because they were overwhelmed.  Next up was Swingin' Single, their spot-on interpretation of an abbey single.  Top beer of the day was the Top Heavy Hefeweizen that I shared with my wife to finish.  I very much liked the Top Heavy sample last time. However, the hefeweizen shines in its own glass--a must draft.

Great stop that I love for the double punch of good beer and great pizza.  The atmosphere lacked today, but still fun and I will definitely repeat at some point in the future.