The Cricket Serves Up Tavern Style Pizza in Battle Creek

I’ve known The Cricket for years.

I know the beautiful 90-foot cherrywood bar. I know about the darts. I know they’ve got comedy and all kinds of things happening upstairs.

But somehow, I had completely missed something.

The Cricket makes a darn good pizza.

I found that out this week almost by accident.

I was meeting someone at The Cricket in downtown Battle Creek and figured, while I was there, why not try the pizza for this week’s Tasty Times review?

I ordered a large Supreme, with one Stu-style change. I’m not a big fan of the standard green bell peppers, so I had them leave those off and put hot peppers on instead. I like a little kick on my pizza.

When it arrived, I knew I had made a pretty good decision.

This is a great tavern-style pizza, with those crispy edges I really enjoy. You can tell it has been cooked properly in a good pizza oven, and the hot peppers gave my Supreme just the extra spice I was looking for.

There was no complicated food-critic analysis going through my head. My reaction while I was eating it was pretty simple: “This is really good pizza.”

Actually, a little later it became, “This is really, really hitting the spot for me.”

And when our server, Tabby, stopped by and asked how everything tasted, I told her exactly what I thought. It was fantastic.

Tabby deserves a mention too. She was friendly, kept our drinks filled, checked to make sure everything was good and somehow managed to be attentive without hovering. That is exactly the kind of service I appreciate.

I ordered the large on purpose because I wanted leftovers, so the pizza ended up giving me lunch plus another meal to take home. That works for me.

What makes this discovery even more fun is that pizza is only one part of what The Cricket has going on.

The 90-foot cherrywood bar is hard to miss, darts are a big part of the Cricket identity, and the upstairs lounge and comedy club has become an important Battle Creek spot for stand-up comedy as well as receptions, art nights, private gatherings and other events.

So depending on the night, you might be walking into The Cricket for a completely different reason.

Now I can add another one to the list: go there for the pizza.

One other thing I discovered on this visit is that it works nicely for a casual meetup. We were there around 1:30 in the afternoon, after the normal lunch rush, and it was quiet enough to open the computers, have lunch and talk without feeling like we were in anyone’s way. I could easily see meeting someone there again, especially later in the day when you might want a beer with the pizza.

But the pizza is the story here.

If you’re like me and have always thought of The Cricket primarily as a bar, you may be missing one of the best reasons to stop in.

Sometimes the fun of doing these local food reviews is discovering a place you didn’t know about.

Other times, it is discovering something new about a place you thought you already knew.

For me, this week was definitely the second kind.

I discovered the pizza at The Cricket, and I’ll be back for it.

Quick Questions About The Cricket

What kind of pizza does The Cricket in Battle Creek serve?

The Cricket describes itself as a tavern-style pizza place. My Supreme had crispy edges, plenty of toppings, and I swapped the standard green peppers for hot peppers for a little extra kick.

Is The Cricket in Battle Creek just a bar?

No. Along with food, drinks and darts, The Cricket has an upstairs lounge and comedy club used for stand-up comedy, receptions, private gatherings and other events.

Is The Cricket a good place for a casual meetup in Battle Creek?

It was for us. Around 1:30 p.m., after the lunch rush, it was quiet and comfortable enough to eat, open our computers and have a conversation.