Cathy2 wrote:

ParisCat wrote:For what it's worth, Time Out Magazine just picked NY Slices as the best New York style pizza in the Chicago area.

The Highland Park location or are there others?

I have walked into NY Slices, heard their spiel and left. They claim their method of (semi?) cooked slices waiting for the customer to arrive, then it is briefly heated in the oven and presented to the customer. They stated this order of operations is typical for NY. I just don't enough to divine whether that is really true.

Cathy,

When I lived there, this was indeed the method used in NY by places that sell slices. I did not remember that until I read this post.

Jyoti

George wrote: One of my complaints about Lou's is that if you don't specify when ordering, the pizza arrives a soggy mess, so I always order mine "well-done" at the restaurant. This, believe it or not, yields the perfect pizza which is not overcooked in the least.

Great suggestion, but why should that be necessary? I ordered one from the HP location with friends from out of state who crave and miss the pizza from old Malnati's in Elk Grove Village. The soggy mess from HP was a huge disappointment to us all, and not even close to what they serve in Elk Grove. Never again.
Don't they sample what they're putting out, or don't they care?

sandman wrote:

George wrote: One of my complaints about Lou's is that if you don't specify when ordering, the pizza arrives a soggy mess, so I always order mine "well-done" at the restaurant. This, believe it or not, yields the perfect pizza which is not overcooked in the least.

Great suggestion, but why should that be necessary? I ordered one from the HP location with friends from out of state who crave and miss the pizza from old Malnati's in Elk Grove Village. The soggy mess from HP was a huge disappointment to us all, and not even close to what they serve in Elk Grove. Never again.
Don't they sample what they're putting out, or don't they care?

You might be misunderstanding George. I'm pretty sure he's talking about the eat-in locations. Unless you meant that you didn't have the soggy problem when you ordered pizza for carryout in Elk Grove, that's an unfair comparison.

Why "never again?" You give up after only one time? No one is perfect - I can guarantee you no restaurant is going to be perfect everytime. Give them another chance. I order the HP Malnati's every month and it is every bit as consistant as most of the other locations I've tried. If you go back to my post where I mention you probably should order it uncut when you get it to go, you'll see where I am coming from.

I'm from northeast New Jersey which I believe is home to the best pizza in the world and happen to think NY Slices is pretty good. Piero's is ok but the thing I like about it is the garlicky sauce. Bella Via is actually reasonably priced contrary to what a previous person said but I've never had it although I like their pesto gnocchi. Buffo's is alright. My wife is from HP and is a big fan.
I haven't actually lived up here that long but I'm doing the circuit currently. Have a few more places to try but next will be Washington Gardens which I've heard is surprisingly good. If it is 1/2 as good as their Italian fare I'm sure I'll be a fan.

jtm1631 wrote:I think NY Pizza is awful. We have had it a few times and I find the sauce to be overly sweet and the crust to be mediocre at best.

I have always liked Piero's pizza on Broadview in Highland Park (just off Green Bay and Rodger Williams).

Piero's has good thin crust pizza, good sandwich's and good salads. Piero's is always our goto pizza in Highland Park when we don't want a thick crust Lou Malnati's.

JTM

Piero's is the place we usually order from (though in Wilmette) for thin crust pizza. However, their deep dish pizza is excellent too.

sariks wrote:Piero's is the place we usually order from (though in Wilmette) for thin crust pizza. However, their deep dish pizza is excellent too.

Piero's Wilmette is a totally different animal than Piero's Highland park/Northbrook. Piero's HP is owned and run by Frank G. and has been for almost 30 years. I think the Wilmette store is owned and run by a family member. I have heard, but cant confirm, that this has caused tension. Havent been to wilmette store in many many years but i was never impressed. When I lived in Wilmette I always ordered Malnati's unless I wanted a Garcia's Pizza from champaign facsimilie in which case I ordered from Cheese to Please. (BTW if you loved Garcias in college at the U of I Cheese to Please uses their recipe and even has the original ovens from Garcias in Champaign or they did when they were on Skokie Blvd.)

My son likes the double decker pizza at Judy's.

Went to NY Slices today in a busy Highland Park. At noon I was the only one in the restaurant. Got two slices of sausage to go and ate them in my car. They were excellent! The crust was light and crispy and perfect for folding in half, topped with a thin layer of tasty sauce and cheese and sliced sausage. I'll definitely be back.

