Lou Malnati’s

Hello Everyone!

A lot of the major cities in the US have food associated to it.  Boston has New England clam chowder, Baltimore has crab cakes, Philadelphia has Philly cheese steaks, and San Diego had fish tacos.  What about Chicago?  Chicago has deep dish pizza!  There are four main places in Chicago to get the best deep dish pizza: Giordano’s, Gino’s East, Uno, and Lou Malnati’s.  This past week, I went to the original Lou Malnati’s at Lincolnwood.

We went kind of late on a Friday night (around 8pm).  We were seated immediately and the first thing I noticed was all the posters and jerseys hanging on the wall and most of them were for the Chicago Bears.  There were signed posters of Urlacher and Hester; jersey of William Perry; and they even had a display for a goal post pad. 

There was also an episode of Throwdown with Bobby Flay where Bobby Flay challenged Mark Malnati (Lou’s son) to a deep dish pizza throwdown.  Here is a clip from the episode which describes how to make a Lou Malnati’s deep dish pizza.  If you were wondering, Mark Malnati defeated Bobby Flay in the throwdown.

The pizzas usually take a while to make (the menu says around 30 minutes), so we ordered a salad first.  We got the Antipasto Salad.  If you are not a fan of excessive vinegar and sourness, then you are not going to enjoy this salad.  Luckily, everyone at our table loves vinegar so it wasn’t a problem for us.  Aside for the sourness, it was a typical salad.  I really liked the baked croutons; flavor with every crunch.

For the pizza, we got a medium sized “Lou” which contains fresh spinach, mushrooms and sliced tomatoes covered with a blend of mozzarella, romano and cheddar cheese.  Deep dish pizza without meat is a crime, so we added sausage to it (for a little extra cost).

We had to wait a while for our pizza, longer than the 30 minute advertised on the menu.  But I will say that the wait was worth it.  The pizza was really good!  And the “Lou” comes with a butter crust which adds so many flavors into the crust.  It is completely different than any crust I have ever had.

Overall, my experience at the Lincolnwood Lou Malnati’s was positive.  The pizza was very good (I hear that the pizza at this location is better than the other ones), but I was not satisfied with the service.  Maybe it was because it was towards the end of the night and our waitress just wanted to go home, but I just didn’t feel welcomed.  Even with the unsatisfactory service, I would go back just for the deep dish pizza.  My goal is to try some of the other deep dish pizzerias and figure out which one I like the best, so make sure you check back for updates!

Chicago Pizza and Oven Grinders

 

To the few readers that will see this,

My first few blogs are going to be about the places I have gone to eat recently.  The most recent place that I went to was Chicago Pizza and Oven Grinders on North Clark (between Webster and Dickens). Since this place doesn’t take reservations, you have to plan your visit wisely. My first time to this hidden restaurant was last year. I went during the weekend with 3 friends and we had to wait a good hour or so to get a seat.  This time I learned my lesson and went on a weeknight; a party of 7 and no wait at all.

At first appearance, this place just looks like an ordinary house. I wouldn’t think there was a restaurant there if it wasn’t for the valet guys standing outside and the signs for the place. 

A historical fact about the building…Oven Grinders is located at 2121 N. Clark and the notorious St Valentines massacre took place at 2122 N. Clark (directly across the street).  I guess you can sit and enjoy your food while appreciating some gruesome Chicago history.

We started off with a large Italian Festa and Mediterranean bread.

 

 

 

The salad was HUGE!  After digging into it a little, I realized it was 80% lettuce.  We just focused on finishing all the meat and olives.   Now, the Mediterranean bread is to die for.  The spices they put on the bread made my taste buds orgasm in my mouth…(did that sound wrong?)  I can eat an entire meal of just the bread.  It is a MUST try if you go.

For entrees you have two choices…their famous Pizza Pot Pies and Oven Grinders. 

 

Their pizza pot pies are exactly what it sounds like, a pot pie with a doughy crust, sausage sauce, gobs of cheese and whole mushrooms the size of anime eyes!

Yes, the mushrooms were that big!

The Oven Grinders were rather large as well.  Two pieces of Italian bread with a ton of meat and cheese in between…can’t go wrong with that.  The roasted peppers were a good side (much more healthier than fries).

 

 

 

The prices were very reasonable for the quantity of food they provide and the quality is amazing as well!  A party of 7 came out to be 20 bucks a person for salad, bread, and an entree.  A very important note…THEY ONLY ACCEPT CASH.  Make sure you bring the green.  Also, there is plenty of FREE parking around the restaurant so don’t waste your money on the valet.