Crust

Excellent food and drinks, great ingredients and friendly staff! I’ll definitely be going back! And they deliver! Just found my favorite pizza place in Wicker Park!

This was about the tenth time we’ve been to Crust this evening. We go there all the time, but honest too goodness, we always have a terrible host/​hostess experience. The service and food is always great, but our greeting at the restaurant always seem snarky.
Still worth going too. The flamklucken flatbread is amazing (has a white sauce and is light, smokey deliciousness). The beer selection is decent that salads have never disappointed.
Overall, it’s still a fav, but try to get to the table as soon as possible.

This placed announced they were closing when we were there last night., NYE.
Over shots of Jameson handed out us and the 3 other tables, a nice guy announced from behind the bar, «tonight is our last night. We will be closing, and this is our last service.»
We got another round of free shots and watched bottles of bubbly being sprayed over the bar area. On us and on each other.
They went out with a bang.
It was a fun, yet unexpected way to bring in the new year. Thank goodness we thought to use our rest. com discount.

Good food, cute hipster-​y kinda place, service ok — not particularly friendly, big beer garden. Had good selections for both our vegetarian friend and the rest of us regular folk ;-). Walked in here after happy hour at Boundary down the block on a weeknight, not busy. Music a bit too loud, especially when you get seated right under the speaker and they have «no place else to move us». In a half empty restaurant. Really.
Not running back for another visit, but if our friends wanted to come back we wouldn’t say no.

I dunno… When I first moved around the area I did eat here quite a bit, but after a while it just gets expensive and honestly, I never thought the pizzas were that good.
I like how it’s organic and all, but really besides that it’s really just okay.

The hostess was rude. Asked if we had reservations when all tables were empty, then ignored us.
Waiter was good.
Food was mediocre
Dont see what all the hubbub is about.
Waste of money to go here

It’s late in the season to be telling you about their fabulous beer garden, which is just too bad. You’ll have to keep it in mind for next year. It’s huge and covered and back from the street (though they also have streetside dining out front). The night I was there, no one was eating inside. It was hilarious.
The place is called Crust, and you should take that seriously. If you’re not looking for carbs, look somewhere else. Oh, there’s a smattering of soups and salads, but they’re really all about the pizza — excuse me, *flatbread* — and sandwiches. Even the apps are mostly spreads served with or on some kind of bread. The big disappointment of the evening was the brussel sprouts, which were over-​done. Stick with the breads.
Which were very good. I got the pulled pork, which was served stuffed, so it was like the love child of a pizza and a sandwich. I forget what everyone else had, because I wasn’t sharing. The pizzas are single-​serving, though a couple could easily share a pizza and salad. I mean flatbread.
Crust is organic and locally sourced, which is nice. They also offer soy, seitan, and gluten-​free options. The gluten-​free crust is a $ 5 upcharge, which is a 30% increase in price, which is less nice. Service is somewhat forgetful, which can be annoying.

Who goes to a place called Crust and doesn’t order pizza?
This girl!
For once in my life, I wasn’t craving pizza on a Friday night so I branched out and tried their BLT. Holy moly delicious. The bacon wasn’t cooked to be as crispy as I normally prefer, but whatever bread they make this sandwich on is darn good bread. I know it’s hard to mess up a BLT, but when I found myself excited to eat the second half of the sandwich instead of diving into the other five pizza options which were on our table, I know I made the right decision.
Only downside? A $ 15 corkage fee to bring your own wine. Meh — you win some, you lose some.

Walked in on a Friday night with boat loads of open tables indoors and out. We asked to be seated outside, and we were told there was an hour wait. Maybe they had reservations for outdoor tables, but there was nobody in line and at least 5 open tables.
So we ended up indoors. We did the «pick 3» bruschetta and ordered two pizzas for 3 people. We had their mushroom pizza (I forget what they call it) and their special pizza which consisted of all ingredients from some farm in Wisconsin. It had squash and some fancy hard cheese in the romano family.
The mushroom pizza was good. The «Harvest» pizza was dry to say the least. Picture trying to eat a 12-​inch wide cracker with no moisture whatsoever, then shaving giant pieces of dry cheese on top of that. The only thing with moisture was the squash, which was seriously sparse on the pizza. The result was emptied drinks and people reaching across to get more of the mushroom pizza.
The crust wasn’t that good, either. I really got a chance to taste it in the pizza with no toppings. Pizza crust is supposed to have salt in it. I’m just not a fan: Better ingredients should mean better food. These people aren’t doing organic farmers any favors serving this stuff.

