Shelter From The Scroll V9: Ranking 5 Chicago Pizza Places I've Eaten In The Last 3 Weeks
Don’t Think Twice, It’s Curated by Pwelbs
Kickin’ It Off: I apologize! It’s been a few weeks. But in anticipation of the Outside Festival I have coming up in a couple weeks, this is one of those projects that deserves extra attention and as a result I’ve lost some creative writing time. All good! Today, we announced that legendary magician David Blaine and endurance athlete Diana Nyad will have a conversation about The Art of Endurance. If you don’t know, “at the age of 64, Nyard completed a record-setting swim from Cuba to Florida, covering close to 111 miles in just under 53 hours.” This is what makes The Outside Festival so special and different.
This weekend, we’re planning to check out one of my favorite events every year – EXPO Chicago. One of the largest contemporary art fairs in the world. I had the opportunity to work there for several years so it’s always fun to return as a guest knowing all the hard work that goes into it behind the scenes. It always had super wild sponsorships like private jet companies, fancy cars, expensive champagne and very astute art magazines and journals. It’s the only time I’ve ever been in a Rolls Royce, well except for that one time with Twista.
Re-watching The Last of Us and Succession with Maddie, who has not seen either has been VERY FUN! Also watching Ransom Canyon on Netflix. Lol.
Also I don’t know how much time is left but if you’re in Chicago – definitely go check out the Cherry Blossom trees on the Southside of the Museum of Science and Industry campus!
RIP Sheldon Abramowitz, may his memory be a blessing.
THE WEEKLY RUNDOWN:
Underrated: Friday 1:20PM Games @ Wrigley, Barista writing “Happy Friday!” on your cup, this electrolyte drink from Go Brewing, Champagne Velvet, the moment you friends telling you they’re having another baby, playlist only group chats, Pete Crow-Armstrong, Half Sour in the South Loop, MLB App Radio Broadcasts, YouTube TV Multi View
Overrated: AI Notetakers in Zoom, other people’s AI Reminders in your Inbox, Lorde’s new single kinda stinks?, “Circling Back”
RANDOM THOUGHTS & THINGS:
Drunk On Sports:
Minnesota Timberwolves: Luka absolutely crushed my dreams last season and now somehow he’s back in my life doing it again with the Lakers. So far the Timberwolves are hanging in there heading back to Minneapolis with the series tied 1-1. I’m hesitantly watching this team and trying to not get too emotionally involved. LOL. Julius Randle is playing maybe his best basketball ever, Naz Reid is having moments, Jaden McDaniels is carrying weight when he can. Anthony Edwards continues to shock the world with explosive dunks and a filthy mouth and 18 technical fouls has him at over $500K in fines this year. I love it?! Hoping the TWolves can take a commanding 3-1 series lead over the next couple of nights as the Lakers battle on the road at The Target Center.
Minnesota Wild: The frisky Minnesota Wild have taken a 2-1 lead over the always crushing Vegas Golden Knights. Last night was the first game back in Minnesota after some 9PM/10PM Central time starts in Vegas, sheesh! Been tough to stay up and watch. I’m old! Everything I’m seeing is looking good. Wild star Kirill “The Thrill” Kaprizov has been off to a hot playoff start after battling injuries this season. Check out this “saucey” assist from the other night and his 1st goal last night. This team is fun and I’m already having a blast with what they’re doing. Look – they secured a playoff spot in the final seconds of period three by tying the game to send to OT. The one point they needed to advance. They ended up scoring minutes into OT to seal the deal. Not expecting a Stanley Cup here but this team has some good trouble going on.
Chicago Cubs: Carrything me through these past few weeks have been Timberwolves basketball, Wild hockey and the Chicago Cubs! As of publication today the Cubs are 16-10, 1st in the NL Central, just swept the Dodgers and have had probably the top 2 most exciting games in all of baseball so far this year. I think I read 6-7 players currently have a better batting average than Ohtani. My favorite player Pete Crow Armstrong is absolutely smashing the bat, stealing bases seemingly every time he makes it on base and crushing in center field (and often sharing post game is love and appreciation for the fans out in the bleachers). I’ve had a change to catch 2 games so far including the incredible 13-11 comeback win over the Diamondbacks. There were 2 Grand Slams and 6 home runs. The Athletic are calling it one of the Top 5 Craziest Games at Wrigley Field…EVER. On TV and at the park – it already feels like a playoff atmosphere and it’s only May. Go Cubs Go!
