Noli's alert

Since I know a lot of people strive for that elusive NY slice and Noli's (on Kedzie just north of Lawrence) has been touted by myself and others as doing it quite well, I have bad news. It's just not the same pizza that I would drive 20 minutes for a year ago. I'd say around 4-6 months ago I noticed the difference. The crust is just too thick now and there is just too much cheese on a slice. The pizza has basically doubled in weight. I'm not saying it's bad by regular pizza standards. And it's still a great value in a city that tends to charge over $3 for any slice. Its just neither a great nor New York slice anymore.

This is sad because right before the noticeable change I had some of the best slices ever in Chicago there. Then something changed. I've been there about 10 times since it changed (its convenient), at different times, hoping for it go back to normal. Usually I get slices but Tuesday I got a whole pie and it was the same.

Noli's bread is still good and the byreks haven't changed so it's still a worthwhile place. Just don't make a trek for the pizza.

I agree with the assessment. I've always liked Noli's, but I live closer to Marie's and happily find myself in the delivery area for Pete's on Western and Martino's on Peterson. It's been a while since I had a slice, and I was replenishing myself with kim chee from Clark Market, so I stopped in.

The slices are still NY-sized, but, sadly, are just not the same. It's still NY-ish, but it's been a couple of years since my last trip to NYC so my fading memory makes it difficult to judge the authentic nature. The paper plates, though, ring true.





It remains an interesting place. You can get a pizza (toppings include Hallal meat), a byrek (meat, cheese, spinach, potato, apple), and baklava for dessert. The strip mall home of Noli's is equally intriguing, and exemplifies what I love about Albany Park: the diverse mix of cultures and influences. The mall also houses Clark Market (Korean), a wonderful Middle-Eastern pastry shop, and Kang Nam, my personal favorite Korean restaurant.

Noli's NY Style Pizza
4839 N. Kedzie
773-588-0400
delivery available
Sun-Th: 10 a.m.-midnight; Fr-Sa: 10 a.m.-2 a.m.

Cheers,
Wade

Yep. This might be my favorite strip mall in America. You and I agree about Kang Nam. I like the dolsot bi bim bap there more than any other. The sweet shop is Jaafer.

I had a hot and damned nice Noli's special delivered last night (I ordered at 5 p.m., delivery started at 6 p.m. and my pizza arrived at 6:01 p.m.

Cheers,
Wade

Not sure if anyone noticed this yet, but I read that Noli's is now on the Rewards Network. Just a little FYI.

I had a slice there the other day and it was as good as ever. Thin and airy crust with a nice char to it. I was pleasantly surprised.

It's under new management and better than ever. I know I don't have the clout or post count of most people on this board. But, I really urge you to try Noli's again. The new owners are from the Famous Famiglia company in NYC. They have modified the pizza to be completely NY authentic. And, I must say, it's the best I've found in the city.

Yes, better than Cafe Luigi, Santulo's and Apart Pizza.

Is it worth the trek up to Albany Park for it? I definitely think so.

So are you saying that Noli himself is no longer associated with the place? That seems like a real loss. Do they still serve burek??? I don't suppose Noli's wife makes the yogurt to go with it any more???

This has been my favorite pizza since I first tried it, but it is no longer on my regular route and I'm eating less pizza since my son went off to college, and so I haven't had it in maybe a year or so.

I don't know that I have ever had pizza in NYC, so I have no point of comparison -- but it sounds like thinner crust, more tomato and less cheese?? Which is how I like my pizza -- what would you say is different about the pizza, for those of us who don't know Famous Famiglia, since the new management took over??

soltro79 wrote:It's under new management and better than ever. I know I don't have the clout or post count of most people on this board. But, I really urge you to try Noli's again.

Who gives a hoot about clout or post count, your enthusiasm for this pizza makes up for all those intangibles. I'm sure I am not the only one intrigued by your post.

I was in NYC in February, I shared a pizza with Josephine quite similar to your half white- half red pizza.

Thanks for posting and keep up the enthusiasm!

Regards,

Closed tuesdays

Noli trained them to continue to make all of the standby Albanian (?) dishes on the menu like the Byrek's. I haven't tried them though, so I can't review them.

Judy, you've pretty much nailed it. Less sauce, less cheese, thinner crust. Bigger slices and flavor. Less is more!

After the recent chat on the NYC Style pizza thread, I ventured over for a slice.

Good news: a decent-sized slice is only a buck-fifty! That's what I paid growing up in Queens in the early 80's. More good news: they've got a dreaded rotating heat lamp contraption, but the thing is turned off and used only to store slices at room temp. To order, slices are reheated via oven-blast, as they should be. Best news: The crust was good. It had a paper-thin crisp exterior that gave way to light, springy bread. No charring, but a tasty, very well-textured crust nonetheless.