This recent heat wave in Chicago was a pain. Instead of having a few relaxing nights at home to catch up writing and some TV, we ended up sitting in a dark apartment with no air conditioning or internet. The power was out for over 24 hours and two evenings, it was a total bummer.
Anyway, the only good news from the recent weather is that al fresco dining becomes a lot more fun at night. If there’s one thing I always look forward to in summer it’s long warm nights. Last Saturday we took advantage by eating early and outside on Crust’s spacious beer garden/​patio. It was my first visit to Crust and likely my first visit to an all organic restaurant. As the name implies half the menu is pizza, but there are other choices as well like salads, flat bread and antipasti. Our overall view was the food was fine but nothing to get too excited about. For what it’s worth I do enjoy the concept of organic farming and sustainability. We need more of that and I’m happy to support the cause. So that concept alone made my meal a little more enjoyable and might be the biggest selling point to return. The patio is very nice, large, AND they promote bringing your dog along with beer specials for dog owners. It all adds to the environment.
We started with the soup of the day which was avocado cream with cucumber. It’s yogurt based and quite refreshing, reminding me of a green version of gazpacho.
One of our favorites was the simple Sun salad ($ 8) of organic mixed greens, cucumber, grape tomatoes, shaved carrot, seaweed salad, garlic croutons and ginger vinaigrette. It’s fresh, light, and quite tasty even though it wouldn’t be hard to replicate at home.
The «bruschetta» section offers many choices other than the traditional cheese and tomato. You can mix and match or go for one. We went with three different kinds — the avocado/​pesto, hummus/​anchovy and burratta/​tomoato. Since there were three of us eating we each chose one where I continued my green theme of the night and love of pesto. It was the best and most interesting of the three and think there’s a good future for a mixture of pesto and avocado in our apartment.
Finally the pizzas. We ordered two: a pepperoni and the recommended Flamkuchen ($ 13) with béchamel, applewood smoked bacon, caramelized onions, caraway seeds and parmigiano reggiano. The pepperoni was somewhat ordinary. Well cooked but nothing more than what I would make from a frozen pizza at home. Again, I enjoyed the «organic» nature but I’m not convinced it translated into better taste (just better consciousness). The Flamkuchen was more interesting and unique. There’s a little too much bacon for my liking but I know that’s a crazy statement to most. I did enjoy the bechamel and caramelized onions, a tasty and addicting combination of flavors. The crust and dough on both pizzas were first rate so I understand where they got the restaurant name idea.
The undisputed best course of the night was the last. We had a sweet tooth and chose the caramel apple strudel and chocolate fudge brownie. The ice cream is from the local hot spot Black Dog Gelato and is always amazing. Neither desert lasted long and that wasn’t because they melted. I preferred the chocolate brownie and vanilla gelato — a combination always delicious but executed well here.
Crust does everything you’d expect from a neighborhood pizza (and more) spot and sporting a generous outdoor seating area. They probably thrive in the summer and survive in the winter. The food quality is top notch and the «organic» angle gives it a leg up for diners seeking social and health consciousness. Nothing from the meal was outside the range of average and normal, but that’s not always a bad thing. The pizzas are nice and fresh and a good alternative when deep dish is not the answer. I liked our salad a lot and there are plenty of choices for repeat customers. I’m sure we’ll return on another nice evening to sit outside, have a beer and enjoy high quality produce and healthy alternatives (without forgetting dessert of course).

I think it was the sign that drew me in. So simple. Crust. I knew what it was all about. But could they deliver?
Crust was actually our like third, fourth, or fifth choice for the evening. We started out near the lake, then gradually made out way west to Ukrainian Village, and eventually to Crust. Parking was a biznatch, but somehow I landed some baller spot across the street [after 9PM its free like Willy].
I dropped my friends off to put our names down for a table… little did we know that it wasn’t very busy. The hostess couldn’t count, apparently. My friends said we were a group of 3, and she repeated it then left. There were like seven other tables, but she took a minute to look for a one for us. She sat them at a table for two. Umm…*carry the one, divided by 12, square root, multiple by pi* that doesn’t work. I’m a math teacher. I double checked my work. Oh well. It was a good laugh.
Well, we were seated and looked at the menu. Pre-​set pizzas, but apparently you can request to leave off ingredients on their masterpieces. We wound up ordering the flamkuchen, chicoria, and stuffed bbq brisket. Imagine California Pizza Kitchen-​sized pizzas for a couple dollars more than CPK. Keep in mind, you’re getting organic shiznit.
Here’s the skinny on the pies:
Flamkuchen: Definitely the top dog of the three. Applewood smoked bacon, caramelized onions, *drooL* must have when you go.
Chicoria: Imagine eating the Earth. yeah… it tastes like that. So if you’re into the Earth and stuff, this one’s for you.
Stuffed BBQ Brisket: Giant calzone-​type pie, with a sweet bbq sauce and tender brisket.
There are TWO outdoor seating areas: one in the front and one in the back #twss. So you can get lucky if eating outdoors is your thing.
I was very happy, and am actually a little surprised by the lack of love on Unilocal.I honestly can’t wait to head back to Crust and order other pies. I hear the OG [original gangster] is where it’s at. So that’s next on the list.
Oh, if you’re down with some trivia, they do it on Thursday nights at 8 PM. Thursdays are also $ 10 312 pitchers. Cha-​ching!

Just went here for lunch again last Saturday… it still was a wonderful spot to relax, drink deliciously strong drinks, and eat tasty food!
My fiancé and I both had the calzones (sausage for him and veggie for me) — they were both amazing and gigantic! We also brought our dog on the patio, and actually got $ 5 greyhound drinks for bringing our dog (who just so happens to be an Italian Greyhound). The server and busboy were attentive and friendly, and my dog loved the busboy! He even brought a huge water bowl out for Jackson. It is pretty cool to see a spot that actually encourages you to bring your dog!

I’m teetering between three and four stars but since it’s hot outside and I’m shvitzing and crabby, I’m rounding down.
I’d been carrying around one of those damn $ 10 A La Card thingies for Crust around in my wallet for the longest time and finally got to use it last night. Sometimes saving a little money is just the nudge I need to get me to try someplace new and not in an area I frequent often.
My gf and I dined on the front patio because I wanted to sit outside. I only wish I’d known about the outside seating area in the back instead because sitting smack dab on Division Street wasn’t the most relaxing way to enjoy a leisurely dinner.
We each started with cocktails, an Islander for me, and a Cucumber Collins for her. As seems to be the case lately, I liked my friend’s drink better (cucumber-​infused vodka, Hendrick’s, muddled cucumbers, simple syrup, mint and soda), so I drank most of hers. Mine was a mix of Crusoe rum, grapefruit-​infused Prairie organic vodka, pomegranate and grapefruit juice. Apparently Crust infuses their own vodka, so good for them.
Our waiter was a pleasant fellow and checked in on us several times after we got our drinks to see if we were ready to order. My friend and I hadn’t seen each other in a while, so we were too busy gabbing to look at the menu. After the fourth time he asked, we felt bad and finally ordered.
Friend started with a fennel and green apple salad and I with the grilled portabello mushrooms. Her salad was light and fresh, and the apple contrasted nicely with the fennel. My mushrooms were meaty and smoky, and quite a generous portion, especially for the low price.
All of their pizzas sounded quite tasty so we had a hard time narrowing down our choices, but eventually we settled on a ‘Verde’ and a ‘Basilico’ which was more than enough to share.
The pizzas came out pretty quickly and looked fantastic. The Verde pizza had a light bechamel sauce base, hearts of palm, ricotta, pecorino, fresh spinach and arugula, and was topped with shaved parmesan. I’d never had hearts of palm on a pizza before but I really liked it and thought it complemented the other ingredients well.
The Basilico was fine, if a little boring. Standard-​issue tomatoes, mozzarella and basil. It tasted fresh, but I’d probably go for something more exotic next time.
I heard they had rice pudding and since I love a good rice pudding, I had to try it. Sadly, it wasn’t the best. It was really dense, not creamy at all (sad face) and tasted faintly of coconut (blech!).
I recently discovered that the chef/​owner, Michael Altenberg, also owns Bistro Campagne (which is one of my favorite restaurants), and used to own Campagnola in Evanston. It’s also worth noting that he was doing the whole local/​organic thing long before everyone else jumped on the bandwagon.
I’ll be sure and give Crust another try.

