Burt’s Place

Great Pizza! will miss this place.

Thank you Burt. A true Chicago legend. Your pizza will never be forgotten from your patrons.

Thought I should finally write a review of this spot after hearing of the proprietor’s passing this weekend. Note: Burt’s shuttered it’s doors July 2015, so Unilocalers cannot experience the pizza anymore. However hopefully by detailing out the experience in this review, you can vicariously enjoy Burt’s through my writing.
Burt’s is an unassuming pizza restaurant settled in an old house tucked away on a side street in Morton Grove. Customers who follow the rules are treated to a delicious «Starback» style pizza. (Think a sicilian or detoit style pizza. More dough on bottom and a burnt crust. Almost identical to the pizza place we will not name on ferndale or clybourn).
Ordering: Since Burt only makes a finite amount of Pizza each day it is imperative to call ahead and reserve a pizza. Pro Tip: Call a week or two ahead to reserve a pizza, much like making a reservation, but it is for the pizza and not a table. If you do not call ahead you will not be served. Once you get through on the line Sharon (Burt’s wife) will take your order. She will confirm a time and date of your pizza and also inquire about salad or appetizers. burt’s offers pick up or dine-​in. All toppings are superb and in fact Burt obtains the vegetables fresh farm the farmers market or grocer each morning. Basically you can’t go wrong, but I’d recommend a sausage and pepper pizza for a first-​timer.
On-​Site: Upon arrival at Burt’s you will need to park on the street. You will be greeted and seated by Sharon once inside. The décor is like you are sitting in someone’s living room. There are crazy nick knacks and newspaper/​magazine clippings praising Burt’s. The pizza is usually ready within minutes of your arrival, but with enough time built in to have a beverage. Burt’s offers beer and wine only. They exclusively serve Great Lakes Beer. There are roughly 4 – 5 flavors, but I would recommend the Edmund Fitzgerald. This Porter eponymous to the passenger freighter that met an ill fate in 1975 pairs great with all of Burt’s pizzas. Within minutes of drinks, Burt will emerge from the Kitchen with the fresh pizza (s). See the previous paragraphs for description of the pizza. And when the cheque comes, do not make the mistake of pulling out the credit card. Burt’s is a cash only business.

I’ve had some good pizza’s here over the years. Too bad it’s closed now. I hope I will make a comeback down the road. If not, I’d love to buy one (or 2 or 3) of their pizza pans.

The purpose of this review isn’t so much to talk about how amazing the pizza was at Burt’s place as I am aware that they have closed. This is my way to say thank you for serving so many pizza’s to the people that had the opportunity to sample Bert’s creations as well as a reminder to us all.
Bert’s place has been on my bucket list for years. I have seen all the media coverage and read the articles about Bert’s place. Clearly he had established himself as somewhat of an icon especially in the world of Chicago pizza. Chicago hot dogs have Maurie and Flaurie, Chicago pizza had Bert.
I moved to Minnesota several years ago so my opportunities to visit Bert’s place became limited especially with so many wonderful places to eat in Chicago. So a couple of years ago my Aunt was getting married in Mount Prospect. Before thinking about anything else, the bells and whistles were going off in my head about going to Bert’s place. She could have served the best steaks and seafood at her wedding, I was still going to Bert”s. As it turns out I called ahead to ensure I could pick up my order. I ended up leaving the wedding a bit early as I had my priorities. :) It was a short drive from the wedding to Bert’s. It’s located in a neighborhood and almost looks like the office to an apartment building. We picked our pizza to go and headed back to my brothers place. As much as I wanted to open it up and take a bite, I bit my lip and restrained myself. I admit to speeding a bit to get home as soon as possible. The pizza really was amazing. I love my deep dish pizza and this crust was crispy and caramelized. The toppings were fresh. Could be the best pizza I have ever had. I wanted to save some so the rest of the family could try it. Then I thought maybe I would take some back home with me to MN. Instead I kept finding reasons to keep eating.
I was back in Chicago a couple of weeks ago when my brother told me the news about Bert’s. I’m thankful that I had the opportunity to have a pizza here. Sorry to read about the recent poor experience from Daniel W. Hard to believe that type of service would happen to a customer but Bert did it his way. He was open for a number of years which for many will seem like it was not long enough. Take this reminder to get out to those restaurants that you have been wanting to try as you never know when something might happen and you’ll miss that opportunity.

