Comments on Chicago Pizza Club: Frasca Pizzeria & Wine Bar [Meeting #86]

For the reasons I mentioned in the post, I will ce...

2009-10-25T13:49:23.957-05:00

For the reasons I mentioned in the post, I will certainly be back on a Wednesday and give Frasca a 7.

I probably won't find myself at Frasca again a...

2009-10-19T21:18:24.714-05:00

I probably won't find myself at Frasca again any time soon, but it is definitely worth a visit if you're in the neighborhood on the 2fer night. I only tried about half the pizzas, but they were all pretty good.

My favorite was the prosciutto with the lightly dressed arugula. This is a combination I am really starting to like, particularly when the arugula is well-seasoned as was the case at Frasca. The prosciutto gave the pizza some much-needed salt. My second favorite was the margherita, which stood out because of the sweet, juicy tomato globes. Tasty cheese and flavorful fresh basil to boot.

I also liked the pepperoni, which was one of the few pies to give me a generous taste of the red sauce. It was a bit sweet, but balanced out by the pepperoni. Overall, I thought the cheese was really good on all the pies. I agree the crust was chewier than I would have preferred, but I was not as bothered by it as some others.

I give Frasca a 6.1.

The prosciutto pizza was very good. I thank Pizza...

2009-10-14T19:09:17.955-05:00

The prosciutto pizza was very good. I thank Pizza Club for stirring my new found love of this tasty meat. The arugula and its nutty tones are a great addition to this pizza. My only problem with the presentation is that dumping all the prosciutto in the middle does not make for a nice slice. Can't we arrange that a little better please?

The rustica pizza was delicious. The oven dried tomatoes must be done on the premises. What a flavor! I would totally go back for this pizza alone.

The caponata was just ok. I loved all those veggies, but the eggplant was chunked and overpowered the rest. Though add goat cheese to any pizza and you can make me pretty happy.

I really dug the margherita. The tomatoes were so juicy and had great taste. I was a fan of the sweet sauce.

The pepperoni was slightly burned, but I was happy with the crispiness. The pepperonis had a bite to them too which is a ok in my book. Give me a pepperoni with substance! Yes!
The crust really worked for me. It held the toppings beautifully and had a nice crunch to it. Felt slightly authentic Italian.

I would definitely go back, but at those prices only on Wednesday night for 1/2 price. The beer selection was worth a mention too.

I give Frasca a solid 7.5.

I have been quite busy of late and was uncertain a...

2009-10-14T10:08:57.654-05:00

I have been quite busy of late and was uncertain about going to this pizza club. Then I was told that it was a “buy one get one free” pizza night and I was able to reconfigure my schedule to attend. I think the conversation went something like this.
Me: Don’t think I can make this meeting. Too busy. Swamped with work and need more hours in the day. Probably gonna skip dinner or eat a salami sandwich standing over the sink.
Random Pizza Club Member: It’s buy one get one free pizza night.
Me: What time does the meeting start.
This was really good pizza. I did not try all of them though. I though the best of the bunch was the pepperoni, and the soprano. The sauce on these pizzas was really good. The toppings had some spice as well. These were all thin crust pizzas with crispy crusts (at least on my slices). The cheese was pretty good as well. It was not too gooey and could easily be cut from the pie. I would go back to this place on a night when it was NOT buy one-get-one-free night. I give it a solid 7/10.

Chewy crust did not ruin my day. I found it to be...

2009-10-12T15:35:41.632-05:00

Chewy crust did not ruin my day. I found it to be a little chewy, but if it wasn't for Marla Collins' Husband going on and on about it, I probably would have only noticed it in passing. I found it to be a little chewy, but many of my slices were great on the exterior of the pizza. The crust was leavened and had a nice, airy crumb with an appropriate salt and humidity level.

The chunky sauce on the sausage pizzas was really outstanding. Just nice chunks of great-tasting tomatoes. And the sausage was good too, a classic Chicago blend of fat, meat, salt, fennel, and pepper.

