Let me start this with a seeming contradiction: I like Chicago-style pizza, and I hate Chicago-style pizza. What can I say? I contain multitudes. What I mean is that I’m not a big fan of deep dish, which is to me basically a cheese pie that takes an hour to prepare and cannot therefore be an effective lunch option.
But in high school, I spent a summer at engineering camp at Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill., and discovered the joys of the other style of Chicago pizza: crispy thin-crust pies cut into squares instead of wedges, referred to as “pub cut” or “party cut.” While it’s harder to realize when you’ve eaten too much ‘za thanks to the topography of the divisions, I really enjoy the crunch of the crust and the ease of eating smaller pieces.
Dicey’s Pizza & Tavern makes a fine pizza-cut, thin-crust pie, delivered quickly to the table in plenty of time to devour during the lunch hour. Parking is still free and available in the lot across the street from its location at 425 Chestnut St. near the old Nashville Sounds stadium scoreboard. Land and Sea, the restaurant group behind Dicey’s, also owns Parson’s Chicken & Fish, which previously occupied the location. After that business closed early in the pandemic, the owners switched concepts and gave the building a new coat of paint, changing red accents for green and swapping the fryers out for deck pizza ovens.
So the space still has the same airy vibe, cozy bar area and expansive open-air back beer garden with plenty of outdoor seating, table tennis and a view of the new Soho House. The service is still cheerful and attentive. That’s all good!
The menu features a short list of starters like crispy cheese and fried pickles, plus salads, sandwiches and pizzas. The 9-inch subs are only available for lunch and are made using fresh-baked bread and traditional Italian meat toppings.
Patrons can choose from specialty pizzas, classic pies or make-your-own in 9-inch or 14-inch sizes that range in price from $11 to $24 depending on size and toppings. I chose the Peppy Boy, a downright delicious pizza with small pepperoni cups that curl up at the edges to hold a splash of oil — I mean flavor — after cooking. The spicy tomato sauce benefits from the addition of plenty of oregano and a drizzle of hot honey to balance with a little sweet heat.
My only quibble was with the final cost of the meal. A 9-inch pizza is cut into nine pieces, and four or five is plenty for a midday meal with some to take home for a snack later. Not wanting to just eat pizza for lunch, I also ordered a side salad. My server asked if I wanted some dressing, and I asked for Italian. My bad, I should have checked to see that the menu stated that the good-size salad of mixed farm greens, sliced radishes and cucumbers already came dressed with a simple vinaigrette, but I feel the server should have mentioned that when I asked for Italian. Instead, she returned to the table to say that they didn’t have Italian and would I like blue cheese or ranch instead. “Sure, bring me some ranch please,” I replied, figuring it was too late to go totally healthy at this point. And the salad was quite good, albeit larger than it needed to be for a side salad, especially since I certainly couldn’t take any home with my pizza because the vinaigrette had rendered it pretty limp by the end of my meal.
But when my bill came, I was quite surprised to see that it came to more than $31 including tax and tip for a small pizza, side salad and a water. When I reviewed my bill at home, I discovered that dressing that I didn’t really want/need was a $2 add-on for a thimble-sized ramekin, a fact not noted on the menu that stung a little.
"I want my two dollars!"
While I did enjoy the last pieces of the Peppy Boy at home, if I’m going to have a $30+ solo lunch, there had better be drinks or a meal at Husk involved! If you’re willing to pay the fare, Dicey’s does serve a great Chicago pizza (the kind that I like). But I probably will think twice before I head in for a quick lunch again anytime soon.