Pathetic Customer Service.
The place gets bad ratings for their customer service… and honestly I’ve never had a bad experience until tonight… I sent Burt a letter via mail and awaited for a response but didn’t get anything so I’m posting the letter to Unilocal!
Let the truth be heard… here’s my letter I sent to Mr. Katz.
Dear Mr. Katz,
Each and everytime we’ve sat in the «Bourdain» booth. And each and everytime we’ve been treated with the utmost of respect until this past weekend. I’m not sure if you recall but we had a reservation for this past Sunday night and when we walked in for our reservation we were greeted with distaste. We were told that pizzas will not be made for our party. My sister and I were baffled because we’ve been to your restaurant before and know how you’re a personable guy so you may just be joking with us. But then we were told since we called and were just laughing on the phone and being rude that no time will be wasted making pizzas for us. We had NO idea what the staff was talking about because the last time we spoke to you was Tuesday morning when we scheduled the reservation and that certainly was not us on the phone that called you night of the reservation.
I understand where you’re coming from in regards to not wanting to waste your time on two XL pizzas that potentially could go to waste. As I learned from my first encounter with you, it’s crucial to manage your expenses when you’re running a business. The first time I ate at your restaurant my sister and I were the only ones in your restaurant so you were kind enough to come and chat with us for a bit. Not sure if you recall but we were talking about your schedule and how you run a successful restaurant because my Mother owns a restaurant in Naperville and I was looking for some tips to pass along to her. I learned from you that a successful business is run by planning accordingly and putting in the time. That first encounter was truly great and part of why we kept coming back for more.
But in all honesty that was not us that prank called you. We know the policy of calling in days before to make a reservation. Not only that but we’re grown adults and wouldn’t do such a childish thing. I mean why would we do that then walk into the restaurant at our designated reservation time? My sister is moving to Cleveland tomorrow for the next 3 years and we made it an effort to ensure she eats at your restaurant before she leaves since it’s our favorite place for pizza. Her boyfriend came to try your pizza for the first time since we’ve always raved about how good it was. My mother drove all the way out from Naperville on her only day off (she’s at the restaurant Monday through Saturday from open at 11am to 9pm, 10pm on Fridays/​Saturdays) to try your pizza for the first time and more importantly have our last family dinner together before my sister moves away. I had a very important test the next day that I was studying all day for and sacrificed my night to drive to Morton Grove to have a nice dinner with my family. Considering those facts, can you imagine how appalled we were when we were being accused of «prank calling» the establishment, refused service, and being spoken to disrespectfully with no apology or offer to resolve the problem? I don’t care if you’re restaurant has been in the Chicago Tribune, magazines, TV shows, etc… My mother would NEVER treat any of her customers the way we were treated. Writing this letter has even gotten me emotional because it was mind-​blowing how poorly the situation was handled and how the finger was being pointed at my party when WE DIDN’T DO ANYTHING WRONG.
Please just put yourself in our shoes, last dinner with your entire family before your son/​daughter is moving away so you go to your favorite establishment on your day off. Walk into the restaurant and are refused service, being accused of «prank calling», and the staff continues to not acknowledge that you are telling the truth and offer some type of apology or remediation of the problem. Sounds like a pretty ridiculous situation right?
I’m not looking for a free pizza or anything, I just wanted to bring to your attention how disappointed my family and I are with the way things were handled. The situation would’ve been fine if an apology was given or just simply admitting that a mistake was made. It could’ve been forgiven easily but unfortunately was not. I saw the letter your granddaughter wrote that’s posted on the wall regarding treating her grandparents with respect and my family certainly did our part but I think we’d expect the respect to be reciprocated to us as well.
I hope this letter is taken seriously and hope some of it resonates with you and your staff. I do love your pizza but it’s going to be very hard to leave my pride at the door and come back to your establishment.
Best of luck in your future endeavors!
Sincerely,
Daniel W.

