ORD Pizzeria on Montrose in Ravenswood

So I'm wondering along Montrose Ave. in Ravenswood one snowy April night and I happen upon ORD Pizzeria. At first glance I like the decor and I think, "Someone has put a lot of thought and care into the appearance, let me go inside and check it out." I look at the menu. I quickly decide as much, if not more care has gone into selecting the ingredients and the names of their specialty pies. Among the most popular are the Venus, Rose and the Louie. I also notice that the salads listed on the menu appeal to me greatly. So I plunk myself down and order an Oscar salad (half - $5): arugula, red onion, roasted red pepper, shaved Parmesan with a lemon-honey vinaigrette and a Colt pizza (12" - $15.99): herb roasted chicken, smoked bacon, sliced tomatoes, mushrooms, roasted garlic, mozzarella and crushed tomatoes. Daniel, the proprietor, gives me an overview of his root beer choices and I realize, this guy has attention to detail (something I treasure and value greatly!) and he has very good taste. I go with his "old school" suggestion even though I also thoroughly appreciate the range offered. Frostie Root Beer. Yes! Not too sugary sweet. Mellow. Just like he said it would be. I have to add that my phone battery had died and I really wanted to 'check-in' so my Twitter followers knew where I was ('cause, you know!) and I wanted to take some photos, Daniel kindly offered to allow me to charge my phone. 

ORD Pizzeria 1607 W. Montrose Ave.

I sat and as I waited for my pie I watched Daniel in action. I saw him interact with his crew, he actually made a coffee run at one point during my visit and he called the team to ask what they wanted. I heard him answer calls on the phone and walk customers through their options. I watched him interact with sit-down guests as well as pick-up order guests who he positively ensured were completely satisfied. Suffice it to say: Daniel is incredibly gracious and he cares immensely, he wants his customers to be happy. He is immediately likable. He knows what he is doing and he shows a genuine interest in his customers and the community. 

Colt: Chicken, Bacon...

Okay, so my salad comes. Now, I love arugula, as any of my co-workers know because they see my own personal - I'll say it - amaze-balls - arugula salad creations on an almost daily basis. This Oscar salad that I ordered at ORD Pizzeria comes out and it is so perfect that I need someone to hit me. It is perfectly dressed in a wonderful vinaigrette, the red onion is just the right amount and perfectly sliced - how you slice red onion is of massive importance because it dictates the overall impact of the onion on the dish at hand - there is an ample amount of good parmesan cheese. Daniel offers me freshly ground pepper. Yes, please! It is also a very generous portion and it is only the half size order! So to start, I am pretty thrilled. 

Kevin and Stephanie.

When my pizza comes I let it sit. I can see it came right out of the oven and needs some time to cool down a bit. The ingredients are carefully arranged, not all sliding to the center, the cheese looks delicious, not too much sauce… I can not wait to sink my teeth in! 

I give it about 10 minutes. I've learned and I'm not about to burn the roof of my mouth being overly eager. Then I dig in. I use a fork for the first bite because the piece is sizable enough that the inner most corner has a lot to hold up and I don't want anything sliding off. The flavor delivers me. The bacon! The cheese! The chicken! The garlic! This pizza reminds me of something kind of forgotten in pizza land... that a crust is something that is to be enjoyed! I don't like thick crusts, I like thin crusts but I don't like cracker thin crusts, I don't want blistered dough. HOLY COW is this the perfect crust! This is not some skimpy cracker-crust. It is also not some overly doughy crust that fills you up and makes you all bloated way too soon leaving you no room for more pizza, hello! Mighty fine crust. Mighty fine.

The full menu includes even more pizzas and they do a 'guest' pizza!

I tell you, a friend once told me that bread is the perfect palate cleanser when you're tasting wines. Now this place is BYOB and you are going to want to bring some wine. This is pizza to be savored. 

I only ate half of my pizza. So I took the rest home. Day later, when I opened that bad boy up to have me some left overs… let me tell you what!! It was JUST AS GOOD if not better than those first bites. And the crust held up perfectly!

Opened at the end of 2013 this establishment is set to offer unparalleled pizza to the surrounding area. They have a crazy huge-ass cool oven - which you have to see - with six tiers of capacity so order up! If there's one thing that I know better than any other it is customer service and hospitality and Daniel has that down. And his crew is pretty fun loving and dedicated too. Go get you some ORD Pizza, and ENJOY!

ORD Pizzeria