Burt Katz obit in the Trib
Condolences to the family and friends of Burt and to all who love pizza.
Here is my Yelp Review of Burt's Place from December 2013
Burt is a pizza-making legend. Having founded Gulliver's and his current walking distance neighbor Pequod's, both excellent pizza joints, he has paid his dues and established himself, so I have no problem with the guy being eccentric or having rules and, personally, find all the "no pizza for you" stories somewhat hilarious. With dozens of visits, I never had a problem. I love great pizza and Burt has never disappointed me.. I've never had a problem politely asking if this time or that time fits into Burt's schedule and I don't need the chef or his family to stroke my ego when I walk in the door. They don't seem to need any special handling either. Simple low-key courtesy has always produced a pizza treasure in my hands. I always get a straight up sausage pizza. The cheese, the sausage, the crust are always delicious. I can see why extra-sauce lovers might want to ask for extra-sauce, because the proportion doesn't lean towards sauce. I can't think of any top flight Chicago-style pizzas that aren't dominated by crust and cheese. One guy cried about too much dough. On a Chicago-style pizza, dude? Really? OMG, go to a NY style place or go to La Rosa's in Skokie and order a thin crust. There are many great pizza joints in Chicago serving all styles of pizza and I've tried all the big names and plenty of obscure family places. Burt's only makes a limited number of pizzas a day, he makes them himself, so make a reservation and use your grown-up behavior on the phone and when you show up, otherwise go to Pequod's or Gulliver's, maybe stop by one of the overpriced tourist traps like Uno's or Gino's East, or maybe wait 2 hrs at the original Lou Mal's in Lincolnwood. Especially if you want to be loud, go to Lou Mal's where it's so loud, no one will know or care how loud you are. Lou Mal's is great. Burt's is the best.
