Little Lark Brings Wood-Fired Pizza and a Top-Tier Patio to Avondale
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It’s official: Meadowlark Hospitality has made its foray into pizza with Little Lark, owner Steve Lewis’s latest addition to Avondale’s Guild Row. But the DNA of all of his Logan Square concepts can be felt throughout the new restaurant, from The Meadowlark-level cocktails, to housemade salumi from Lardon, and the seasonal chef-driven mentality of Union.
“When I open a concept, I look at what’s successful about what I have, and the first part is the atmosphere and vibe,” says Lewis. “[For Little Lark] I thought, let’s get something communal and fun that we don’t have to think about too much, but is still [delicious] and satisfying. It can be cheffy and ingredient-driven. For me, it wasn’t necessarily the foray into standard Italian fare, but more of the vibe associated with a pizza restaurant.”
The project is a group effort: Guild Row owners Jim Lasko and Elyse Agnello wanted to add a full service concept to their five-year old co-working space and social club and asked Lewis to collaborate on it a year and a half ago. “We talked a lot about our shared ethos,” says Lewis. “Elyse is the mastermind architect behind everything, so she spearheaded the design and project management. Jim is an artist by nature, so he did a lot of the woodworking, fabrication, and design influence. It helped that we share a lot of the same goals and visions.”
The design itself reinforces the community aspect: The 45-seat indoor space features exposed brick, reclaimed wood tables, a garage door, and view of the open kitchen. The main attraction there is a red gas and wood-fired Fiero pizza oven, where chef de cuisine Jeff Rueth and his team turn out “neo-Neapolitan”-style pies (more on those in a minute), along with a full menu of salads, Monday night pinsas (airy Roman-style flatbreads), and small plates. And the 75-seat patio is complete with a fire pit, outdoor bar dotted with cozy lamps, and spacious wooden banquettes.
Little Lark is Meadowlark Hospitality’s first concept outside of Logan Square, but so far it’s fitting right in. “Avondale is a big wide neighborhood and it would be great to be able to continue to put it on the map from a food standpoint,” says Lewis. Here’s everything you need to know before heading over.
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What’s “Neo”-Neapolitan pizza, anyway?
Lewis acknowledges when it comes making pizza in a serious pizza town, style matters, but so does tone. “Everyone’s doing something different, whether it’s deep dish, tavern-style, or artisanal,” says Lewis. “And the ones that are super successful not only have great food, but they have a vibe and full-circle approach to a restaurant.”
Artisan is closer to how Lewis defines Little Lark’s pizza, with elements of Neapolitan pies. “You get the characteristics of a Neapolitan-style pizza, like the leoparding, char, size, and amount of toppings. But our pizzas are a little thicker on the crust — still nice and thin — but with a bit of rigidity so you can pull a slice up and it still holds, with a nice slight bend,” says Lewis. “We’re doing a style that works for us and not trying to reinvent the wheel.” The oven temperature is slightly lower than traditional Neapolitan, around 650-700°F (as opposed to the traditional 800-900°F), and cook time slightly longer, at four to five minutes instead of 60-90 seconds, and they are using a naturally leavened dough.
Toppings range from a simple but delicious margherita to finocchiona and fennel (made with Lardon salumi), to the Bianca, a “sneaky good” (Lewis’s words) combination of fresh mozzarella, ricotta, sesame seeds, Parmesan, cream, and nutmeg; and a spicy ‘nduja with pickled cherry peppers and pecorino. Rueth also swaps out seasonal ingredients; recently retiring a summer sweet corn with fermented tomato and chili pie to a one with roasted butternut squash purée, confit garlic, prosciutto, whipped ricotta, and arugula.
The menu is driven by the seasons.
Speaking of the seasons, Rueth (an alum of New York’s Del Posto and Gramercy Tavern and Chicago’s The Bristol and Adalina) is passionate about Midwestern ingredients and seasonality. Both show up on the pizzas as well as other offerings, which include radicchio salad; Butterball potatoes with artichoke, shishito peppers, provolone, whipped yogurt and salsa verde; salumi and cheese plates, and eggplant caponata with focaccia and Thai basil.
“Seasonality is how I write recipes and develop dishes,” Rueth says. “To me, Midwest cuisine is something done thoughtfully and with intention.” He’s also excited about apples, which show up braised, crisped, and as a butter in an autumn spiced panna cotta. “I’m grateful to be able to try new things and get the freedom to do some cheffy items,” says Rueth. “But when people look at the menu it doesn’t have to be seven French words I learned. It could just be really good simple stuff.”
The cocktails are Meadowlark-approved.
The Meadowlark snagged a World’s 50 Best Bar nod this year for good reason, and you can tell the talented bar team, overseen by beverage director Abe Vucekovich, is behind the ingredient-driven cocktail list at Little Lark. The smooth and clear pizza Negroni with Michigan aquavit, gin, salers, and Carpano blanc stirred over basil and served with a cherry tomato garnish is as pretty as it is delicious, while the pineapple G&T is fun twist with gin, St. Germain, Suze, and elderflower liqueur.
And no patio is complete without adequate spritz options, and this summer we loved the Monty Don with strawberry infused-aperitif, Italicus, and cava and a spicy peach with mezcal, crème de peche, triple sec, Peychaud’s, and cava. A balanced coffee cocktail has entered the mix for fall, made with Wheatley vodka, Metropolis cold brew blend, Kota pandan liqueur, and Fernet Branca. “Having the connection to The Meadowlark is apparent, and that was done with intention,” says Lewis. “We didn’t just want to put out a bunch of porch pounders.”
Speaking of pizza Negroni, there is also a pizza wine and pizza beer.
The cocktails are a definite draw at Little Lark, but the best-selling beer is a pizza pils created by Pipeworks Brewery Co. “We worked on a Pilsner blend with them that’s a bit more approachable than their premium Pilsner, which has Bavarian Czech influences,” says Lewis, who also offers local beers and ciders by Hopewell Brewing Company, Eris Brewery and Cider House, and Half Acre Brewing. For wines, you will find boutique wineries, natural wines, and other “fun and funky offerings” like Bungalow by Middlebrow’s pizza wine, produced from Michigan grapes, a floral Bodegas Portia from Spain, a Lebanese Mersel Labanini, and couple of orange varietals. “It’s fun to have that yin and yang to a wine list where it doesn’t all read as pedestrian, but it doesn’t read unapproachable either,” says Lewis.
We’re hoping for a mild fall so we can take full advantage of Little Lark’s patio as long as the fire pit stays lit, but we’re equally excited to settle into the cozy indoor space once the garage door rolls up for the winter.
Liz Grossman has been a Chicago-based writer, editor and storyteller for 25 years. She’s the former editor-in-chief of Plate magazine and co-founder of the nonprofit storytelling series, Between Bites. Her writing has appeared in Newsweek, Chicago, Robb Report, Flavor & the Menu, and more. Follow her @elizabites_Chi, and follow @Resy while you’re at it.
