The Boiler Room: Oven Brick Pizza in Logan Square

The Boiler Room
2210 N California (Under the Blue Line)

Dining at the Boiler Room was an exciting choice for me to make. I haven’t had brick oven pizza in a long time and I was looking forward to eating this. I’m happy to report I was not disappointed!

The atmosphere of The Boiler Room can be described as “post-industrial chic”. That goes for the physical look and the attitude of the clientele--lots of metal, exposed ceiling, a hilarious CTA-themed bathroom, trucker hats and Pabst Blue Ribbon on just about every table. The music played fit the bill with a fair amount of punk.

Entrees: The pizzas are large enough for a minimum of 3 people. The Lombardi is the vegetarian option and it could only be described as flavorful and multi-dimensional. The pizza is topped with mushrooms, caramelized onions and little patches of blue cheese and is well appreciated by meat eaters and vegetarians alike. Blue cheese is an interesting choice for a pizza and it comes highly recommended.

Starters: For a starter, the item “PBR Meatballs” may catch the eye of the average hipster, but I wouldn’t hold my breath on anything fantastic coming out of it. The meatballs are stewed in Pabst Blue Ribbon and served in a bowl with marinara sauce and focaccia bread. The meatballs had a subtle flavor and didn’t lend itself to any real excitement. Thankfully the marinara was there to bring a flavor to the party, unfortunately, it only brought one flavor. What a shame. Pabst Blue Ribbon is too weak of a flavor to actually add any real flavor to meatballs and a darker beer may be required in future recipes.

Drinks: This place has seen a fair amount of promotion through yelp and word of mouth and you will wait on a Friday night for a table. Thankfully, they have an excellent selection of cocktails and beers for while you wait. Again, most people here were drinking Pabst Blue Ribbon, but I highly recommend that you DO NOT follow suit! For cocktails, try the “Ginger Snap Sap”. With a refreshing flavor at the beginning, the back end tastes as if you had just bitten into a piece of ginger. The “1988” tasted as if you had just drank a bowl of Cinnamon Toast Crunch. The little shot glass full of that very cereal is there to remind you that that was the intention.

Getting down to Brass Tax:

Cash Only.
Date Spot? No.
Friend Hangout? Yes.
Recommended dish: Lombardi Pizza
Recommended drink: The Ginger Snap Sap
Price Range (2 People): +/- $40

If you’re looking to have some good brick oven pizza and in the mood to explore a gritty, punk side of Chicago for the evening with friends, this is a good start!