The service here wasn’t that great this weekend but the food was sure good. It was Do Division fest and my friend and I wanted to sit down somewhere to enjoy a meal and do some people watching. Our waiter didn’t get to us as quickly as we would have liked even though almost the entire indoor dining area was empty.
But besides that, the food was pretty good! I ordered the asparagus salad–
chilled asparagus, white anchovy filets, crumbled maytag blue cheese & herbed vinaigrette. It was a very cool and refreshing salad after walking around in the hot sun. I also ordered the Brussels sprouts (I order them everywhere I go. I LOVE Brussels sprouts!!!) These were HUGE and very tasty. There were so many vegetables, I had to take some of the asparagus home and eat it for dinner. But that was OK.
They have a decent beer selection and prices are pretty average for the area. Just wish the service had been a bit better. But my friend really enjoyed her meal too… the chicken sandwich.

Oh pizza, what an enigma. Easily overthought, and yet so simple it’s often underappreciated.
Upon entering Crust, it almost feels gimmicky, like you’ve walked into a comic book. Light gray formica tables and bright orangey red acrylic chairs. But no worries, we were seated on the rear patio, which was lovely (excepting the toddler nearby who was quite rambunctious indeed).
After ordering it seemed as if we waited quite a long time for our appetizer to come out (deconstructed tapenade). The aforementioned «tapendade» was so delicious; so worth the wait. Whole cloves of roasted garlic? Yes, puh LEASE.
When the pizza came out, I was a bit surprised by how small they were, but that was fine because were weren’t super hungry, but I was glad we had ordered the starter.
We had the Flamkuchen and the Gangsta. Both were very delicious. The flamkuchen was my favorite of the two. The bechamel was so creamy and the bacon was delectable. I didn’t detect any caraway flavor, but it didn’t matter, so yummy. The gangsta was also really good, yummy artisanal charcuterie meats and spicy tomato sauce.
My only complaint is that our waiter wasn’t very attentive, and that the pizza crust was a bit too chewy. I expect wood oven baked pizza to be way crispier than that. Still mega tasty, though.

*Insert lament that Unilocal doesn’t allow half stars here*
Crust’s current 3.5 star average is exactly right. Four of us met here for dinner on a freezing, rainy Saturday night. There was a little confusion about our reservation, but the hostess handled it with great humor and we were quickly seated. The inside of Crust is really cute — it’s brightly lit, is decorated in light, bright colors and just seems overall very cheery.
Soup sounded like the perfect starter to battle the weather, so I opted for the day’s special: minestrone. It was listed as being $ 6 on the menu, but only showed as $ 2 on the check and the end, which is good because the soup I was served was teeny tiny. Like, think those little, useless coffee cups that always come in plate sets tiny. It was also way too salty. As anyone who has dined with me can attest, I love salt. I salt everything. If I think something’s too salty, it’d be virtually inedible for 75% of the population.
The carbonara pizza I had was much better (though this one, ironically, I felt needed salt and there’s no salt on the tables). My three friends all really seemed to enjoy their pizzas, too. Overall I’d say the pizza was fine. It wasn’t bad by any stretch, but it didn’t wow me, either. I’d still rather have Apart. As other people have mentioned, the pizzas aren’t cheap. I think mine was $ 14 and they’re definitely personal pizza sized. I don’t feel the prices are out of line given the fact that the ingredients are locally sourced and organic, though.
At the end of the night there was a little confusion trying to find the valet (btw, valet parking for $ 10 is totally worth it, especially in awful weather when you don’t want to trudge blocks to the restaurant) but that too got worked out. Overall, Crust is truly A-​Ok, but I’m not in any hurry to visit again.

