WG Pizzas
Pizza restaurant · Lakeview
2819 N Southport Ave, Chicago, IL 60657
Highlights
Crispy tavern-style pizza with unique toppings like Italian beef
Crispy tavern-style pizza with unique toppings like Italian beef
"Chicago’s streets are practically paved with tavern-style pizza. To stand out, a spot needs to be pretty special. WG, a suburban transplant operating out of a takeout-only kitchen in Avondale, is good, but not great. You won’t be disappointed if one of these pies shows up at your house, but they’re not worth going out of your way for. WG’s pizza has a buttery cracker crust that holds up well to toppings. With the exception of the very edges, the crust is more chewy than crispy, likely due to a thick blanket of cheese on every pie. It tastes like buttered toast, and makes a delightful vehicle for the creative topping combos happening here. Those unexpected options are what WG does best—like italian beef with spicy giardiniera, or the “black and white,” a sauceless little number topped with parmesan and balsamic. Stick with the fun stuff if you’re going to order from here. But with so many other spots in Chicago, including places where you can sit down and have a drink with your just-fine pizza, there’s really no reason to. Food Rundown Black & White The buttery crust really shines in this simple, sauceless pie. The dough has a pseudo-lamination thing happening, reminiscent of the inside of a croissant. That flavor combined with parmesan and balsamic is a nice counterpoint. photo credit: Adrian Kane Italian Beef We’re fans of this one. It’s covered in a generous amount of beef, and the giardiniera is truly very spicy. It doesn’t taste like a pizza so much as an italian beef on a giant cracker, and we’re here for it. photo credit: Adrian Kane Pepperoni This is a boring pie. The sweet tomato sauce probably tastes perfectly fine, but no one will ever know because it’s overwhelmed with a mattress of mozzarella. WG forgoes crispy pepperoni cups for flaccid discs and there’s no char in sight. Plenty of tavern-style spots make the same decision (Phil’s comes to mind), but the mild tomato base and thick blanket of cheese cover up any flavor. photo credit: Adrian Kane" - Adrian Kane
"After owners siblings Ben and Jessie Glazer and husband-and-wife team Michael and Franny Kaulentis took over in 2019 and recently underwent a branding makeover (shortening the original name to WG Pizzas), the operation expanded into Chicago in 2024 by opening inside an Avondale ghost kitchen to introduce city dwellers to their pies. The Glazers have been scouting Chicago locations with plans to open multiple restaurants to “spread the gospel of tavern-style pizza across the country,” while acknowledging that the new locations won’t replicate the original Highwood spot: “I don’t think I can recreate this, this is a special place,” Glazer says. Ben, who grew up on the North Shore and also spent years playing music (he recalls touring Big Ten schools and opening for acts such as OAR), reflects that “I feel like I’ve lived two lives,” saying he feels the same adrenaline running a restaurant as he did performing. Starting next month, the brand will feature collaborations with high-profile chefs: Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises chef Max Robbins will debut a pizza with vodka sauce, Calabrian chili, basil, smoked mozzarella, and Parmesan in February; Won Kim of Kimski and Lilac Tiger will follow with a pizza in March; and Javauneeka Jacobs of Rick Bayless’s Frontera Grill is up in April. The Chicago location is listed at 3517 N. Spaulding Avenue and is available for pickup or delivery via third-party services." - Ashok Selvam
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