Pizza D.O.C. still downhill?

I had the impression that after a strong opening, Pizza D.O.C. was widely considered to have gone way down hill. (Metromix reviews would seem to confirm this for what they're worth.)

Any recent experiences to the contrary?

I'll be in the neighborhood tonight, in the mood for pizza, and Spacca is closed.

I think you're just the one to answer this.

My last memory was that pizza was a bit underdone, so you might watch out for that. Of course I think the real issue was inconsistency, not consistency in doing it wrong, so that's probably advice for ten pizzamakers ago.

My last visit there -- which was either late 2006 or early 2007 -- was excellent. We arrived around 5 pm on a Saturday evening and the pies were outstanding. But as stated above, that may not be relevant now.

=R=

It's been about a year since I've been to Pizza DOC on Western, but I have been to Trattoria DOC in Evanston recently, and my impression of the pizzas in both places is, not that they have declined, but that the bar has been raised considerably by the likes of Spacca, Coal Fire, and perhaps one or two others.

We were there a couple of Saturdays ago for an early dinner. I watched Lidia's Italian Kitchen, and my pregnant brain required pasta. (My husband is trying to bar me from watching cooking shows for the next 6 weeks)

We started with the shared vegetable antipasto - it was fresh, but nothing exciting.

I had the Bucatini al Amatriciana, this was good, almost too much guanciale. Definitely too much sauce, but the flavors were well balanced.

My husband had the Spinach Gnocchi with 4 Cheese. These had a nice flavor but were overcooked and mushy.

Service was fine.

We decided to have dessert at Margie's instead of there. This would have been a good choice, except it was ridiculously busy and they didn't have enough staff. I waited in line 10 minutes to just pay our bill. (But the ice cream and hot fudge were worth it)

if you're in the hood and Spacca is closed or too crowded, I would suggest Apart Pizza, on Montrose just west of Lincoln. It's mainly a takeout place but with a couple of seats - so if there are 2 or 3 of you, you'll be fine to eat in.

here is a relevant thread

i second mike g's opinion that the pies are a bit underdone...but they weren't always that way.

i frequented pizza d.o.c. for a while when i returned to the area after living in Rome for a year. i craved those paper-thin wood-fired pizzas with slightly charred edges and, fortunately for me, pizza d.o.c. had them down to a T.

that was around 2003-2004. my craving died down for a bit, and when i returned to pizza d.o.c. about a year ago, both my parents and i received sad, soggy pies on our plate. i asked if maybe they changed owners or managers, but sadly, that was not their excuse for such poor pizze.

at least their spaghetti alla carbonara is still worth the trip.

I haven't been to Pizza D.O.C. in a while, but my last experience was actually great. I was surprised to see this posting. In fact, I just went to Spacca Napoli for the third time last week and officially decided that I like Pizza D.O.C. way better. I think both places could stand to cook the pizzas a bit longer, but I like the D.O.C. flavors more. And, the service is much better. Spacca Napoli is located right in the middle of a neighborhood, but they have the attitude of a trendy, destination location. The host staff has never been very friendly or helpful, and the wait staff didn't appear that warm or knowledgeable. Pizza D.O.C., on the other hand, has always felt really comfortable, and even thought it's often busy, I don't hesitate to walk in. If they're experiencing some growing pains, I hope they get it together because it's a great addition to Lincoln Square, and Evanston for that matter (I live in one and grew up in the other).

rlguffman wrote:Spacca Napoli is located right in the middle of a neighborhood, but they have the attitude of a trendy, destination location. The host staff has never been very friendly or helpful, and the wait staff didn't appear that warm or knowledgeable.

I couldn't have had more opposite experiences with service, hosting or otherwise at Spacca in my numerous visits there. At worst, I've found the service a bit lax on the rare occasion, but always friendly. Not an ounce of trendiness in sight, unless you consider Neapolitan pizzas to be trendy.

had pizza DOC three weeks ago. sampled four different pizzas:

prosciutto with peppers
cheese
some sort of salami
porcini

all were excellent, particularly the prosciutto with peppers. we did takeout, and there was something just really good about having them sit in the car for 20 minutes.

haven't been to spacca in a while though, so it's difficult to make the comparison.

Pizza DOC was my daughters favorite place for a longtime, but they have their off days as you can see from the posts, especially if they are busy. It also has the singular distinction of being the only restaurant that I ever sent back a glass of wine, a house red that was oaked to death. I was then informed that one of the bosses was in wine sales as her REAL job, and I might be mistaken. No big, but hardly a feel good.

My husband and I have been devoted to DOC for years. We went tonight and had our first bad meal there. They seemed to be using different ingredients/recipes; the change was really dramatic.

I really hope that it was just an "off" night. Sad.

A bunch of the people who are now at Il Covo were at Pizza DOC. Not sure if that relates, or if they are doing both places, or what...