Publican Quality Bread (PQB) is now open in Oak Park (211 Harrison St.), turning out fresh breads in many shapes and sizes, as well as other baked goods (like pizza) under the direction of Greg Wade, 2019 James Beard Outstanding Pastry Chef/Baker. This is a big deal. We have some outstanding bakeries in Oak Park, but to have a baker of this caliber in the village will significantly up our bread — and pizza — game.
Like many, I grew up with tavern-style pizza. This was a flat pie with a crisp crust cut into squares, “party style,” originally served for free at Chicago bars where patrons could grab a relatively small slice of salty cheese and sausage pizza … and buy more beer to wash it down.
Chicago is also home to deep dish pizza, of course, the hefty version of pizza first offered at what is now Uno’s Pizzeria. Rudy Malnati worked at Uno’s, and his son, Lou, started the pizza empire that has a location in Oak Park.
All these pies are different from the generally recognized *original* pizza from Naples, Italy — the Margherita, light and thin, with toppings of just mozzarella, crushed tomatoes and basil, and a moist center that’s traditionally almost soupy.
Roman pizza has a thicker crust, much like bruschetta, and a wide range of toppings. Roman pie is usually sold by the piece (or al taglio, by the cut), and it was first served in the 1960s using high-protein flours that became popular during World War II and that help develop a crisp, thicker crust.
The substantial crust of Roman pizza puts an emphasis upon the bread, and that’s where Berwynite Greg Wade and his team at PQB shine. More substantial than tavern style, but less daunting than deep dish, Roman pizza treads the line between the two classic Chicago pizzas, tavern style and deep dish.
At the opening event, I chatted with Wade about his ’za.
“I’m really excited about the veggie pizza,” said Wade. “We’re doing a classic Roma-style pizza dough with an arrabiata sauce, which is a slightly spicy garlicky tomato sauce. And then we’re getting these really fantastic dried tomatoes. They’re not sun dried: they’re halfway between a fresh tomato and a sun-dried tomato, with deep, concentrated flavor but without the rubbery texture.
“Another one I’m really excited about,” he continued, “is the sausage and mushroom pizza. We’re doing a garlic-forward kale pesto for the sauce, and we’re using blue oyster mushrooms from Four Star Mushrooms, which are fantastic. We make the sausage in-house.”
Sausage making is notoriously time-consuming and messy, but the focus on hand-crafted quality is what we’d expect from One Off Hospitality Group. Oak Parker Donny Madia is a partner at One Off, which has brought to Chicago acclaimed Chicago restaurants like Big Star and The Publican.
PQB is good for the village, drawing people from other western suburbs and breathing new life into the Harrison Street neighborhood, which deserves more attention than it sometimes seems to receive.
Pizza is served 4 to 8 p.m. every day.
David Hammond writes a blog for Oak Park Eats at oakpark.com.