I'm always looking for shrimp pizzas, and most of the time they disappoint. This one, I'm happy to report, did not. The shrimp wasn't outstanding by any means, but it was fine. The pizza had a strong lard flavor (not bacon) that I actually really liked. I am sure to be in the minority, but I would order it again.

The soprano pizza was a real let down. Too many meats that didn't go well together and the overwhelming saltiness of the prosciutto without a counterpoint such as lemon or arugula that you find on most prosciutto pizza. Clearly the worst pie I tried that night.

I give it a 7.5 because I thought their best pizzas were outstanding, including the margherita pie. The 2-for-1 is hard to beat as well.

Frasca Pizzeria succeeds as a pleasant dining esta...

2009-10-12T11:16:57.877-05:00

Frasca Pizzeria succeeds as a pleasant dining establishment that offers quality food and drink with great service. Their pizza isn't exceptional by any means, but the effort is apparent. Ingredients are fresh and gourmet, but the combinations and abundance are problematic at times.

I began with a slice of the capone, and although the sausage, onions, and cheese were delish, the sauce was super duper sweet; It tasted like ketchup. Ruined. Next up, soprano. This probably wins for the night. There was ample flavor, spice, and to my satisfaction didn't have the throat constricting sweetness my previous slice offered. Moving on, quattro formaggi landed in my hands and was simple and well executed. The cheese was well dispersed. Since I do like vegetables a lot, the caponata travelled in my direction. It was loaded with things...too many things. Although it seemed that the toppings were quality product, the pizza lacked flavor. The goat cheese overpowered the subtler vegetables, the artichokes were dry, and the overall result was highly underwhelming. The only two remaining slices of the night were of this variety and they went home with me if that's any indication. Lastly, I topped off the night with the pepperoni slice. At this point, it was cool and had maybe one small circle of meat on it...so so.

The crust was very thin and had some large bubbles on the edges. Until my final two pieces, I was content with the way it tasted. It could've been stiffer but I didn't mind that it folded occassionally. Unfortunately, my final slices were a bit overcooked and all I could taste was burnt bread. I don't like this. I washed it down with an IPA and called it a night.

Overall, Frasca's is a happening place with some good pizza offerings. Be sure to go for the special pizza 2 for 1 deal otherwise you'll be paying way too much for ambience.

P.S. I do love the wooden tables with the natural tree trunk edging.

Frasca's gets a 6.5.

Considering what we paid on half-price night, I do...

2009-10-09T10:04:19.264-05:00

Considering what we paid on half-price night, I don't think I'd be going back to eat there on any other night. Regardless the pizza was pretty good. As far as the wood-burning oven pizzas I've had in the last few years this one is definitely near the bottom of the heap. But still, it's not a bad pizza.

The toppings and specialty combinations that I tried were all excellent. The crust was the downfall though. Mostly inoffenssive and unnoticed while covered with cheese, sauce and toppings it's fine, the end of the crust where it has to pull its own weight is where it falls most drastically short.

So yeah, a worthwhile place to go and try pizza. I enjoyed it, my mind was not blown, nor were many of my crusts finished off. Frasca gets a 6.

I tried every pizza except for the quattro formagg...

2009-10-08T23:28:51.049-05:00

I tried every pizza except for the quattro formaggi and margherita and there were two themes. The toppings were generally very good and the crust, among the toughest to chew that I've had in a very long time, was not. Only one of the pizza crusts had any crispness to it at all, but that one was burned.

I thought the prosciutto and arugula was particularly good. The pizza was covered with a sweet ass pile of prosciutto and the arugula, also present in a large quantity, was nicely bathed in a tasty vinaigrette. It was pretty salty, but I have a high salt tolerance and really, really liked the flavor.

The pizza we designed, with sausage and goat cheese, was another winner. The sausage was great and the smooth goat cheese worked well.

Less successful were the shrimp and bacon, which had overcooked shrimp and was much more bacon fat than bacon, and the caponata, which was a mushy mess of not particularly flavorful veggies.

If they can crisp up the crust a little bit without burning it, Frasca would be a real asset to the Chicago pizza scene. As it stands, it's a good deal on half price night, but I don't see myself heading back there any time soon. I give Frasca a 6.