Next pizza option in Des Plaines now that Romano's is gone?

Have lived in Des Plaines for 5 years and during that time developed a fairly regular ritual of getting a thin crust pizza from Romano's every Thursday night. Over that time I'd stray to other places to see if there were other good options but nothing ever came close to Romano's so I will pose the question to locals in the area: now that Romano's is gone, where does a guy (or gal) go for good thin crust pizza similar to that of Romano's?

I've tried Giggio's but that's not the thin crust pizza I'm looking for...theirs is too 'cheesy' for my taste.

Is Barnaby's the best option for cracker-crust thin pizza?

I live only a few blocks from Romano's and had no idea they had gone out of business. We were never regulars there, but enjoyed the few visits we made several years ago. It was good, family style, red sauce Italian food in a comforting throwback environment.

We kept sayin, "We gotta get back to Romano's for dinner sometime," but never did. I wonder how many others made the same declaration and never followed through. Probably why they're gone.

So, with three properties in a row all vacated, the old ice house on the west (already knocked down), Romano's in the middle, and The Black Ram on the east, how will the geniuses who run our fair city make poor use of that land?

Buddy

wow, that's news to me--they had the best thin in the area. the only reason i would sometimes skip Romano's and get Rosati's is because of their late night special (discounted XL 2 topping). that really sucks. if Romano's was your standard, i wouldn't recommend Rosati's as a replacement quality wise so i too am left looking for a good thin to replace Romano's. tis a sad day!

Wow. You buried the lead on that story. Romano's is closed? That's too bad. Their panless pizza was unique and a style which I very much enjoyed.

stevez wrote:Wow. You buried the lead on that story. Romano's is closed? That's too bad. Their panless pizza was unique and a style which I very much enjoyed.

It came on very quickly. There were some rumblings about a month ago but all of a sudden yesterday I saw a sign at Romano's that said "Last Week" and when I checked I was informed that yesterday was their last day. Terrible. Part of the charm of living in Des Plaines has been all of the old school joints that survived the decades but with Black Ram and now Romano's gone, DP is starting to look more and more like these lifeless yuppie burbs with new condo developments, strip malls, and the same crappy restaurants.

I believe the post you referenced here was the one that got me going to Romano's in the first place!

They just opened a D'Agostino's in Park Ridge and it has GREAT thin crust pizza!

D'Agostino's
742 W. Higgins
Park Ridge, IL
847-518-8700
www.dagsdelivers.com

To answer your question, yes . . . I believe Barnaby's is the best thin crust option in that area, and while I liked Romano's, I prefer Barnaby's (although I'll be sad to see Romano's go as it seems like I only discovered it a short time ago). I also think that the Barnaby's on Touhy is remarkably consistent.

I'm a little surprised that people are surprised that Ramano's has gone out of business. Three times in the past year I tried to stop there to eat during what were supposedly their open hours in the afternoon or early evening, and found the place locked up, with no sign indicating when they'd be open again. Gave up after the third time.

If you want to go a little north, Salerno's in Mt Prospect is really good. There's a few comments for it, including mine, in this thread.

Salerno's
1716 E Kensington Rd
Mt Prospect, IL 60056-1900
(847) 699-2822
http://www.salernoscatering.com/

Also, I've found Sarpino's to be an okay pizza. Sort of an improved version of a Papa John's-type pizza (corporate, a little limp, a little pre-fab), but still an improvement. They ingredients are fresh and there's a lot of options.

Sarpino's
578 E. Oakton Street
Des Plaines, IL 60018
847-299-9222
(and many other locations)

Romano's had the thinnest and most cracker crisp crust available in this area. Barnaby's is a very good pizza (in spite of it's somewhat limp sauce) with a thin but not as thin or crisp crust as Romano's. Gigio's and Salerno's are not thin crust in what is considered that by this board. I look forward to trying D'Agostino's soon. The neck bones from Cuzzin's (2 blocks east of Romano's) are far superior to any meal that ever came out of Romano's, other than their pizza.

abe_froeman wrote:If you want to go a little north, Salerno's in Mt Prospect is really good.

Really? I had Salerno's pizza for the first time last night at my son's end of teeball season party and I was disappointed. Every pizza I tried was a greasy mess. The sauce was mediocre. The crust was too thick and definitely wasn't what I'd consider thin crust. Plus the pizza sat in my stomach like a rock for the rest of the night. Completely disappointing and unenjoyable. Both my wife and I swore that would be our first and last time eating Salerno's pizza.

Tortorice's in Arlington Heights is, by far, my favorite pizza in the area. They have other locations, but having never eaten at any of them, I can only vouch for Arlington Heights.

Tortorice's Pizzeria
1735 East Central Road
Arlington Heights, IL 60005
(847) 437-7668
http://www.tortorices.com/

Seamus wrote:

abe_froeman wrote:If you want to go a little north, Salerno's in Mt Prospect is really good.

Really? I had Salerno's pizza for the first time last night at my son's end of teeball season party and I was disappointed. Every pizza I tried was a greasy mess. The sauce was mediocre. The crust was too thick and definitely wasn't what I'd consider thin crust. Plus the pizza sat in my stomach like a rock for the rest of the night. Completely disappointing and unenjoyable. Both my wife and I swore that would be our first and last time eating Salerno's pizza.

Tortorice's in Arlington Heights is, by far, my favorite pizza in the area. They have other locations, but having never eaten at any of them, I can only vouch for Arlington Heights.

