To bring another region’s pizza style into Chicago is bold. Here, on deep dish’s home turf, diners tolerate Detroit-style and have even accepted New York’s take. But, when Greg Mohr and Scott Weiner of The Fifty/50 Restaurant Group unveiled their plans for Roots Handmade Pizza {various locations}, where scissor-cut, malted-crust, Quad Cities-style pies were the shtick, many pizza fans were, well, unsure.
Fast-forward seven years, and the concept, which first launched on Chicago Avenue in West Town, has spawned a second location in Lincoln Square and has since garnered a devoted fan base and countless accolades. Roots has proven that there is room in this crowded pizza landscape for Quad Cities-style. (Not to mention seriously good salads, an outstanding beer list, and some killer mozzarella sticks.)
Rooted in Tradition
When Mohr and Weiner devised Roots, they already had several successful concepts—including The Fifty/50—under their belts. But, this one would require some research before they were ready to roll it out. Weiner explains that Quad Cities-style pizza is all about the malt-infused crust: a tender, hand-tossed variety with a flavor he describes as sweet, nutty, and complex. “When eating a slice of pizza, a lot of people will just eat the cheese and sauce and leave the crust. That’s not what you do with this,” Weiner says. “You always come back for the crust.”
In order to master the art of Quad Cities crust-creation, the duo traveled to Mohr’s hometown of Rock Island, Illinois, to tie on aprons at a local pizza joint and get their hands dirty. When it came time to open Roots, the owners of that Rock Island pizzeria journeyed to Chicago to ensure that Mohr and Weiner were representing the style correctly.
Now, it’s a well-oiled machine. Roots’ proprietary malt—the same syrupy substance used to make beer—arrives by the pallet-full from a local brewery. Thus begins a tightly controlled, three-day fermentation process. When all is painstakingly said and done, what’s left is Weiner and Mohr’s platonic ideal of a pizza base.
The remaining components receive similar TLC. Roots’ chefs create a lean sausage, grind it, add proprietary seasoning, and bake it before setting it under 50-pound bags of flour to drain excess grease. They then grind it a second time to get a fluffy, aerated pillowy texture that absorbs flavors from the cheese and sauce during baking. Another departure from the norm, toppings are baked under a very generous blanket of cheese—a low-milkfat blend from Wisconsin. This method allows for maximum cheese without that greasy mess.
Not Your Average Neighborhood Pizzeria
While the goal is to offer a familiar menu that hearkens back to the family pizzerias guests grew up dining at—Weiner says it’s the peripherals that they really want to shine. Appetizers include thick, oozy Mozzarella Sticks made from house-made cheese, while wings are lathered in a hot sauce that’s been aged for three months. Salads are far from an afterthought and feature unconventional toppings, hydroponic and custom lettuce blends, and house-made dressings. Pastas, such as the popular Sundays-only Lasagna, are made on-site, too, and everything down to the kids’ menu features freshly crafted noodles.
Roots is intended to be a place that neighbors can visit any night of the week—not just when they’re looking to splurge. “Not everyone is going to eat pizza every day,” Weiner comments. “We make sure that if you come here once a week, you’ll always have something that appeals to you, regardless of your diet.”
Of course, the neighborhood joint must be exceedingly family-friendly, and Mohr and Weiner, both dads themselves, roll out the welcome mat for young diners. Kids are given their own ball of pizza dough to squeeze and squish; are invited to take a front row seat at the kitchen window to watch chefs in action; and eat like royalty with options like house-breaded mini corn dogs or bacon- and broccoli-studded mac and cheese. But Chuck E. Cheese’s this is not: “We want to be a place where families can come, but parents don’t have to feel like parents,” Weiner states. “We have a fair amount of tolerance for kids to be kids, but this still needs to be a place where parents feel like they’re at a cool, sexy restaurant. We import some of Chicago’s hard-to-get brews and our Tuesday night half-priced wine bottles are huge for us.”
Local Love
An integral part of becoming the neighborhood’s go-to restaurant is investing in the neighbors, and Roots has shown abundant support to both West Town and Lincoln Square. “We specifically look to get involved with schools, parks, and anything else that’s within walking distance of the restaurant,” Weiner says, noting that this often includes delivering pizza to teachers, sending volunteers to read to kids, or donating a portion of a night’s sales to a local park.
Industry collaboration is also part of Roots’ DNA, and is a means by which the restaurant supports the Chicago area’s community of brewers and chefs. In addition to its exclusively Midwestern beer list, Roots spotlights the region’s brews in its Chef Series pizzas. Roots chefs join forces with a brewery to create a limited-run pizza that’s either made with a new beer or created to pair with a seasoned one. A recent partnership with 3 Floyds Brewing Co. produced a pie topped with ‘Nduja cream sauce, grilled shrimp, pickled ramps, feta, and cured egg yolk. Similarly, chef partnerships allow culinary heavy-hitters to put their own spins on Quad Cities-style pizza. Participants have included Charlie McKenna, Stephanie Izard, and Brian Fisher. The latter of the bunch dreamt up a combo of Korean-style fried chicken, kimchee, smoked Gouda, and red pepper sauce.
Branching Out
Soon, Roots fans in the South Loop and Old Town won’t have to leave the neighborhood for a pizza fix. Next summer, a bi-level location will debut in the shadows of the Roosevelt CTA stop. The 10,000-square-foot space will accommodate the densely populated area, offering a second floor with seating for 300 and a retractable roof—a first for Roots.
A partnership with Second City will produce the fourth location, slated to offer a ground floor eatery in Piper’s Alley, plus a rooftop where guests can take in some improv comedy as they dine.
While these spaces mark slightly new directions for Roots, partner Todd Brook reiterates that his crew holds tight to the mission of good food and community service. “While so many restaurants focus on innovating, they forget that nailing those basics creates a huge point of differentiation.”
With a foundation firmly planted in community and good food, Roots has blossomed into a Chicago mainstay.
By Carly Boers
The post Quad Cities-Style Pizza in the Land of Deep Dish appeared first on DiningOut Chicago.