They had other interesting items, thick puffy Sicilian Pizza, Italian rolls (AKA italian Knishes), NY sliders, meatball sandwich on a wedge, and Pasta Pizza topped with a dense layer of ziti.

went to the new Stash's in HP yesterday as they have a new gas-fired oven in their new location...it was ok, not worth going out of your way for

then i went next door to NY Slices and it was awful, took two bites and threw it away....it is "kid pizza" like dominos, doesn't have to be very good as the kids in HP walk around with lots of cash to spend

then went to Washington Gardens in Highwood and the thin crust was very good....they told me they use their italian bread crumbs on the pizza paddle instead of cornmeal which makes the crust even crisper

pizzafan wrote:went to the new Stash's in HP yesterday as they have a new gas-fired oven in their new location...it was ok, not worth going out of your way for

These guys don't even salt their fries -- and claim it's because they're better that way. I can only imagine how their pizza is. Someday, perhaps . . .

pizzafan wrote:then i went next door to NY Slices and it was awful, took two bites and threw it away....it is "kid pizza" like dominos . . .

Yes, the sauce and the crust are both very sweet. Definitely not my thing.

pizzafan wrote:then went to Washington Gardens in Highwood and the thin crust was very good....they told me they use their italian bread crumbs on the pizza paddle instead of cornmeal which makes the crust even crisper

I've never had this and will have to try it. Thanks, for the tip.

=R=

Hi,

I stopped in at Il Forno in Highland Park for a slice of pizza, available only at lunch. Il Forno's menu states it was founded in Chicago on Devon Avenue in 1953. It dates it's Highland park presence from 1961, though since 1972 on Old Elm Road. Il Forno's history is nicely laid out on their website.

I arrived just as they put a mushroom pizza under the warming lamps. I know warming lamps are pet peeves for many, so you have been informed. It is a very thin crust approaching cracker. Any attempts to fold it like a NY slice is just asking for it to break and fold onto itself, because I tried.

Since thin crust pizzas with too much cheese and toppings tend to soften faster, this applied here. While workable in the store, I am not sure how well it holds up on a 10-minute drive home.

I didn't really mind its softening, because as Ram4 pointed this was a standard pizza purveyor at local school functions. It's the stuff you grew up and loved.



Il Forno's offers pizzas sized 13-, 15-, 17- and a party size 21-inch "Big Boss" pizza.

A friend ordered the Buffalo chicken wings, which are present as a data point. I don't like this style, so my opinion here simply does not matter.



Il Forno
496 Old Elm Road
Highland Park, IL 60035
847/432-2440
http://www.ilfornopizza.com

Sunday-Thursday: 10 am to 9 pm
Friday: 11 am to 11 pm
Saturday: 11 am to 10 pm

Il Forno in HP is the best pizza for sure:

http://www.ilfornopizza.com

I had Nite N Gale last night. I have to say, it's got to be one of the best thin pizzas around. I don't know how it always seems to fade from my go to places near home because it's excellent and I've been going for years. Not only that, but it's got the classic old school bar with dark lighting, and even the free warm bread is a nice touch.

Ram4 wrote:I had Nite N Gale last night. I have to say, it's got to be one of the best thin pizzas around. I don't know how it always seems to fade from my go to places near home because it's excellent and I've been going for years. Not only that, but it's got the classic old school bar with dark lighting, and even the free warm bread is a nice touch.

I'm a long-time fan of the Nite N Gale, as were my parents, but I confess I've never tried their pizza. So you've given me a reason to go back and try something new.

Hi,

Viccino's in Highland Park has papered windows and a 'for lease' sign in the window.

Regards,

Cathy2 wrote:Hi,

Viccino's in Highland Park has papered windows and a 'for lease' sign in the window.

Regards,

That's a shame. While we rarely order pizza, or especially deep dish their's was the best of the worst that is pizza in HP. Plus their wings weren't awful. Oh well.

I had Viccino's when it opened, maybe one more time after that and that's all she wrote. With Malnati in town, nothing else seems to matter.

mattshafferHP wrote:While we rarely order pizza, or especially deep dish their's was the best of the worst that is pizza in HP. Plus their wings weren't awful.

LOL, that is some high praise indeed!

=R=