Oven Grinder – Chicago

ABC 7 Chicago wrote a piece on the Oven Grinder Restaurant in Chicago. That’s THEIR photo above. Some of my friends shared it and others reacted saying how great it was. Pizza+Pot Pie? No. I immediately had to respond with a recap of my experience. So, while not an official review in my new format, here’s what I had to say:

“Ok, I know I’m going to get heat for this, but I’m trying to restrain myself and be calm and collected. My wife took me and the kids to this restaurant. All she kept saying was how awesome it was. Well, we waited to get in, waited to sit and waited to order. Then, an eternity later, it came. You know, the “pizza” pot pie. Dear Lord, where do I start? The server flips the bowl over and the “pizza” pot pie pops out. It’s doughy, has sauce and some other stuff. The kids looked at me, puzzled as to how to eat this thing. Clearly, they were born in NJ and their senses picked up something wasn’t right. I mean, we came for something that had the word “pizza” in it. So, we watched Mommy dissect hers. It has soft dough, not nearly cooked enough, and the sweet sauce and whatever-the-hell-else was inside came out, like a cyst that had just burst. I looked at my Indiana-born wife who was eating this thing and loving every bite. So, with my eyes, I signaled to the kids that we should follow Mommy’s lead and hold off on the comments. We ate it. It was barely mediocre. To even use a word that rhymes with “pizza” is a crime. Had it been called the “extra-large, piping hot, Asian-type dumpling, stuffed with sweet red sauce and other stuff from the kitchen” it would’ve been more appropriate. It was barely a pot pie for heaven’s sake. I’ve determined I have to TRY and not complain about the “pizza” in the midwest. After all, it’s not their fault they don’t know squat about pizza or how to cut one. It puzzles me though as there are plenty of Italians in Chicago. Where they came up with that other abomination of “deep-dish pizza” -again the misused “pizza” term, I don’t know. So, if you want to try this place, go ahead. Tell them I sent you and use the coupon code “WTFisPizza.” Ok haters, go ahead.”

Here’s their article: https://abc7chicago.com/food/chicago-flips-for-pizza-pot-pie-at-chicago-pizza-and-oven-grinder-restaurant-/5176994/?fbclid=IwAR049st–KxBDgfc56-BuCZ1oMlJ0JG9Q0gbsPttwOWjBzXlpd_hJze47wY