I’d give it a good 3 stars for the food/​price ratio but the service bumps it up another star. My friend Neil turned 28 and another friend and I wanted to take him out and Crust had been sitting in my bookmark list for a while and it seemed like the time. My friend Kevin and I got there much quicker than Neil did and we went up to the bar which had a ton of great beers and a Treetini-​apparently a for every one sold a tree is planted. I really wanted to try it and had so many questions-what’s in a Treetini? Do I get to pick the type of tree? Follow up question: If I get an appletini can it be apple tree?
It was kind of a let down-it’s really an acai/​pomegranate martini and the distillers plant a tree. Eh, okay I’ll try it and on the sweet side. We also got the mango salsa, which was really good a lot of times it’s pretty weak-​the mango just seems like it’s barely there and the onions/​peppers takes over or it’s all mango. The balance was right with the salsa here. Our bartender/​waitress held our table for us for about 20 minutes because Neil was running late-​she even told the hostess not to seat anyone because we were waiting.
We sat down and looked over the pizzas the three of us ordered the Italian sausage pizza, arabiatta pizza, pizza flamkuchen. The Italian sausage was good-​the pesto and sausage were really not super savory but tasty-​good choice me. My friend Neil got the arabiatta with the sausage which slightly spicy but not too much and the sausage was different from the Italian one. Kevin got the flamkuchen which seemed a lot like a white pizza because of the bechamel sauce and of course there was the bacon… mmm the bacon.
We were there on trivia night and we ended up winning (go team Scotty Dubs!) We let our waitress know it was our friend’s birthday and asked her what the prize was for winning-​turned out she determined what it was and she came back with a brownie sundae-​and I thought that was a pretty lame trivia prize but it turned out that was just free anyway-​and she asked what would Neil prefer: beer or wine? We of course said beer and ended up with a bottle of Goose Island’s Demolition Ale. Awesome! The bill came and the brownie sundae was given to us gratis-​and with her entertaining my stupid Treetini question and fighting for our table and the pretty good food and the trivia contest I’m a big fan.

Is Crust open for lunch or not???
I have visited Crust quite a few times for dinner. I really enjoy my pizza in general, and the pizza from Crust is quite enjoyable. The last time I was there, I tried the spicy sausage pizza — wow — very spicy, but also very delicious.
I like the casual atmosphere in the restaurant. They staff is very laid back and friendly and won’t rush you (even when they are busy). The spot is good for groups as well, so it’s a fun spot out for a birthday or dinner with friends.
I have always had delicious food. Their wine list is reasonably priced and has a few unique options.
I will definitely be back. The only question for me is — Crust! Are you open for lunch?
I have tried to visit a few times for lunch. According to Open Table, you can make a lunch reservation. According to their website, they are not open for lunch (depending on when you look at their website). I’ve seen the restaurant both open and closed during the day, so I have no idea if they are a viable lunch option or not. Crust would be a great alternative to my typical lunch options… so, I guess I need to figure this out.