A short tale to help one understand the experience of dining at Burt’s:
A man is walking down the road one day, when he passes by an insane asylum. As he strolls by the asylum, he hears the people inside the walls of the compound chanting thirteen! Another, and another chanted «thirteen, thirteen». As his curiosity kicked in, he decided to see why they were chanting thirteen. He quickly finds a hole in the wall, and peeks through…
POKE!!! Right in his eye! «Fourteen, fourteen, fourteen!»
Moral of story: No matter how many lunatics you hear raving about how amazing this place is… Don’t be #15, go get your pizza some place else.

Burt’s Place is the best deep dish pizza in Chicago. I saw this place on an episode of No Reservations and was intrigued by Bourdain’s claim that this was it in terms of deep dish. We walked in on a Wednesday afternoon trying to get some pizza for a late lunch/​early dinner but we quickly turned away for not having an appointment. Apparently you have to call ahead, sometimes days ahead and place your full order down to the appetizers and what you’ll be drinking before coming to the restaurant. We walked out pretty annoyed and I remember thinking that the pizza better be gosh darn life altering for me to put up with all this nonsense. So we made our reservation and came the next evening to try this famous pizza. Burt himself seems kind of aloof and almost unwelcoming but his wife is a completely different story. She was gracious, welcoming and a world class conversationalist. She kept us entertained with stories of her and Burt’s travels around the globe and the motivation behind opening the pizza place in the first place. What a pleasure it was to speak to her. Now let’s move on to the actual pizza. We ordered cheese deep dish with spinach on it in XXL. The pizza came out piping hot and Burt’s wife (forgive me I’m forgetting her name now) made sure to serve us each another slice the second there was room on our plates. The crust was unbelievably buttery and very crispy, the pizza comes out almost black around the edges. Think of it as a Lou Malnati’s style deep dish (rather than the Giordano’s stuffed pizza variant) but executed infinitely better. I can’t even put into words how good this crust was. The sauce was deeply tomatoey and had just the right amount of acidity to keep your taste buds dancing for the entire bite. This is a big pizza but it goes fast. The XXL is technically supposed to feed 6 – 8 but out party of 3 demolished that thing in under 20 minutes. Burt’s knows damn well how to make a pizza and you are missing out on one of the hidden treasures of the Chicago culinary scene if you haven’t made your way to Burt’s yet. JUST DO IT

If you’re from the city, I’m not sure I’d recommend venturing out for this one. Yes, the dingy, vintage, hole-​in-​the-​wall thing is cute. Yes, the fact that an adorable old man and his family are the ones making and serving the pizza is really cool. Yes, it’s a long standing Chicago tradition with some cool history. But, the pizza itself just isn’t worth it. Don’t bother with an appetizer either.
We started with a salad that consisted of a thick and gelatinous, mayo-​based garlic dressing poured over iceberg lettuce and carrot shavings… Not ideal. The pizza itself was also a disappointment. It is definitely similar to Pequods due to the history of the chef, as others have stated. It has the same burnt caramel crust, which I love. But, I wasn’t a fan of the sauce or quality of the cheese and toppings. It lacked a lot of flavor and could have used a good punch of garlic and herbs.
If you want to do something silly and fun and drive out to the burbs for this one, go for it. When experienced with a group of friends, it’s fun. But, don’t expect the food to be anything to write home about!

Short Version… If I could give zero stars, I would do it! For starters, Burt’s is FILTHY! Second, the pizza is OK IF you love bread. It’s like a loaf of bread with pizza sauce on it. Third, the staff are a bit senile.
Longer Version… I called 3-​days ahead and Burt answered. He was nice enough, I made the reservation and placed the order. When we arrived, I provided my last name but apparently, Burt had taken my first name. NOT GOOD! We waited over an hour before I asked when we could expect our pizza. Here she never realized or bothered to check with Burt to find out which name we were under. When we asked for drinks (beer and water), they would mix-​up the order.
Seriously, there are other GREAT pizza places in the Chicagoland area so avoid Burt’s and hit the others like Coalfire, Lou Malnati’s, Giordano’s, Vito and Nick’s, Pequod’s, Piece, or Pizzeria da Nella!

