Olé, Olé, Olé, Olé!

Have you caught World Cup fever? I will admit to having watched—off and on—the U.S. vs Ghana match the other afternoon. And every four years I have to reeducate myself about yellow cards and red cards, about a clock that counts up from zero rather than down to zero, and about how minutes get added to the end of the game. And this thing lasts for a month. How many Americans will stay tuned in after the U.S. team is eliminated? I’m with the U.S. National team coach—we have no chance of winning this.

But now it’s time for lunch. We were driving down Pass Road in Biloxi and Chuck takes note of a sign reading Authentic Chicago Thin Crust Pizza. Since we were less than satisfied with the brick oven pizza we had eaten in Gulfport, we made a mental note to try Bootleggers as soon as possible.

Google didn’t provide much information other than the self-promotion found on the restaurant’s website: “Bootleggers proudly serves up authentic Chicago Thin Crust Pizza. It's our pledge to bring you the genuine taste of Chicago. Every pizza, calzone, salad, and appetizer is made to order from the freshest ingredients possible. Our pizza dough, sauce, and cheese are made daily...never frozen! Even our slices are prepared fresh just for you. To fully appreciate a Chicago pizza, it helps to know that Chicago style pizza is made the old fashioned way—cooked on a stone hearth. Chicago Thin Crust pizza is characterized by a milled, thin crust and a tangy, herbal red sauce. Toppings are placed over a layer of freshly grated, blended cheese. The finished pizza is cut into squares…” (bootleggerspizzeria.com).

This place is small—I repeat, small. There are only five tables for four, so I have to assume that a large portion of their business is take-out. And it looks even smaller because virtually no interior surface has gone unembellished.

On the ceiling are ads for local businesses—even restaurants—

and, since Bootleggers is near a military installation, banners representing the various branches of the armed forces.

The walls contain miscellaneous signs and license plates,

numerous photos and newpapers from the day’s of Prohibition when the Gulf Coast was no stranger to organized crime and rum running,

assorted Chicago memorabilia,

and, on any surface still unadorned, is a riot of graffiti.

While we were there for pizza, Chuck could not resist the lure of a Chicago Dog. Although “Chicago-style” would be a more accurate descriptor.

The bun held the necessary ingredients, but with some variations. The hot dog itself was a softer and plumper dog than the natural casing Vienna Beef used in Chicago. And the relish wasn’t the Chicago neon green—a green that has never occurred naturally in nature. But there were sport peppers. (Watch out with these babies. They are really hot.) But where was the celery salt? Missing—that’s where. And was this bun warmed in a microwave and not steamed?

Our approach when eating in a Chicago-style pizza parlor is to stay with the basics—in our case, cheese and sausage with light cheese. And I must give Bootlegger’s pizzaiolo credit. He called me over to check if the cheese looked right before putting the pie in the oven. I really appreciated that.

Bootlegger’s pizza was good, but they certainly didn’t score a goal. (Or should I say “Goal, goal, goal! Olé, olé, olé, olé!?”) The sausage was applied in “clumps” which I prefer over slices, but where was the fennel? The sauce was similar to Italian gravy, meaning that it was long cooked, thick, and slightly sweet. And the crust was not quite the ultra thin cracker crust that I associate with Chicago thin crust pizza. But still I found it more satisfying that Tony’s.

I wanted to reserve enough leftovers for a breakfast or two and that meant that Chuck was still hungry enough to order a second Chicago-style hot dog. As you can tell, he liked these more than did I.

Better pizza than Tony’s, but an unauthentic Chicago dog results in another 3.5 Addie rating.

To review the role of Adler, Kitty Humbug, and the Addie rating system, read the November 14, 2011 blog.