There's lots to like at Lazza Pizza & Gelato in Norridge

I take recommendations in the vicinity of O'Hare very seriously. There are so many places to avoid, and a few to seek out, and finding a good lunch often requires a good drive. So when Steve Dolinsky spoke of Lazza Pizza on his Hungry Hound segment, it didn't take me long to make my way to Norridge to try Lazza Pizza. Lazza has apparently been open since May, but sitting in a non-distinct strip mall on Lawrence, it's kind of easy to miss going 35 or more miles per hour. I won't miss it again!

I managed to try several of their pizzas, both white and red, and came away very impressed. The pizzas are baked in a wood burning oven for just under two minutes, and those two minutes are sufficient to produce a very flavorful crust that really benefits from the wood-burning oven. The pizzas show many similarities to Neapolitan, with uneven bubbles of char, crisp edges, and a crust that's generally firm throughout (but not crispy except the edges). And the star here was definitely the crust, which was one of the most flavorful I've tried in Chicago.

As for toppings, my favorite was the Rugoletta - bianca with peppery arugula, perfectly ripe cherry tomatoes, mozzarella, shaved parmesan and olive oil. This was pretty close to perfect. The Barese Bianca was also quite good, with mozzarella, housemade sausage, rapini and olive oil. It might have been slightly over-topped, and the sausage slightly dry, but still delicious. Margherita was also quite good, except that it could have used just a little more sauce and a little more basil (just one piece on this one). But the red sauce was well seasoned and thankfully not sweet.

I also saw panzerotti coming out of wood-burning oven, and at least from view of the exterior it looked awfully impressive, with seemingly the same type crust as used for the pizza, and showing nice char. At $4.95 (with cheese and sauce, plus $.50 per each additional ingredient), this seemed like a great deal. I also noticed fist-sized arrancini being cut into at the table next to me, steam rising when cut into, and I'm pretty certain I'll need to try one of them too ($2.95 each). They offer some other items, including several pastas, salads and paninis, but I didn't see any of those come out of the kitchen.

And as the name suggests, they also serve housemade gelato. I tried the amarena and the hazelnut. You know this is gelato when it comes out less hard, less cold and more creamy than your traditional ice cream, although I wouldn't put this in the upper tier of gelatos I've tasted - not perfectly smooth for one thing. And the amarena in particular was lacking in cherries. But I really enjoyed the hazelnut - no artificial flavor here. I managed to try both flavors in a small cup (a very generous serving too) for $2.95. Other flavors I noticed included sangria, chocolate, salted caramel, strawberry and stracciatella (there may have been a couple of others, and the flavors rotate).

I definitely look forward to returning to Lazza and trying more of their menu, but I'll be hard pressed not to order either the pizza or panzerotti. Note that they also have a small outside, side patio for when the weather is nice. And for those interested in learning a little more about Lazza, I also found this article online.


Lazza Pizza & Gelato
7701 W. Lawrence Ave.
Norridge, IL 60706
708.395.5686 (delivery too)
Hours 11AM-10PM Monday through Saturday, 1PM-10PM Sunday

Thanks for posting.

I went today for lunch, had the margherita.
Basil was a single large leaf placed in the center of the pizza, would far prefer for it to be all over the pizza.
Crust was quite nice, bit of chew, some char. Cheese was of decent quality.
The sauce was the weakpoint, while the sauce was plentiful, it definitely needed some punch. Upon my request,
the restaurant offered a few anchovy to punch up the flavor.

Besides the sauce I was pleased enough to return at some point, I'll try the Bianca pizzas next time.

Instead of the gelato, I walked down a few storefronts to Allegretti's Bakery (7717 W Lawrence Ave, closed Mondays)
Had a very good plain cake donut. Some of the pastries looked inviting. On the counter they had a stack
sheet pan shaped cheese pizzas (12 or so), wrapped in plastic wrap, if I had not had pizza for lunch, I prob would have purchased one of these pizzas to crisp off at home.

I returned and was again very impressed. The crust is really excellent, with a nice chew, some nice char, and terrific flavor - as good or better than almost any place in town. The only crust I think is definitely better is at Great Lake.

And I actually enjoy their sauce quite a bit - flavorful and not sweet, a very good quality pizza sauce in my opinion. On my most recent visit, I had the Diavola and was very pleased. But with just a single basil leaf, I can see a problem with the Margherita.