Everyone who knows me knows that I am a cheap. I hate paying for things that are not worth it. As many people have stated, Crust is a little on the pricey side for pizza. However I think it’s completely worth it. Everything is organic and fresh. The pizzas and even the salad tasted so fresh.
We started with a chicken Caesar salad. I almost never like the chicken or cheese on salads, but both the chicken and the Parmesan cheese were really outstanding.
We have the basilico, Mexicala Blues, and Sausage pizzas. All three were outstanding. I didn’t except to like the Mexicala Blues pizza (I usually prefer standard pizza toppings), but this was my favorite of the bunch. (And now one of my favorite pizzas in general).
We sat in the back patio, and I thought the whole space was so cute! This would be a great place for a date, or for a big party!
Our server was so nice and patient. He also made good suggestions!
For 4 people we had 3 pizzas, a entrée salad, and a carafe of iced tea (which was enough for each of us to have a glass). The total was $ 66 (plus tax and tip). Without alcohol, this really wasn’t a bad deal!

I finally made it over to Crust for the first time, all thanks to a lovely
certificate. We walked in, were seated promptly on a Saturday night, and had great service.
My friend & I were both ready to chow down, so we ordered the chips & mango salsa to start… I have a huge soft-​spot in my heart for mango salsa, so fresh & delicious… and Crust’s did not disappoint! For pizza, we ordered the Mexicali Blues & the Basilico. Both were very delicious… the Mexicali had just the right amount of shrimp & plenty of cilantro, and I LOVED the thin, crispy crust.
I don’t think the prices are outrageous for what you get, so I’d go back sans-​coupon, but with the
certificates, it definitely more than makes it worth your while!

Yup, I couldn’t have rated this place closer than we did as a group of Unilocalers… way to go team!!! 3.5 stars is right on par for Crust!
A girlfriend and I came here on a Thursday night and we sat out front on the patio. This was a great place to enjoy the weather and people watch… and what better place than on Division to see it all!
They have a nice private back patio and my friend said that they have music there, which I assume is only on weekends.
Anyhoo, we were in the front and the place had a nice steady volume of customers. Our waiter was good, although he seemed to be forgetting to bring other tables some items, since I kept hearing him apologize, but hey… we got good service.
We started off with mojitos which were yummy and a nice size. We moved on to salads, and had the winter beet salad (seems to be a new favorite of mine this summer… hopefully, those beets were harvested in summer, despite the winter name) and the caprice (which was 6 slices of tomatoes, 6 slices of mozzarella cheese, some basil and balsamic vinaigrette dressing. I thought it was a little overpriced for the portion size… come to think of it, I thought that all the prices were a tad bit higher than they should have been. Despite that… both of the salads were good.
We then opted to share a pizza and wanted to get something we don’t usually find at a pizza joint… so we went for the eggplant pizze, which had grilled eggplant, wild arugula, roasted garlic, red onion, capers, olives, pesto & fresh mozzarella. I guess I should have assumed based on what was on it, that it would be on the salty side, but it was way too salty. I think if we had held the capers off the pizza, it would have been fine (I ended up picking them off).
After that salty ending, we had to compensate our taste buds with something sweet and went for the carmel bread pudding. It was small, sweet and really hit the spot… you gotta love a happy ending. :)

Another meal brought to you (er, to me) by the A La Card. I had heard good things, but I probably wouldn’t trot all the way down to Wicker Park for yet another pizza joint without some additional incentive.
I’m glad that I did, because overall I really liked the restaurant. Extra points for being open on Memorial Day, when our first several choices of restaurants were not. Our server Justin was good, although he disappeared a bit in the latter third of our meal. Plus, they had a surprising beer selection (all bottles, alas).
The pizza was… good but not great. For $ 15 they are probably pushing it a bit. I had the arabiatta with shrimp. The shrimp was surprisingly generous, but I wouldn’t have minded a little more sauce and cheese. I get the Neapolitan style, but when there is more shrimp on your pizza than sauce and cheese combined, something is amiss. Just the right amount of basil though, and the sauce was really good with just a bit of heat. I tried my friend’s mushroom pizza, and it was good, except that I don’t like goat cheese, and the proportion seemed overwhelming to me.
The highlight of my meal was the caprese salad. So simple, but when done well, an absolutely divine combination of flavors. Crust’s was one of the two or three best that I have ever had. I was moaning with almost every bite.
PS. Crust serves calzones, so I must return to try theirs and see how it fares on my calzone search.