I heard good things about this restaurant, so on a corporate business trip, the 5 of us Über’d out from the NMA corp hotels to suburbia to try it out.
We had heard reviews on how it was an excellent pizza and well worth ordering in advance (days not hours!). This establishment helped me figure out I’m just a NY-​style pizza fan: less bread, crispy crust. The inflexibility is one thing, but I couldn’t even get the waitress to bring me a soda pop or my colleague a beer… The place was 90% empty. Really surreal, very Soup-​Naziesque Seinfeld like joint. Place is charming, remaindered IHOP dishes/​silverware, kitsch and «worn in» as if you’re sitting at grandma’s kitchen table. I’d go back, if only to experience being yelled at with my party– that’s not an experience you’ll get at a Grand Lux café. At this place, the customer is wrong unless he/​she ordered ahead– «oh you didn’t order garlic rolls ahead of time, then they’re not gonna happen!»
Like I said, worth experiencing, but don’t expect pleasant dining.

What do you mean I have to make a reservation two to three days in advance? So not knowing this we made our way from downtown Chicago to check out one of Time Out Chicago’s top ten pizza places. We arrive and were quickly turned away. The lady was extremely rude and not at all accommodating. She was quick to turn us away by making themselves sound really important by saying they are reservation only restaurant and they are so busy they can’t take any take out orders for us either. I don’t even understand why, there was about one table filled and that was it. We will not be returning.
Instead we made our ways to Pequod’s, my mom always says where there is people there is good food. So let’s just say Pequod’s was packed, but it was well worth it. My suggestions is don’t even bother with the reservations and poor customer service at Burt’s and go to Pequod’s around the corner.

There were a lot of trains coming and going through Morton Grove, but there was also a lot of police activity going on and roads were blocked, no explanations were given, and everyone just sat and waited to be redirected.
Reservation was for 5:30pm, and I finally called at 5:10, to inform them that we were late due to traffic. They were nice about it, and the pizza came out first when we finally arrived.
My first Chicago style pizza in the vicinity of Chicago proper.
Thick, yeasty dough, soft but not heavy pizza crust with very fresh tasting tomato sauce, light cheese, and crisp edges. We really enjoyed it, and we had leftovers in the hotel fridge (sans microwave) and it was still delicious even cold!
She enjoyed the garlic bread, which had chunks of garlic. This came out piping hot as well.
Service = friendly. Follow their rules and order ahead of time, whether it’s eat in or take out. They also served our pie at the table (instead of self service of each slice.)
Prices = moderate. Well worth it! Bring cash.
Reservation = recommended. Seriously, follow their directions for ordering. Otherwise, you won’t be eating. They had plenty of take out business, so find out those directions, too.
Seating = limited, cozy.
Décor = Eclectic. Transported back to wherein radios mattered to the world, and others pieces of history throughout this small place. Read the articles.
Burt is the man. The server (whose name we never asked for) was very congenial, talkative, and well versed in more than ‘just Chicago’ ongoings, and honestly, impressed us with his vast knowledge of the state capitol (our hometown), and of course, good eats were shared.
We plan to come back!

Call in ahead! This restaurant is for the schedule-​heavy, as they don’t accept walk-​ins and they serve you at your reserved time. It is extremely old-​school, and the décor certainly gives off that feeling. Burt is also very friendly, and he comes out sometimes to check up on the food!
Now, the food. We have all seen the reviews on TV and articles, but here is my honest opinion. The crust is bready, and the pizza itself is very tasty and delicious. I think the bready part was too much for me, but regardless I enjoyed it. To me, it’s not life-​changing, nor should it be: it’s just a pizza. However, it is very different from Pequod’s and Gino’s East, and for that I enjoy the diversity. If you come in with regular expectations, you will be happy. If you’re thinking that this pizza must be the greatest thing of all time, you are bound to be disappointed.
Keep an open mind, and just enjoy the good!