Bad news: the sauce was insipid, and brought back memories of my mother's cooking (open can of Hunts, pour over limp spaghetti). It's overcooked, sweet and acidless canned glop.

Too bad. This pizza has real potential, but the sauce was a dealbreaker even at the bargain-basement price for a slice.

I actually like the slightly sweet sauce, not sure if it's homemade or what, but I found it somewhat unique and very tasty. Different strokes for diff folks I guess.

FoodSnob77 wrote:I actually like the slightly sweet sauce, not sure if it's homemade or what, but I found it somewhat unique and very tasty. Different strokes for diff folks I guess.

Definitely not homemade. There were cases of the stuff in the cooler (or was it just a storage cabinet?) next to the counter when I was there. I don't recall the brand.

I went in and told them their sausage will be the death of their business and then showed them all of the negative reviews on Yelp and LTH... hope they take the advice to heart.

I ordered a large cheese pizza last night and was disappointed to receive a pasty, undercooked pie. I fired up the pizza stone in the oven and gave a couple of slices a solid blast of heat, which properly browned up the crust. I know it's normal to have the pies slightly undercooked when they're to be cooked a second time when sold as individual slices, but I was surprised to have such a pale pie delivered.

-Dan

We had a pizza from Noli's a couple of weeks ago and the crust was browned very nicely, so perhaps you had one that was a fluke, or maybe they were busy and made a mistake by rushing things. Or maybe they are just inconsistent.

I thought the sauce was decent, but perhaps was not paying as close attention as I might have, since it was one of those late work-night grab some food on the way home meals. Also, for me the crust-sauce-cheese ratio is just perfect at Noli's, and that correct ratio may outweigh any imperfections in the sauce. (And, Mr. H acquiesced to green olives, so I was in pizza heaven )

We ordered a burek also, which I thought was less good than when Noli was there; however, we brought it home to eat and the bureks always were better eaten on the premises, piping hot, and all they had was meat, which is not my favorite -- I think because it is not well seasoned, but also perhaps because I really wanted spinach and cheese. I can report that the yogurt is still made on the premises, because I asked.

Judy H wrote:We had a pizza from Noli's a couple of weeks ago and the crust was browned very nicely, so perhaps you had one that was a fluke, or maybe they were busy and made a mistake by rushing things. Or maybe they are just inconsistent.

I just spotted on Serious Eats that Daniel Zemans posted a review Noli's this morning and apparently also got an undercooked pie. Two data points is hardly a trend, but it does lessen the likelihood of a fluke.

Daniel Zemans of Serious Eats wrote:I ate enough "pizza cheese" in New York to develop a taste for a dairy product that sweats orange, but I also came to expect a crust that had some solid elements of crispness and chewiness. Those hopes were raised when I saw the dough was hand rolled rather than put through a machine. Unfortunately, my whole pie, much like every slice sitting on the counter, was a bit undercooked, resulting in plenty of chew but almost no crispness.

With some fresh mushrooms and hot coppa tossed on top, then blasted on top of a heated pizza stone, the leftover Noli's wasn't bad. I still don't think I'll be rushing back for more.
-Dan

I'm devastated

I went in to Noli's tonight. The "new" owners are no longer there. They sold to a different guy who's changing the name. AND, to make matters worse, the new owner hired the old pizza cook. His pizzas are always too doughy, undercooked and generally inconsistent. However, he was, for a very long time, the guy who made the buryk's, so I guess that will please some people. But this explains (to me, at least) why Serious Eats gave Noli's such a lackluster review.

I'm pretty bummed. I'll admit, I was the biggest Noli's fluffer on this board. No more... I guess it's back to Apart Co. for me.

soltro79 wrote:I'm devastated

I went in to Noli's tonight. The "new" owners are no longer there. They sold to a different guy who's changing the name. AND, to make matters worse, the new owner hired the old pizza cook. His pizzas are always too doughy, undercooked and generally inconsistent. However, he was, for a very long time, the guy who made the buryk's, so I guess that will please some people. But this explains (to me, at least) why Serious Eats gave Noli's such a lackluster review.

I'm pretty bummed. I'll admit, I was the biggest Noli's fluffer on this board. No more... I guess it's back to Apart Co. for me.

There's always Cafe Luigi.

I hate Cafe Luigi.

That sucks... I was excited to try this place... Back to Santullo's for me...

A couple of nights ago, Ronna and I were hungry and very lazy. That's not a good combination, so we lost our heads and ordered from nearby Noli's against the advice of some trusted LTHers.

It's all already in this thread, but here are the lowlights:
Doughy, flavorless crust; cheap, gummy cheese; paper thin peperoni. I can't report much about the sauce, as there was barely enough on the pie to taste it.

Blah. This pizza was truly awful. To borrow an old joke from my dad, we ate Noli's Pizza 3 times that night: The first time, the last time, and never again.

--Rich