**3.75**
In response to my own review in 2021, no, this is not the best pizza in Chicago. Perhaps it was as a then new and exciting, unique option when they started out doing orders at The Hatchery, but in a very crowded field, while still good, it is no longer the standout it may have once been.
First of all, congratulations to the husband and wife team on their success since my first visit during covid - they now have a brick and mortar location (for pick up and delivery only), and have a three-day-a-week pop up at nearby Off Color, which is a wonderful collaboration as those beers pair very nicely with this pizza.
They remain one of the few places that do Detroit style (Pistores does as well), and having sampled several in Detroit, I can say they do it well. The dough is light and airy, and the crust is great - I may prefer a more caramelized crust than what they do, but it is tasty nonetheless.
What's changed for me in the past three years is simply the execution on the sauce, cheese, and toppings. They par-bake the dough (as many places do), and then do toppings afterwards for service. The sauces don't have great depth of flavor - they're fine, but they're "mid" as the kids might say. I don't really get much of the vodka sauce flavor in the Tie Dye (though the pesto is good), and the red sauce is just ok on the Upside Down. The roasted garlic white sauce for the White Pie lacked really any roasted garlic taste, kind of a shame, even if it was an enjoyable slice overall.
The ingredients don't seem to be top tier ingredients either, and that makes a difference. Look at George's or Milly's (and I still think Milly's uses too much sauce), you can really taste the quality and the freshness. Or even the tang of Bartoli's sauce, you're just not getting that with these slices.
And, I have to say, especially the Tie Dye, the slices were really greasy. Like, needing a napkin to soak the oil off greasy. Sure, it's pizza, but I do not remember this the last time I had it.
Maybe the pop up isn't 100% representative of what you might get if you do takeout from the shop, but it has to be close, especially if this is essentially their home away from home. They both seem like lovely people, and they're going to continue to do well especially because of the pop up, but the bloom is a little off the rose here as I used to consider this a great gourmet pizza option.
Now, if I recalibrate to view it as brewery pizza that goes really well with a beer or two? Well, then yea, it's more of a Pequod's than a George's, and that's ok. But, at close to $6 a slice, maybe I do want something closer to the latter than the former.
But, hey, what do I know, I don't have a YouTube channel with millions of followers ;)