Chicago Pizza: I’ve had one heck of a Chicago pizza streak lately. I’ve had Chicago classics Labriola (Michigan Ave) and Coalfire (West Town), longstanding innovator Middle Brow also hot new upstarts Pizz’amici (West Town/UK Village) and Zarella (River North).
Final Rankings of these 5 pizza places and why:
Middle Brow
Zarella
Pizz’amici
Coalfire
Labriola
Middle Brow: We went here to celebrate Maddie’s Mom’s birthday! A group of 7 of us! Which allows for us to try multiple pizzas which really helped this one land at the number one spot on this random list. Middle Brow is one of those places that has a lot of things going on, they’re baking their own bread, making their own crust, brewing their own beer, making their own wine, baking their own pastries and bagels. Everything is just in your face “this feels like it was made small batch” in the best way possible. For pizza we got bacon togarashi (a breakfast pizza), soppressata + hot honey, adult's cheese and sausage + olive. These are the types of pizzas you crave like 3 hours after you’ve eaten. You just want more. Every bite is extremely flavorful and after you don’t feel too stuffed. Fresh ingredients. Fresh Pizza. Middle Brow. We popped over to Solemn Oath after to play some darts and I found some weird hippie store with a bunch of Grateful Dead t-shirts, trinkets and stickers called Flying High. Great day!
Zarella: I was particularly excited about this one because it opened blocks from our apartment. A part of the Boka Group and located in an area that desperately needs “neighborhood” type bars/restaurants due to the tired and outdated existence that is River North’s nightlife scene. It does its best imitation of being a classic neighborhood pizza joint but not taking it too far. Maddie and I had tried to walk-in 2-3 times in its first few weeks it opened and it was simply impossible. A random Thursday night, the Chicago Bulls were playing their NBA Playoff play-in game. Felt like a fun night to try and hit Zarellas, get a salty pepperoni pizza and drink some beer (they have pitchers!). Again, it was packed and the seating looked bleak but we got lucky with two bar seats in front of a TV. It was all coming together. But hilariously Zarella’s vision of being authentically Chicago had a very funny to me hiccup. All the TVs in the joint remained on Marquee Sports Network (a channel owned by the Cubs that shows their games among other Chicago teams like the Chicago Sky, off hours are deep cut Chicago sports content) several minutes into the Bulls game. It was showing a special about how the groundskeepers at Wrigley Field maintain the field. Everyone in the bar was watching grass grow as the Bulls attempted to limp further into the post season. It just seemed hilariously tone deaf to not have a Chicago Bulls playoff home game in on your establishment. This is “being a Chicagoan 101” type stuff. Me and a couple other dudes at the bar started grumbling to staff to change the channel and it took longer than you could possibly imagine. I know a tough life I live - ha! Anyway, it finally changed over and the Bulls lost. But the pizza was fantastic, crispy and paper thin. We went with pepperoni and giardiniera (I wil never spell this word correctly on my first attempt). We got fried zucchini, calamari and pickled artichokes as the appetizers. All were perfectly salty and made ordering another pilsner that much more of a requirement. Will be back and it lands 2nd on this list. The pizza was freaking fantastic. Apparently it’s “coming soon” but they currently don’t offer take away/pick-up. As a neighborhood guy, I hope they get this together soon.
Pizz’amici: This feels like the most hyped pizza place in Chicago right now. We again went with a large group and that played to our advantage. My understanding is they’re trying to fix this but it’s currently BYOB. Pretty classic to show up in Chicago somewhere, find out it’s BYOB and then have to find the nearest liquor store but it’s kind of a buzz kill. I’m sure it will be resolved soon and I’m trying not to knock a business for this especially given their “start up” nature. I mean these guys started the thing as a pop-up during COVID. MAD RESPECT. Back to the pizza, it’s all build your own so we did an italian beef and giardiniera, a pepperoni hot honey and the others I’m kinda spacey on. Absolutely delicious. Will be back. Exactly as advertised and I see why it’s Top 5 for this style in the city. Will be back. I want more. The focaccia appetizer is a must order, and the meatballs were also solid. Zarella just edges it out for me – it’s the slimmest of margins. I wanted Pizz’amici to be ahead. Trust me.
Coalfire: We got this one delivered! It’s an old staple for me. Coal fired pizza just tastes damn good. It came piping hot and fresh. It was perfect for what we wanted. We got the Pepperoni & Whipped Ricotta and the very unique, spicy and delicious ‘Nduja pizza – “a spicy, spreadable salami from the Calabria region of Italy.”
