Gulliver's Glenview

We went to Gulliver's on Euclid near Milwaukee last night... can't say I'm impressed.
I have vague memories of a very cheesy pan pizza from the long-gone Gulliver's at Dempster and Milwaukee in Niles, and this wasn't it.

It has the initial appearance of something in the Burt's (former partner of the founder) or Malnati's-style pan pizza. It's not, though. The crust does not have a noticeable cornmeal component (Lou's) or the focaccia-like chew of Burt's. The crust is relatively bland (I'm guessing much less fat), like a crusty bread. It's got a good crunch and a bit of a char, but it reminded me more of matzoh than the delight of Burt's burnt edges. Toppings (sausage and pepperoni) were good but not great. The sausage was supposedly "spicy sausage" but I didn't get any heat from it.

Service has a few bumps: the salad (served with soup spoons to split since their tongs have not yet arrived) was supposed to come with bread to tide us over for the 30-minute pizza wait, and we had to ask for it -- and were given cold rolls. Blue cheese dressing on the salad (big enough to split for 3 at $8 -- a single side salad was $4.95) was flavorless.

Bottom line, I didn't hate it, but it's not my top pizza in the area.
I'd definitely carry out a Lou Malnati's or Mugavero's (thin) before going back there again.

I'll probably try it someday, but the last 2 times I had Gulliver's on Howard it was just an average deep dish pizza to me, so I'm already not expecting much. I still want to give them a chance.

I've always been more of a fan of the Gulliburger.

So is the interior filled with antiques like Howard Street?

Gulliver's Pizza and Pub
4520 Lake Street
Glenview
http://gulliverspizza.net

LAZ wrote:So is the interior filled with antiques like Howard Street?

Filled? Not so much. Heavily decorated, yes.

OK, a second helping, out with MrsF's office:

Much better than the first time, maybe it was opening-week jitters.
Cheesier, with a richer crust, closer in flavor and texture to a Malnati's, maybe a little lighter (although not the airiness of Burt's).

Service was also better, no mishaps.

I remember some pizzeria owner talking about opening a new place and saying that the pizza was less good because they had to start with new pans, and older, seasoned pans make better pizzas.

LAZ wrote:I remember some pizzeria owner talking about opening a new place and saying that the pizza was less good because they had to start with new pans, and older, seasoned pans make better pizzas.

I don't think that was the problem -- the pans they brought out looked black and shiny, they probably moved some from the Howard Street location.

Had dinner there last night. We were a group of eight that used to dine at the Howard St location years ago. This was our first visit to the Glenview location.

The consensus was that the pizza was pretty darn close to what's served on Howard St. Between the eight of us we had two large pan pizzas and one person ordered pasta.

Service was good. Our beverages were refilled without asking. Our only gripe was the noise in the room - and we're not a bunch of crabby old geezers. The ceilings are quite high and there are no acoustics. The room was not crowded, yet the noise level was tolerable at best.

Overall, a good meal. However, having a choice, I prefer the Howard St spot.

I've been eager to eat at the new Gulliver's, as I used to eat at the Howard & California location AND I live a puddle-jump away.

Who wants to have an LTH gathering and nosh with Fresser?

Fresser wrote:I've been eager to eat at the new Gulliver's, as I used to eat at the Howard & California location AND I live a puddle-jump away.

Who wants to have an LTH gathering and nosh with Fresser?

Fresser-

Post something on the Events board (a specific date and time always help), include the LTH logo and see who is interested!