Roman Pizza in Wrigleyville

The BF and I are getting ready to move next week, and, while, we're not moving too far, there are a few neighborhood restaurants on our must-try-before-we-move list. Pizza Rustica is one of them. After several recommendations to check out Pizza Rustica, the BF and I stopped by on a Saturday night to see what all the hype was about.

Pizza Rustica defines itself as a Rustic Northern Italian restaurant, but it's their pizza that had us specifically stopping in. The restaurant used to be housed in a tiny storefront, but has since moved across the street into a larger, warmer space. The restaurant has an outside patio, as well as large windows that open onto the sidewalk. We were seated at a cute table next to one of these windows.

In addition to their regular menu, Pizza Rustica also features a "blackboard menu" of homemade appetizers, entrees, and desserts that changes daily. To start our meal we ordered fresh burrata with prosciutto off the blackboard menu. It was pillowy soft and creamy and the prosciutto added a nice amount of salt. None of the prices are listed on the blackboard menu so beware--it's easy to get ripped off in my opinion. Our burrata was signifcantly more than other appetizers on the regular menu but not outrageous.

Burrata and Prosciutto

Pizza Rustica is known for its square Roman-style pizza available in half and whole sheets. We were pretty hungry so we ordered a whole and could have easily finished the entire thing. Self control? What's that?

We tried the formaggio pizza with crumbled sausage and it was pretty frickin' delicious. While I prefer sausage in non-crumble form, this allowed the cheeses to really take center stage. Let's talk about the crust. It somehow manages to be super crispy on the edges but almost spongey in the middle. It's like nothing either of us have ever had and that's part of the appeal. I'm salivating thinking about it. It's a little on the bread-y side so if you're into cracker crust or super duper thin crust, this won't be your thing.

Formaggio Pizza with Sausage

I loved how they brought us each a wooden pizza board instead of plates. The paper really helped soak up the oils from the pizza too.

Formaggio Pizza with Sausage

I'd go back to Pizza Rustica anytime, though I would probably stick to the pizza and avoid the overpriced blackboard menu. It's a great restaurant for friends and family, and even a perfect option for a meal before or after a Cubs game (it's right near the Sheridan el stop).

Pizza Rustica gets 4 ghosts for their cozy dining room, friendly staff, and very unique and yummy Roman-style pizza!






Pizza Rustica
www.pizzarusticachicago.com
3908 N. Sheridan Rd.
Chicago, IL 60613
773.404.8955