Jake and Elwood's masters the Chicago pie

[Robin Garr]

Jake and Elwood's masters the Chicago pie

A whole deep-dish pizza from Jake and Elwood's makes an imposing serving.


Jake and Elwood’s opened its Chicago-style pizzeria in Clifton at 11 a.m. Monday, March 16. Does that date sound familiar? Yep! That’s the day that Gov. Andy Beshear told all the state’s restaurants to put a halt to dining-in at 5 p.m.

“We are mandated to close for dine-in at 5 p.m. today,” the restaurant posted on its Facebook page less than two hours later. “CARRYOUT is available!!! We're working on delivery. The blues will prevail!”

Indeed. As we know from the restaurant's Blues Brothers namesakes Jake and Elwood, Chicago people do what needs to be done.

When the doors closed to sit-down dining, the owner John Thurlow, a Chicago native, promptly shifted the plan, offering pizza-to-go to waiting throngs. Within the first two days they had run out of pizza boxes and containers and had to close for a day to restock. They closed again for a couple of days at the end of March to refine the operation, but came right back up. They’ve been earning uniformly positive reviews from just about everyone I know who's tried it,
on the HotBytes forum and across social media.

Located in the landmark yellow-brick Frankfort Avenue building that long housed Clifton's Pizza, and which more recently was home, briefly, to Steve-O’s Italian Kitchen, Jake and Elwood's bills itself as “a Chicago tribute restaurant” specializing in Chicago deep-dish pizzas, Chicago hot dogs, sausages and Italian beef sandwiches.

That pretty much describes the menu, which offers a good range of choices among those categories. ...

Read the complete article on LouisvilleHotBytes,
http://www.louisvillehotbytes.com/jake- ... hicago-pie ‎

Jake and Elwood's
2230 Frankfort Ave.
690-2167
http://jakeandelwoods.com
https://facebook.com/jakeandelwoods

I'm not a fan of deep-dish "pizza" and seeing one out of the pan isn't helping.

[Robin Garr]

I'm not a fan either, truly, but I was pleasantly surprised that Jake and Elwood's tasted really good. I have to call 'em as I taste 'em.

I lived in Champaign for several years and still go up there three or four times a year to visit friends. We always bring back a few take-n-bake Chicago-style deep dish pies from Papa Del's, a favorite of University of Illinois students. We'll definitely check this out.

On a side note, am I the only one who has a bit of a problem with the name (unless they've licensed it, that is)? If not, I see a cease-and-desist letter in their future. I don't know the legalities of this sort of thing and they certainly aren't the only ones who've taken on a name that implies a connection with someone/something famous, but it rubs me the wrong way.

I just wish you had a picture with a slice cut out! True Chicago-style have a crust not much deeper than a "hand tossed" most other places (maybe 1/4 to 1/2 inch?), and build the (deep dish) height by using a ton of filling (2 1/2 lbs of cheese in a 14 inch pie!).. At this angle, it appears that the crust is 1" or more high, which I hope is not true? Also, while your chart is basically correct, there is a quite heavy shaking of Parmesan Cheese at the very top, which both helps hold the whole thing together after cooking and gives the roof of the mouth a taste of a stronger cheese before reaching the milder mozzarella and sometimes smoked provolone at the lower level.

[Robin Garr]

Good question about the name, Richard. There was a bar in St. Matthews names after Jake and Elwood back in the '90s, and it went undisturbed until it closed to make way for ... Saints, I think. Maybe these particular producers aren't litigious, or figure that 40 years has been long enough to let it go? Or that it's good to keep the concept alive? What am I babbling about? I don't have any idea!

[Robin Garr]

Also, while your chart is basically correct.

For the record, not my chart but theirs, pulled from their Facebook.

Photo of a slice? Hold on ...

[Robin Garr]

Here you go, Andrew. All I can say is that I liked it more than I expected to, and I thought the bread - both the pizza crust and the garlic knots - was exceptionally good. Very different from Italian or quality New York slices, more biscuity, but still very good.

[Robin Garr]

Also, there's your heavy shaking of melted Parmesan, right there before us. I obviously neglected to mention that, duh.

I concur with Andrew's line of questioning. Chicago deep dish should actually have a fairly thin crust. I've always considered this type of pie more of a casserole than anything else. The thickness comes from curling the crust around the sides of the pan and filling it deep with mozzarella, toppings, lots of chunky sauce, and Parmesan, in that order.
BTW, Robin, one of the big differences in the dough used here is that it contains a fair measure of cornmeal, traditionally.
I'll check this place out, because sometimes I have a craving for this kinda thing.
ETA: It looks like they do it right, both from the chart and the picture.

BTW, Robin, one of the big differences in the dough used here is that it contains a fair measure of cornmeal, traditionally.
I'll check this place out, because sometimes I have a craving for this kinda thing.
ETA: It looks like they do it right, both from the chart and the picture.

I agree!

The picture of the slice shows that were talking about a LOT of stuff other than crust! Most of the large chains that came to town claiming Chicago Deep Dish had an inch or more of bread with a thin topping layer, and that's just wrong.

Also, from the picture there appears to be some cornmeal there, which helps stabilize the crust to keep the ingredients in place.

I haven't been yet - my one outing was too pick up sushi - but now I'm drooling for Jake and Elwoods!

I am no expert whatsoever, I’m just a guy who has enjoyed Pequod’s and Lou Malnati’s when I’ve had them. I thought this pizza was delicious, and I’m glad they’re here in Louisville.

[Robin Garr]

Also, from the picture there appears to be some cornmeal there, which helps stabilize the crust to keep the ingredients in place.

I didn't ask about the recipe, and they don't advertise it, but there was a distinct yellow hue and a subtle but distinct crunch, so I think that's highly likely. The owner just moved here from Chicago last year, and whatever his history in the business - that, I don't know - he certainly seems to know his way around deep-dish pizza. And it was by far the best piece of Chicago pizza I've ever encountered outside of Chicago.

I picked up another Jake and Elwood's order on Thursday, this time with an extra--an Italian beef! I have to admit, it was so good that I might just have to make that my routine. Plus, the cinnamon knots are killer, with a beautiful thick crust of cinnamon on top of that biscuity dough that Robin talked about. Very indulgent, and they reheat beautifully for breakfast the next morning. (or, if you're an animal like myself, they taste great cold)

Two pies, weeks apart, consistently delicious results. They might have jumped to the top of my personal pizza list here in town when I want something different.