I could swear I wrote a review. This place is awesome and anyone and lies and tells you otherwise is a total liar.
Old School ambience, small, comfortable, really welcoming in all seasons. Call ahead for a pizza/​spot as space is limited. Good times had by all.
Be sure to sport your best facial hair.

I’ll be honest, after reading some of the reviews and seeing the segments on Food Network and Travel Channel, I was super nervous about ordering a pizza at Burt’s. Before calling, I mentally prepped myself and rehearsed my order a few times to make sure I didn’t stumble when it was time for the call.
Haha, just kidding… although I really was anticipating a soup nazi type experience. When I actually called though, it really wasn’t that bad. I placed an order for pick up right when they opened at 4:30 and some lady answered the phone. She sounded very pleasant and said my pizza would be ready shortly. Since I ordered for carry out, I can’t really comment on the experience of having to order a week ahead and showing up promptly for your reservation. To be safe though, I made sure my brother in law was waiting in that damn parking lot before our estimated pick up time. I ain’t about to be blacklisted from Burt’s!
As for the pizza, I thought it was really good, but didn’t quite live up to the hype that I had in my head. Luckily I just had Pequod’s for the first time the week before, so I had a fresh memory to do a comparison between the two pizza legends. I ordered a large sausage and garlic pizza. Let’s start off with the obvious… the delicious caramelized crust. I’ll admit this is one of the best pizza crusts I’ve had in a while. It wasn’t too charred and was very crispy but still had a good amount of chew to it. I’ll have to give the edge to Burt’s on the crust. While there wasn’t a whole lot of toppings, I will say that I thought the quality of the toppings was better here. Huge chunks of sausage and bold, flavorful sprinkles of minced garlic all around. The sausage was super tasty, but I just wish there was more of it! Most of the slices just had one or two pieces on it. There wasn’t too much sauce or cheese either, but in a way it was good so it didn’t really distract from the great flavor of the dough.
Overall, I personally liked Burt’s pizza. I’d say it really depends how you prefer your pizza. If you’re all about the sauce and quantity of toppings, maybe you might think the pizza here is really lacking those elements. I’m a big fan of the crust and the great toppings… I just wish there was more of it.

I think the best thing to do with Burt’s is just stop reading all the pedantry and whining surrounding this pizza place, and just go and try it yourself. It’s an experience that Unilocal reviews can’t really do justice. Just take a look at the menu, jot down the phone number, give them a call, and make a reservation (with your order). You won’t be sorry.
With that being said, I recently discovered the weird internet rivalry, seemingly created entirely inside of user reviews on site like Unilocal,Urban Spoon, etc between Burt’s Place and Pequod’s. People who love Burt’s for being the original creator, people who love Pequod’s because they didn’t understand the ordering process at Burt’s and felt personally snubbed and offended… And I just had to try it. Surely something that has so many people this upset is worth having a position on, right? Maybe?
After going to both places, I’d say they’re both excellent in their own ways even though they have a pretty similar pizza. If all you care about is getting a pan pizza of this style, by all means, skip the fuss of going to Burt’s and just go to Pequod’s. You can show up there any time and get seated and order. If, however, you want to have what might be the most unique pizza experience you’ll ever have, Burt’s is worth the trouble.
As mentioned, you’ve got to call ahead and place your order when you make your reservation. We were able to get in two days after calling at a time that worked for us, which was great. The first misconception internet idiots have with Burt’s is the reasoning behind this. It’s not because Burt is the pizza equivalent of the Soup Nazi or whatever other dumb reason, it’s because his place is TINY and his pizzas are in high demand. There’s maybe 7 or 8 tables in the whole place, and the pizzas he makes take an hour.
With reservations and pre-​ordering, they can get twice as many people through the restaurant in a given night. Otherwise, you’d get there, look at the menu, order, sit for an hour, eat, wait for your check, pay, and leave. In the meantime, you’ve occupied that table for at least two hours. By calling ahead, you show up on time, sit down, order drinks, and your pizza is there. It’s awesome. You eat, leave, and they’re able to get another party seated and eating in your table in the time you otherwise would’ve been sitting there playing Candy Crush on your phone.
When you go to Burt’s, you’re getting a pizza made by Burt, up to his standards, and served in the way he wants to serve it. We go to lots of fancy big-​name chef restaurants, and when you eat at a place like that all you’re doing is maybe getting a menu designed by the chef with his name on the sign. Here, you’re getting the complete experience, as designed by an eccentric genius of pizza.
If playing inside the rules they’ve created to allow Burt to create this experience is too much for you, maybe you should just stick with Papa John’s instead.

