Pie-Eyed Pizza banks on late-night crowds. A handful of tables allow binge drinkers to lay down a post-bibendial layer of alcohol-absorbent mozzarella after tossing back one too many until five or six in the morning on weekends. It keeps three to four pizzas under heat lamps for slice sales at any given moment. Buy a slice for $2.85 ($3.15 with toppings), or order a whole pie in thin or thick configurations. Choose from the standard array of toppings, but, as the owner warns "nothing too California!" You can also get the normal range of pizzeria appetizers, including mozzarella sticks, fried mushrooms and zucchini, and French fries.

I'm a tough crowd for pizza. My benchmarks are the perfect pies at Frank Pepe's in New Haven, or Patsy's in Harlem. In Chicago, the only places to which I've willingly returned time and time again are Vito and Nicks on the far southwest side, and Candlelite in Roger's Park. So it came as no surprise to me that the slices on offer at Pie-Eyed didn't please me much: factory crust, mediocre sauce, bad cheese, and lots of it. But if I was drunk on a Saturday night, Pie-Eyed just might hit the spot!

Centerstage Reviewer: Centerstage Chicago Staff