As for the gelato, I had it again and while I think it's fine, I think it's the pizza that you should be eating at Lazza. Simply put, a great pie!

I just can't get over how good this place is and I'm a little surprised that no one seems to be venturing out to try it. You definitely should over the holidays. There's only one crust in town that I prefer, Great Lake. That being said, I recognize one issue with the Margherita pizza, being the mere single piece of basil on the pie.

They also make an outstanding arancini - crisp, hot, delicious and large, and in my opinion a bargain at $2.95. Panzerotti uses the same terrific dough as the pizza, and is delivered to the table with a beautiful char. At $4.95, it's also a bargain - maybe 2/3 as filling as one of their pizzas. They do a fried version, but I've only tried the wood oven-baked version.

Service is not the restaurant's strength (not rude, just inexperienced), but the food is really terrific.

Loved the pizza but a lttle iffy on the arancini, I have better at local bakeries in that area.

BR wrote:But with just a single basil leaf, I can see a problem with the Margherita.

BR wrote:I recognize one issue with the Margherita pizza, being the mere single piece of basil on the pie.

And have you said anything to them about this? If so, what was their answer? if not, get on it!

Ram4 wrote:

BR wrote:But with just a single basil leaf, I can see a problem with the Margherita.

BR wrote:I recognize one issue with the Margherita pizza, being the mere single piece of basil on the pie.

And have you said anything to them about this? If so, what was their answer? if not, get on it!

I should have, but I haven't . . . I just never ordered that one again.

Do you think this pizza would travel well? I'll be in the neighborhood* in the next couple of days, and might prefer to bring one home rather than eat there.

*[figures that as soon as I move out of the area, they open up a really good pizza place. last thing at this location was a take-out version of Leona's]

Giovanna

Giovanna wrote:Do you think this pizza would travel well? I'll be in the neighborhood* in the next couple of days, and might prefer to bring one home rather than eat there.

*[figures that as soon as I move out of the area, they open up a really good pizza place. last thing at this location was a take-out version of Leona's]

Giovanna

I think with all of these Neapolitan style crusts (and similar), they're best when consumed on the spot. But I've taken out from Spacca Napoli, Great Lake and the like. I do give them a quick stint in the oven which helps and I don't think you lose that much quality in the process.

Their website and voicemail both say they open at 1pm on Sunday. However, when I got there at 2 today they were closed. The hours painted on the door say 4pm open.

Octarine wrote:Their website and voicemail both say they open at 1pm on Sunday. However, when I got there at 2 today they were closed. The hours painted on the door say 4pm open.

I'm certainly getting concerned here as this was my second favorite thin crust in Chicago area (second to Great Lake, and we know that story). Stopped by yesterday during regular business hours to find a sign on the door saying closed for holiday. I don't know how far this goes back but there were two similar comments posted on their Facebook page in January (about being closed for the holiday), and they weren't answered. Voice message when I called says temporarily closed. So while I have no immediate answers, you're all warned to call before you go.

Lazza has reopened.
-ramon

Ramon wrote:Lazza has reopened.
-ramon

Thanks for the post! Any ideas of what happened? Same owners?

Yeesh! And geez! I was driving by yesterday around 3. Employees were opening umbrellas on the patio. Are you open now, again? Yes. Same pizza? Yes. I'll be back, I said, flashing the thumbs up sign. I was running late.

Today, again at 3, this time not running late -- no sign of life. No big deal for me -- this is one of my neighborhoods (I am a vagabond). I'll keep you posted.

As always, call ahead! (There's gotta be some sort of witty faux Latin phrase for that akin to "caveat emptor.")

-ramon

Just drove by today - neon "open" sign in the window, along with "lunch specials" and "pizza by the slice" signs.

I'll be hitting it up in a few days.

I'll edit my first post when I get some more reliable information on hours of operation, but I just called and they have in fact reopened. I tried asking questions, but the woman I spoke to said she's new and didn't seem to know that much. But they are not open on Mondays and they do not open until 4pm on Sundays. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the pizza is as good as it was . . . an odd tale for sure, but hopefully one with a happy ending.

CLOSED! And this time it seems to be for good (until further notice I suppose). I show up during regular business hours, but chairs on top of tables. A few people inside, one comes to the door and tells me their closed. I ask "permanently"? He says "yes." Too bad.

I did try to give them money! I never saw them open but i would welcome reasonably priced Neapolitan pizza on the nw side.