Call ahead!
We walked in right at 4:30 which is opening time and were met by a women who asked us if we called ahead. We answered no and she was quite disturbed by it.
The restaurant is small and I understand the need to make reservations. This was our first time here but I thought that arriving at opening time would get us right in.
There was only one other family sitting in the corner and every other table was empty so I figured that a bunch of other people called ahead and the the restaurant would quickly fill up.
The woman didn’t hand us menus and quickly asked us what we wanted to eat. It’s pizza so we ordered. A little while later she asked us if we wanted drinks. So we got some pop. Then she brought us menus and reminded us that we need to call ahead next time. I know this sounds confusing but this is how it went. She returned a few minutes later and asked if we wanted a appetizer sampler. We said that appetizers sounded good and asked how long it would take. She said the sampler would take 20 minutes and the pizza would be out in 25.
We skipped on the sampler and got some good olé fried cheese sticks. They came right out.
We played a great game of eye spy with all the items hidden everywhere.
The only other server was a very friendly older woman who joined in on our game. Be sure to count how many old phones they have including the one that works!
Pizza came out and it was as good as the reviews. The peppers are great and I strongly recommend them. They are not small diced or sliced. They are more like what one would find on a great Italian Beef sandwich.
The only other family in the restaurant finally left and still no one else came in. So I had to tease the woman about calling ahead. The other server joined the conversation and apparently we just got a quiet night. As we walked out several cars loaded with people just pulled up.
Bottom line. It’s an extremely casual eclectic compact neighborhood joint with service to match. Be friendly and patient and you will be rewarded with fantastic caramelized thick pan baked pizza.
Ordering ahead encouraged and cash only. Credit cards nyet!

I am very ambivalent about Burt’s Place. We walked in without reservations and that’s a no-​no in this establishment but they made an exception as long as we could place an order right away or we would be waiting an hour for our pizza.
We placed our order and precisely had pizza out 30 minutes later as specified. We managed to get a salad in but they only had the super size which thankfully served the 2 of us, but nothing to write home about.
The pizza had the caramelized crust that is comparable to Pequod’s but had more dough but less sausage. The sausage did taste fresher than most pizzas and after reading reviews, it’s because he buys it fresh daily so that’s nice.
I guess I would come back if I know I’m in the mood ahead of time but I rarely know ahead of time. I usually make my decisions last minute so who knows and who cares, does Burt care? I doubt it.

This was my last stop on the Chicago Deep Dish Tour that I set out on at the beginning of the year. I started at the bottom and climbed my way up. All in all, I’ve decided deep dish must just not be for me. I always felt first and foremost there was far too much cheese and not enough sauce. This premise may seem a little random but it perfectly frames my experience here.
First, for all those not familiar: Make sure you call and make a reservation, also have your order ready. It may seem odd but I liked being able to roll in, give my name and have everything aside from drinks in order.
We got the app sampler, which was a nice holdover while waiting for the pizza to come out. Then we shared a large pie with sausage, bell peppers, and onion. The pizza, overall, was better in some respects but in other ways not. I did enjoy the fact that there weren’t literal pounds of cheese gooping up each slice. However the general seasoning was a little underwhelming, I think this was in due part to the lack of sauce. What did help was the well seasoned bits of sausage.
Finally, I’d say it’s worth the try, the service was pleasant and I feel like you haven’t given the deep dish a fair shack unless you’ve eaten a slice of Burt’s.