My favorite pizza place in Chicago serves New Haven-style pizza. Odd that, since Chicago is well known for its unique deep-dish style of pizza served at landmarks such as the original Pizzeria Uno, Gino’s, and Giordano’s. But no, when I’m in Chicago, I go to Piece, for the New Haven-style pizza…and the beer!

I visited Piece Brewery & Pizzeria when I was in Chicago in April. Piece is definitely in my list of Top 10 favorite brewpubs for the combination of beer, food, and atmosphere. It’s a must-see when I’m visiting downtown Chicago. Sure, Piece is a bit off the beaten path, but the short cab ride from downtown gets you away from the crowds.

The Piece beer menu is always lengthy, and they offer 10 oz pours, giving you the chance to explore the beer menu without lingering too long over one beer. I knew I was in for a great night when I read through the beer menu on the chalk board.  I sampled the:

• Golden Arm, a German-style Kolsch Bier that was straw-colored, crisp and refreshing.
• Dysfunctionale, a malty Strong Pale Ale with an obscene American hop character.
• Surrender, a strong Belgian farmhouse ale.
• Dark-n-Curvy Dunkelweizen, a malty, flavorful dark German-style Wheat Ale.
• Worryin’ Ale, a sessionable English-style Mild Ale.
• Big Black Mariah, a big American-style Porter with smoked malt; rich flavor and full mouthfeel.
• Wack Job, a ridiculously hopped Double IPA (9%).
• Cocoa B. Ware, a delicious smoked chocolate Porter.
• Moose Knuckle, a huge American-style Barley Wine with massive malt and obnoxious hops (10%)

And I wasn’t kidding about the pizza. It comes out from the brick oven piping hot with a temptation too great to overcome. It’s impossible to wait until it cools – I burned my tongue because I couldn’t wait to dig into my pepperoni pie.

Piece is an award winning brewpub — in addition to winning many awards for individual beers, Piece was named the best small brewpub and brewmaster in the 2006 World Beer Cup.

P.S. Pizza lovers – for more about regional pizza styles, read this article at Slice.