Eve’s Garden Cafe
4032 Oakton St, Skokie, IL, 60076
847-780-2626
contact@egardencafe.com
Supervised by the Chicago Rabbinical Council (cRc)
Watching one of my favorite cooking shows, the television chef presented a finished plate of something wonderful, vibrant, full of color and pleasing to the eyes. “Before a person takes a single bite, they first eat with their eyes,” the chef told the camera audience. Perhaps there’s even more to be said on the ancient wisdom of culinary dining habits; before one takes a single bite, they first eat by location.
Indeed, who in their right mind plans a trip to anywhere in the world, business or pleasure, without first surveying the place’s most authentic foods? Or deciding what and where to eat by either some sort of world-famous folklore, by the indigenous influences of the surrounding local cultures, or by some modern-day popular decree? Who visits Rome without searching for its best cacio e pepe, or stays in Paris without having its best steak frite or escargot? (Ok, so perhaps many Jews wouldn’t; some of these treats are not so kosher). Or how about who goes to Tel Aviv without finding its best lamb shawarma?
Yet here I was in Chicago, a city known for its amazing deep-dish pizza, on no less than my third stint moving to the Jewish communities of West Rogers Park and Skokie, and still I had not identified an outstanding place to have a good slice of kosher pizza. My concern for the absence of a great kosher pizza spot in an iconic pizza city was quickly giving way to annoyance when I finally stumbled upon this shining beacon of culinary deliciousness – Eve’s Garden Cafe.
Many of the locals still know the place as Sarah’s Brick Oven Pizza, so first, let’s explore what brick oven pizza means. A brick oven provides a large baking surface inside a half-bowl-shaped oven designed to get super hot, thus baking the pizza super fast. This flash effect makes for a flaky, more flavorful crust, and lends a smoky flavor to the pizza toppings. Ultimately, the aggressive firing method means the pizza doesn’t have time for the dough to get soggy or the veggies to get wilted. Cafe Manager Junior came to the counter to describe it to me the best: “The crust comes out perfectly, done, a good size and perfectly crispy.” From the East to the West Coasts, brick oven eateries have been highly popular and are often recognized as the future of great pizza making.
I brought along my longtime friend Akiva Cole, who also now lives in West Rogers Park. Many years earlier we were in yeshiva together back in Brooklyn. Cole is an expert bread baker, so his thoughts on this pizza culinary excursion would be invaluable. Turns out he wanted to talk about another popular item on the menu first. The creamy toast (large flat bagel, mozzarella, garlic mayo, hardboiled egg, tomatoes and black olives, topped with mushroom alfredo sauce, $18.98).
“My first bite is the creamy toast, and it is delicious,” Cole declared. “It’s the perfect breakfast item. You can probably have it anytime but it’s really good, creamy and savory.” I agreed. And while Eve’s Garden Cafe does have a full espresso bar with plenty of breakfast offerings and pastries, I can’t say I was expecting to be wowed by a breakfast item. But the creamy toast is certainly one of my breakfast GOATs (Greatest Of All Time).
Finally, we explored the brick oven offerings, which included the garden pomodori pizza (mozzarella, pizza sauce, red onion, black olives, roasted eggplant, roasted garlic and feta, topped with arugula), eggplant shakshuka pizza (mozzarella, shakshuka sauce, roasted eggplant and runny eggs, served with a side of tahini). (All pizzas come in three sizes: 12″, $16.95; 14″ $18.95; and 16″, $20.95) We also enjoyed the house focaccia (mozzarella, mushrooms, roasted red peppers, onions, black olives, Italian dressing, $17.95).
Cole, whose refined taste buds we often debate over, wondering if they should be classified as “bougie” (decadent) or not, continued to be impressed with all the offerings on our table. “I love the cheese-pull on slice,” he reveled. I asked him what exactly is a cheese-pull. “Let me show you,” Cole volunteered. He lifted a slice from its tray, and the stretch of white gooey, glistening cheese resembled a cheesy child being pulled from its cheesy mother, but clinging on for dear life. It’s cheese so stretchy it simply refuses to let go.
But in all seriousness, a good cheese-pull is tantamount to understanding if you’re eating a good slice of pizza, proof of three critical factors: 1) the pizza is fresh, 2) the cheese had been melted properly and 3) the pizza was baked at the right temperature. About halfway through my third slice of pizza I was ready to declare the impossible. Eve’s Garden Cafe may even give the hallowed kosher pizza eateries of New York a run for their money. How so, you ask? In NYC, even at the best eatery, one’s habit is to rush to the counter and grab the garlic, parmesan cheese and basil shakers, and cover your slice like a blanket of snow before one even has their first bite. Not so at Eve’s. The flavor profile that sprang to life from the aggressively seasoned pizza sauces, the salty cheeses and the flash cooked pizza dough proved a flavor bomb all on their own. Today, my condiments would not be needed.
“I think New York pizza is fine, but we have a good pizza culture here,” Cole insisted. Perhaps any other day I could challenge him on that assumption, but not today. Today, at Eve’s Garden Cafe we ate with our eyes, and to my own relief and satisfaction, we ate by location.