Labriola: Maddie and I went with our friend David who was in town from NYC. He wanted Chicago pizza and we all felt like we wanted to skip the Lou Malnati’s, Unos, Gioardano’s of the world. This pizza has come in last on this list but it’s only victim of being on a list of cracker thin crust pizzas I like. Deep Dish is not my preference. Labriola is my underrated stand out deep dish pizza in Chicago. Especially since it’s on Michigan Avenue. Pequod's is always #1 for me but this is #2.
Non-Pizza: Some other recent restaurants I’ve enjoyed was Joe Flamm’s Il Carciofo (sweetest steak I’ve ever had but kind of awesome but waiting 30 mins for a reservation was not, 10 out of 10 bartending staff saved the night with their excellent service), Blue Door Farm Stand (friend chicken and house hot sauce rocks) and Half Sour (underrated burger).
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EYES BEYOND THE FEED: A collection of articles, news, blogs, social posts or other ramblings I’ve found interesting this week.
George Harrison’s Quiet Love Affair with Formula 1: I’m obsessed when music and sports crossover. Harrison is also my favorite Beatle! His website also has it’s own page of really cool old George Harrison x Formula 1 photos? Awesome. I really want to get one framed.
The Forecast by These Days: Just a few days ago we updated our Chicago playlist with 40 new songs from artists that call the Windy City home. I’m forever impressed with the music that comes out of this city on a weekly basis. So many gems here!
Chicago street festivals sound alarm on rising costs, including security: Newsflash! Everything is expensive. I feel like every client call lately, I'm hearing “wow that feels like it’s really high” when it comes to event rentals, fabrication, food & beverage, janitorial services, security services, etc. This article is right on the money!
Automakers turn to experiential marketing to sell EVs in wake of diminishing rebates: I’m seeing it IRL. We’ve had 4-5 Auto partnerships across our festivals this year and 2025 it seems to only be growing. We’ll likely have an auto partner at every single one I work on this year. It seems impossible to get Millennials or Gen Z into a dealership. Tariffs will make it even harder. This is great to see!
Baseball Meets Bristol: Braves-Reds Game Aims for Record Crowd: A fascinating piece about the challenges surrounding an upcoming MLB game held at a NASCAR speedway. 165K fans expected. Look out for it August 2nd, 2025.
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BLOWIN’ IN THE WINDY CITY: All things Chicago. Happenings, openings, news, announcements, music, food, drink and more. A weekly and endless celebration to the city that I love so much.
Landmark Records Celebrates Cubs And Chicago’s Blues History Just Outside Wrigley Field: As previously mentioned, nothing gets me more than a music and sports crossover. A record store at Wrigley Field? Inspired by the new Cubs Blues jerseys I’ve so passionately written about. I overheard at a recent game that they’ve sold more of these jerseys since they dropped a few months ago than all the jerseys they’ve sold last year. I believe it. I checked it out and it’s a fun edition to Gallagher Way. It’s really a bunch of bargain bin records to fill shelving and then more featured releases from Dualtone Records, whom the Cubs partnered with on the store to help curate and vibe out. With all the concerts at Wrigley each summer, this is a nice touch and turnkey retail space. Worth checking out for sure!
Riot Fest Lineup 2025: Blink 182, Green Day, Weezer, Jack White are the names up top but really fun, random acts like Hanson, Weird Al and Rico Nasty make Riot Fest special. Especially when you’re like 15 craft beers deep. Ha!
Italian beef potato chips? An upstart snack company highlights classic Chicago foods via WBEZ: Cool new Chicago snack brand from a former Foxtrot marketing exec!
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PLAYLIST PAT:
A collection of new music curated by genre, theme and/or mood curated and updated weekly-ish.
Pyramidion: The capstone, the apex, the tip, the top of the sonic pyramid. The best that 2025 music of all genres has to offer so far, updated weekly-ish. Full playlist linked here.
My favorite songs I added this week:
“Not like you” by Groupthink: Man! I absolutely loving this song. Feels super nostalgic, which tracks with the visuals Groupthink has been supporting the track with. With all the playoff hockey I’ve been watching, this track would absolutely rip in an arena after a goal is scored.
“Forever” by Dom Dolla & Kid Cudi: Kid Cudi is just so perfect on these types of dance bangers. Very reminiscent and gives nostalgic vibes of “Memories” collab with David Guetta. This will surely be one of this summer’s biggest bangers.
