Chicago: Great Lake

Queen G once saved me a few leftover slices of pizza from Great Lake.  Freakin' amazing.  If they were that good the next day, I had to see for myself how they tasted fresh.  

With slightly more than a week to spare before I had to leave Chicago, I made it to Great Lake with Queen G, her visiting cousin, and Carmen:

The interior was unimaginably tiny.  At most a 13-seater, I think.  But the open kitchen makes up for it:

Given how small the place is, it's no wonder that many people order their pizzas to go.

The four of us split two pizzas.  First was the bacon, onion, creme fraiche, and black pepper:

Second was the tomato sauce, lamb cheese, and fresh herbs with homemade chorizo:

Guh.  Just guh.

I can't decide which one I liked more.  The bacon pizza was so fragrant, the onions so sweet.  The tomato sauce on the chorizo one was fresh and bright and the chorizo was like none I'd ever had before.  SO GOOD.

And the crust.  Don't even get me started on the crust.

Great Lake has some unusual hours (Wed through Sat, 5:30-9:30pm) and the pizzas are in-your-face expensive (around $26 per pizza).  Plus there really isn't any service to speak of.  But they can do that.  Because the pizzas are just that good.  Really.  I have no regrets and I'm the cheapest person I know.


Great Lake
1477 W Balmoral Ave
Chicago, IL 60640
(773) 334-9270