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Business & Tech

Homey Feel Adds to Tasty Burt's Place

Morton Grove pizzeria's food complements a unique, magnetic dining experience.

The Chicago-style pizza at Burt’s Place deserves all the praise that has been heaped on it by local and national critics. But if you want to try it, you should be prepared for a truly bizarre dining experience.

Tucked away in an otherwise residential neighborhood, the tiny eatery at 8541 N. Ferris Ave. in Morton Grove would be easy to miss if not for the sign on Lincoln Avenue pointing customers in the right direction. I was especially happy I researched Burt’s Place because of its unique ordering policy.

The restaurant is only equipped with one oven. So not only do you have to reserve a table, you need to order your pizza ahead of time. I asked for a list of topping over the phone and decided to go with a large fresh spinach, mushrooms and garlic pie ($18.25).

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My company and I were asked if we’d called ahead as soon as we walked in and when I gave my name, we were showed to the same booth I had seen Anthony Bourdain eat at when he filmed an episode of No Reservations there. Sharon Katz, who co-owns the restaurant with her husband Burt, was waiting tables while casually chatting with us as well as the families and older couples in the tiny dining room, where the walls are lined with old photos and framed articles about Burt’s Place.

Burt Katz is an experienced pizzeria operator, having Inferno in Evanston, Gulliver's in Rogers Park and Pequods in Morton Grove under his belt in past endeavors.

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We were provided water and offered menus, which were really only relevant for ordering drinks. Burt’s Place serves a small selection of draft beers and a collection of bottled beers from Cleveland’s Great Lakes Brewing Co. ($4.50). Sharon went over the menu with us, casually noting she decided to add Great Lakes Holy Moses White Ale just this week after she tried it at a beer festival. She laughed at the mismatched beer glasses when our drinks arrived, but we found even more amusing that the plates were from IHOP restaurant.

Our pizza was brought out soon after we were seated, placed alongside other customers pies on a table in the center of the restaurant. The pie was excellent--absolutely covered in lightly cooked vegetables. The sauce was a little on the sweet side and thin for sauce-on-top pizza, which is typically rendered down to more of a paste. There was also surprisingly little cheese for a Chicago-style pizza, but none of us minded. The crust is the best part of a Burt’s pie: light and fluffy in the middle and crispy, caramelized and slightly burnt at the edges.

Sharon dished us out a slice at a time, checking in regularly to see if we were ready for seconds and thirds. Throughout the meal, we felt like we were eating at an acquaintance’s home than at a restaurant. When I sneezed, Sharon proudly brought out a tissue box shaped like an Easter Island statue head, where the tissues came out of the nose. Another customer was chatting with Sharon about the recent storm and the conversation spread to our table. At one point she asked if we’d seen Bridesmaids. We weren’t talking about movies, but it was clearly just on her mind and we were there to ask.

After we were done with our meal, she brought out a cup of after-dinner mints and encouraged us to grab a menu on the way out and come again. We left marveling about the experience and understanding why people will drive from all across the Chicago area for a taste of Burt’s Place.

This is part of our series titled "Dinner and A Movie," which runs every Monday. Each week, we review a local restaurant and the latest movie. To read this week's movie review on Cars 2,

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