Don’t care about organic? Two new West Town spots offer a pizza without the frills.
Coalfire
1321 W. Grand Ave.
312-226-2625
Fueled by a mix of coal and hardwood, the pizza oven here is an homage to Lombardi’s, the New York City institution credited as America’s first pizza joint. Coalfire serves a nice, thin, foldable crust with plenty of flavor in the sweet sauce — it’s just too bad they don’t use more of it. The interior is down-to-earth; we liked the repurposed tomato-can pizza holders on the tables. At $11.99 a pie (serves about one), however, it’s also easy to run up a bill. But Coalfire’s BYOB, so you can save some cash on drinks.
Avanti Pizzeria
1123 W. Grand. Ave.
312-455-2900
For those who want pizza without pretension, this old-school joint opened Wednesday in the former Buongiorno Cafe (and briefly Boogie Cafe) address. It’s got the familiar Chicago-style party cut (i.e. squares, with those tiny corners pieces I can’t resist), plenty of cheese and the familiar plain, nearly flavorless crust. For now, it’s BYOB.