Tortorice's Pizzeria
1735 East Central Road
Arlington Heights, IL 60005
(847) 437-7668
http://www.tortorices.com/

I don't know what to tell you- I think they have a thick and thin version of the crust- maybe you had the thick? I think they have good, fresh ingredients and they don't skimp on them at all, which includes the cheese. That would increase the grease, and I guess some people prefer less cheese on their pizza, no matter where it's from, so if you're not a fan of it, then I can see where it would turn you off. But everyone who I've taken there has liked it.

Did you try any of their other food? Maybe their pizza's not your thing, but if you didn't try any pasta dishes or chicken entrees, I'd highly recommend them. Their paninis are also really good, and their soup, too- it's all homemade.

The pizzas were selected by a single parent from my son's teeball team. I had no choice in what we ate. Therein, I believe, lies part of the problem. The pizzas were selected for the palates of 5 year olds and consisted of cheese, pepperoni, or sausage. I prefer veggie pizzas and there was not one to be found. I suppose I'd give them another shot if I were the one to select the type of pizza.

No other food was purchased. Just a slew of simple, one ingredient pizzas. I do want to try some of their other dishes however. I've heard nothing but good things about their pastas and entrees.

Worth noting that Romano's seems to have been awarded a one month stay of execution. Drove by Friday night and saw a sign that said "Open" and the place was jumping. Ad in the newspaper says they are now open through August. So get those thin crust pizzas while you can!!

Unlike Romano's, Salerno's and many more, my favorite Des Plaines pizza is Mug's, which has previously been called (although owned by the same folks) Mugavero's and Giovanni's (I'd heard that they had a falling out with family that also ran a Giovanni's on Roosevelt Rd in Berwyn or Lombard or something like that, but I can't find that such a place exists).

They're classic Chicago thin -- party-cut, crackery crust. Terrific sauce (a bit on the salty side), good sausage and other toppings. I'm not too fond of their thick and stuffed versions, but their thin is my go-to, even though I can carry a pie home from Salerno's on foot and have it still be hot.

I heard that they're re-opened without a liquor license. I didn't hear anything about only being open until August 5th, but I guess they're BYOB now.

BuddyRoadhouse wrote:We kept sayin, "We gotta get back to Romano's for dinner sometime," but never did. I wonder how many others made the same declaration and never followed through. Probably why they're gone.

So, with three properties in a row all vacated, the old ice house on the west (already knocked down), Romano's in the middle, and The Black Ram on the east, how will the geniuses who run our fair city make poor use of that land?

Buddy

Yeah, me too. I liked Romano's thin crust, and did many customer and vendor lunches at the Black Ram (so it's gone too, huh?) when I ran our business in Rosemont.

Wish I had gone back to both before they gave up the ghost.

RIP. A couple of good, if not great, joints.

Grizz

How about Romano's of Rosemont? Yes, Romano's is reopening on Higgins Road in Rosemont, next door to Laredo's Mexican restaurant (see article link below) and just west of River Road. From the looks of it today, they still have some work to do so I'm not quite sure when they'll open this new location.

http://www.journal-topics.com/dp/10/dp100630.2.html

Drove past Romano's this evening. "OPEN" sign glowing in the window and a full parking lot alongside the building. The rumors of Romano's death were greatly exaggerated.

Buddy

BuddyRoadhouse wrote:Drove past Romano's this evening. "OPEN" sign glowing in the window and a full parking lot alongside the building. The rumors of Romano's death were greatly exaggerated.

Buddy

I believe the "open" sign is deceiving . . . when I looked in the window it was definitely not open and yet the sign was glowing. I'll post here when I can confirm its opening.

The "OPEN" sign might be deceiving, but the parking lot full of cars and people walking towards the front door was a stronger indication of their continued business.

Buddy

BuddyRoadhouse wrote:The "OPEN" sign might be deceiving, but the parking lot full of cars and people walking towards the front door was a stronger indication of their continued business.

Buddy

Buddy,

You're talking about the original location, right?

Try

Alfresco
11 N. NORTHWEST HWY
PARK RIDGE, IL
847.292.0233
http://www.affrescopizzeria.com/

While not in Des Plaines, they are right next door. Great atmosphere and excellent thin crust. Their Saltimboca pizza is outstanding.

stevez wrote:

BuddyRoadhouse wrote:The "OPEN" sign might be deceiving, but the parking lot full of cars and people walking towards the front door was a stronger indication of their continued business.

Buddy

Buddy,

You're talking about the original location, right?

On Oakton, north side of the street, east of Mannheim/Lee, across from the not-so-recently closed Black Ram. I can start taking license plate numbers in the parking lot if you need any more specifics, but I'll need a little notice so I can get the time off at work.

Buddy

BuddyRoadhouse wrote:

stevez wrote:

BuddyRoadhouse wrote:The "OPEN" sign might be deceiving, but the parking lot full of cars and people walking towards the front door was a stronger indication of their continued business.

Buddy

Buddy,

You're talking about the original location, right?

On Oakton, north side of the street, east of Mannheim/Lee, across from the not-so-recently closed Black Ram. I can start taking license plate numbers in the parking lot if you need any more specifics, but I'll need a little notice so I can get the time off at work.

Buddy

Thanks. I thought you were talking about the old location, but with all this talk about Rosemont I wasn't sure.

I just called the original Oakton location. They were closed for a couple of weeks and have reopened.