“Pop N Olive” by Samara Cyn & Sherwyn: I think I’ve listened to this song 100 times in the past 2 weeks. Very excited to see where Samara Cyn’s career goes this next year or two.
“Da Problem Solva” by thirteendegrees: Might favorite track from one of Chicago’s hottest “underground” artists right now.
“Hitch Hiking” by Jenna Raine: Kind of feels and sounds like what would happen if Olivia Rodrigo took a poppier Kacey Musgraves route but sprinkle in a little Lorde, Ed Sheeran and The Lumineers. I don’t know much about Jenna but it looks like she caught the attention of fans with a song called “Roses” on TikTok. Will be following her moving forward!
“Don’t Be Wrong” by HAIM: The sisters do their best Sheryl Crown impression and I’m all in on it!
Anthems For A Seventeen Year-Old Girl by Maggie Rogers & Sylvan Esso: A electro pop collab from two artist I didn’t expect to collab!
“It Will Get Worse” by Lifeguard: A couple of Chicago high schoolers bringing together all your favorite things about The Strokes, The Cure and The Pixies.
All Along The Stream: A jukebox of Jam, Funk, Bluegrass, Psychedelic, Rock, Blues, Americana, Retro Soul. All songs released in 2025. Full playlist linked here.
My favorite songs I added this week:
“Ride” by Tash Sultana: A fantastic tripped out mediation of lush layers from Tash! Maybe some of my favorite vocals from her ever.
“LUSHLAND” by Silas Short: A funky, soulful jam from the Evanston, Illinois native Silas Short. Full album out today via Stone’s Throw Records. For fans of Anderson Paak, Thundercat, Vulfpeck, NxWorries, DAM FUNK & the likes.
Country City: Cold beer. Warm nights. Neon lights. Whiskey wrongs. A collection of country songs. All from 2025 and lassoed together by this here, urban cowboy. I promise I have the boots and hats to match. From the flash of pop to the dust of red dirt. It’s all here! Full playlist linked here.
My favorite songs I added this week:
“Cerulean Skies” by Telander & Kaitlin Butts: Is Kaitlin Butts the best person to duet with right now in alt-country? I sure as hell think so! Her duets with Flatland Cavalry are some of their best songs. Listen to “Mornings With You” and the smash hit “A Life Where We Work Out”
“Hope That I’m Enough” by Parker McCollum: Parker’s vocals are so effortless here. A gentle new jam with some sweet guitar. I love the detail and arrangement of the organ playing on this one too.
“Hail Mary” Shaboozey & Sierra Ferrell: Probably the most “interesting” song on the extended edition of Shaboozey’s debut album which also features Jelly Roll, BigXthaPlug and Noah Cyrus. They should have stuck this one on the original release.
Country In The Clouds by Connor Smith & Dylan Marlowe: Two country dudes that I really like but honestly I confuse them sometimes. Hilarious to me they’ve just released a collaboration. But I’m all about it, best of both worlds from these guys. A simple one. I wished they leaned more into the first 15 seconds then how the song changes but generally this is solid. Sounds like how you feel when you cannonball off a dock into a lake on a hot muggy summer day – if you can get back the religious AF lyrics. Lol.
My 5 TouchTunes Songs of the Week: Typically pulling from my Forever Relevant Spotify playlist that features over 1,800+ of my favorite songs and growing. Mind you, these are typically played in empty dive bars.
Venmo @Pwelbs to tip me in TouchTunes credits!
8 credits $4.99, 31 credits $14.99, 55 credits $24.99
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PATTY PILS:
Tangled Up In Brews: My weekly thoughts on beer, alcohol and beverage industry. Related articles or maybe just a cheers to a beer or three I had this week.
Podcast: Pilot Project Brewing - The Incubator That's Launching the Next Big Beverage Brands: Pilot Project is one of my favorite stories in the beverage industry and I find what they’re doing endlessly fascinating. It’s easy to be a fan of everything they’re doing. Here’s a great behind the scenes look.
THC drinks rise in popularity. Why some young people may prefer them over alcohol via USA Today
AEG and Pernod Ricard USA extend their already decade-long relationship
The Boston Beer Company and AEG Presents Announce Strategic Live Music Partnership
Corona Brewer Issues Downbeat Outlook Factoring in New Tariffs
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No Music Hanger, Beyond The Algorithm or Client Bias this week! Sorry! See ya soon.
“Come in, she said
I'll give ya shelter from the storm”
Great issue!