Baby-on-Board Review: Art of Pizza

By Elizabeth Shapiro in Food on Jul 18, 2007 3:00PM

Parents, we know it’s happened to you: you’re in the middle of running errands when your kid begins screaming, and you realize you’re starving, too. Where do you and your little one go for cheap, fast food at lunchtime that actually tastes good? Head out to Art of Pizza on Ashland Avenue!

For $3 (tax included), you can buy a slice of pizza almost as big as your head, in your choice of thin crust, pan, or stuffed. The stuffed pizza doesn’t just claim to be — it probably is the best in the city. In true Chicago style, the tangy, real tomato sauce lays on top of thick, salty cheese. In our opinion, the buttery crust is the extra detail that makes this pizza outstanding. Our kid agrees, and eats his in fist-fulls. There are other menu items and daily specials in pasta and hot sandwich forms, but with pizza this good, we suggest you grab a slice … or two.

This restaurant is cafeteria style — you pay for your food, take it to a table and grab a high chair yourself. It might be a bit to balance, but the upside is that you don’t have to wait for your waiter to get off his break to get your check and hustle home your cranky baby. Art of Pizza recently expanded to take over an adjoining space, so now there is plenty of room for you, your groceries, and your stroller in their larger, immaculate dining area.

In a high-traffic area, between a Whole Foods and a Jewel, a Gymboree and a popular playground, Art of Pizza is surprisingly devoid of many parents on weekday afternoons. If you find yourself in the area with a hungry kid, skip McDonald's and grab a plate of Chicago’s finest. We’ll see you there.

Art of Pizza is located at 3033 N. Ashland. They open at 11 a.m. for lunchtime cravings and close at 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday.