Renaldi's Pizza [Meeting #63]

Renaldi's Pizza (map)
2827 North Broadway
Chicago, IL 60657
773.248.2445

CPC invaded Renaldi's on 8/7/08.

I remember hearing from the NYC types that I went to college with that since the pizza in this cow-town was so bad, they had given up eating it. A few of the more resourceful ones, and by that I mean financially, were able to drive around to get out of Hyde Park and discovered Renaldi's pizzeria. They claimed this was as close to a true NYC slice as they could find in town. And for more authenticity, it was even on Broadway!!

10 years later, I finally got around to trying this place with CPC. I have had many pizzas in New York and a good number have been outstanding. I was hoping Renaldi's could stay in the same league as some of the better ones I had tried. Renaldi's is a small storefront along a busy and bustling section of Broadway. It has a few tables available for outdoor seating, but most of the seating is inside. When you first arrive, you notice a counter where you can order pizza by the slice. Past this is the seating for people that prefer to eat a whole pizza or Renaldi's non-pizza offerings.

I don't want to give too much away, but the highlight was sitting at the center circular table with a lazy Susan on it. The server came by and we quickly ordered the following 5 pies:

• Thin crust with zucchini and onions
• Thin with capicola
  
• Pan pizza with meatballs
• Stuffed pizza with sausage
• Sicilian Spingione with artichokes
  

The pies came out in a reverse order, with the thin crust pies coming last. The Sicilian Spingione pizza was cooked in a pan, but square-shaped. It was a little denser than their "fluffy" description, but I really had a hard time telling much of a difference between it and both the pan and stuffed. The pan pizza crust was lighter than most crusts and had a nice char on some pieces and just flat out burned areas on others. The stuffed was not truly stuffed. It had a very small cheese layer on top. What was readily apparent to us was that the sausage and capicola were poor products. I thought the meatball had the best flavor of our meat toppings and most people agreed. The anticipated NYC thin crust pizza was a huge disappointment. The crust was the best part, it had the same lightness as the other pies and had a nice texture. The sauce and toppings were so bland that I'll let the members post their thoughts on them. I just don't want to open up my thesaurus and look synonyms of bland and boring.

Dan pointed out that the sausage was undercooked throughout the pizza. We pointed this out to the server who said he could offer the table one free beer for our inconvenience. When we told him this was unacceptable, he went back to the manager who took it off our bill. Needless to say, there were leftovers and we left them there but took the bad taste in our mouths with us.

Petey gives Renaldi's a 3.2/10


Chand hangs on Dan's every word...


The Meatball pizza...


Piping hot...


Beware the sausage...


The Capicola up close...


Zuchinni Pizza...


El Presidente models his new t-shirt...


Where it went down...

La Villa Restaurant [Meeting #59]

La Villa Restaurant and Banquets
3632 N. Pulaski Map
(773) 283-7980

The Chicago Pizza Club invaded La Villa on 6/11/08.

It's not often that we venture West of Damen Ave., but the Pizza Club is a fearless bunch and we had no problems trekking out near Addison and Pulaski. I have to say, after reading the rave reviews on Yelp.com that I had high expectations for this place. But I guess this just goes to highlight the difference between Yelp and the Chicago Pizza Club.

Thanks to the ever punctual CTA bus service I showed up about 20 minutes late to the meeting to find that our order had already been placed and that we had several appetizing bread options at our table. I opted for some pizza bread which was really quite good, maybe the best thing I had all night? We had eight members attending the meeting and ordered a 14" pan pizza vegetarian special, a 14" stuffed pizza with pepperoni and mushroom, and a 16" shrimp and garlic thin crust pizza. Our order was placed at 7:45 and I don't think it took more than 30 minutes for our food to come, but maybe it should have...

The best of the bunch was the thin crust with garlic and shrimp... but yeah, that's not saying much. The garlic was overpowering and the shrimp was not very high quality, obviously we don't expect fresh shrimp yanked right from the ocean here in Chicago on our pizza, but you hope for something better than this. The crust was bland and the sauce didn't bring a whole lot to the table either. The pan vegetarian pizza was described by one of our Pizza Club members as as a salad with dough and cheese, and I don't think I can argue with that. The excess of vegetables made the whole pizza much too soggy. And the pepperoni and mushroom stuffed pizza? Well, the best comment I heard about this pizza was that at least the mushrooms weren't canned. I'm sure this pizza did have pepperoni on it, but I can't remember tasting any... I was probably too distracted by the half-cooked crust and the bad sauce. Also, kind of disappointing was the fact that there was no difference in crust between the pan and stuffed pizzas.

It's kinda rare that there is leftover pizza at a Chicago Pizza Club meeting, but tonight there was plenty, and it was even thrown up for debate whether if even Fred would want the leftovers. I'm honestly suprised that there were so many positive reviews of this place on Yelp.com. While it's hard to call any Chicago Pizza Club meeting a failure (dinner out with good friends is always cause for a smile) this meeting was definitely a let down. Not the worst pizza the CPC has ever had, but I don't think any of us will find a reason to head back to La Villa.

Petey Pizza Gives My Pie a 3.1/10.


The Pizza Bread!


An unsuspecting Chicago Pizza Club...


The Stuffed Pepperoni & Mushroom Pizza...


Thin Crust with Shrimp & Garlic...


The Vegetarian Pan Pizza...


Where it went down...

Special Report: Chain Pizza Extravagana [Meeting #54]

Little Caesar's (pickup)
Domino's (delivery)
Pizza Hut (delivery)

Bad Chain Pizzas invaded CPC on 3/21/08.

Ok, so we finally went and got Little Caesar's, Pizza Hut, and Domino's at the home of Stu for this pizza club meeting. This will be a brief review of it because I'm doing what so many of my elementary school teachers reminded me to do regarding not saying anything if it's not nice.

I don't remember what pizzas we ordered and I never meant to after having a bite of each. They were all bad. I do think we had a meat lover's and a veggie pizza from pizza hut. Domino's was so horrible it wouldn't matter what was on it. At least on the Little Caesar's pizzas had bacon on it. That's pretty much all I care to discuss regarding the pizzas.

In the end, the pictures and our expressions will have to speak for themselves. If there is anything redeeming said about any of these by our members it's because we were gasping for air and perhaps making relative comparisons only. If one was better than the other, it's only because we got philosophical and determined no two things can be equal. Weep not for pizza club nor for Chicago. We have good pizza and we know where to get it. Instead, direct your pity towards Kansas and Alabama and even Arizona. Sure, there may be a Pizzeria Bianco lurking, but I bet you most of the pizza in these places is horrible. So, if the best choice for pizza in your town is Papa John's, I weep for you and, more importantly, I eat for you. Small town America can get on our backs and vicariously enjoy the pizza through our reviews as we continue our crusade for pizza excellence.

Fred may have liked the pizza - he ate more than anyone else. However, Fred is Dan's hound so he probably has a slightly less discriminating palate than everyone else present that night.

- El Presidente


Bacon pizza from Little Caesar's...


Domino's Sausage pizza...


Pepperoni from Domino's...


"Holy Crap, this is bad..."


The State of the Pizza Club Annual Report


Fred doesn't seem to mind the bad pizza...


Meat Lover's pizza from Pizza Hut...


Veggie Lover's pizza from Pizza Hut

Exchequer Restaurant & Pub [Meeting #47]

Exchequer Restaurant & Pub
226 S. Wabash Avenue (Google Maps)
Chicago, IL 60604
(312) 939-5633

CPC invaded Exchequer on 11/01/07.

Searching the plastic tubes of the internet for new pizza locations, I came across Exchequer Restaurant & Pub, located in the heart of the loop. Initially, I was surprised that I had not heard of a downtown pizza location that resident extra large movie expert Roger Ebert identified as one of the four best pies in Chicago. Upon further inspection, I noticed that the portly cowriter of such cinematic masterpieces as Beneath the Valley of the Ultra-Vixens endorsed this place in 1984. Additionally, most of the rest of the endorsements came from Brits. Brits don't know shit about pizza. Still, the Chicago Tribune allegedly identified Exchequer as the best deep dish pizza in the loop in 2001. I say allegedly because the link to the article was conveniently broken.

I was intrigued enough to suggest the locale as the next Pizza Club destination. My first thought upon entering was that I can't wait for the smoking ban to go into effect in Chicago. My second thought as we walked to the back of the restaurant and passed walls completely covered in Chicago sports decor, movie posters and various photos of quasi-famous people, was that I was surprised how crowded the place was. My third thought was that I noticed I did not see anyone eating pizza.

I began to have serious doubts about the place when the waiter was shocked that we were there for the pizza. Despite the optimism his reaction instilled, we proceeded. Exchequer offers three different types of pizza, deep dish, thin crust and crispy crust. Of course, the club sampled one of each. We ordered a sausage and garlic deep dish, a spinach and feta thin crust, and a Meat Eaters crispy crust. For good measure, and in honor of the restaurant's Greek roots, we got the Aegean pizza as an appetizer.

The Aegean came first. Served on a crispy crust, it came with Artichoke, Plum Tomato, Red Onion, and Feta Cheese. It seemed as if they made a cheese pizza and then put the ingredients on. I liked the artichokes. That was about it.

Next up was the sausage and garlic. I tasted the garlic and I definitely saw the sausage, but this pizza was pretty much a pile of rapidly congealing cheese that overwhelmed the crust - a knife and fork was required. I finished my slice and it was fine. But I like cheese. However, I also like sauce and this pie had very little. In its favor, this particular pizza was just as tasty when I ate it cold the following morning.

The spinach on the thin crust was interesting. It tasted like creamed spinach. Seriously, I think the spinach was cooked with cheese before it was put on the pizza. That said, I like creamed spinach and this pie was interesting. The crust held up, but it was nothing special. Not bad, but not great.

The Meat Eaters pie had a lot of meat - Cheese, Sausage, Pepperoni, Ground Beef, Canadian Bacon. Honestly, I don't remember much about it other than it was a lot of meat, some cheese, and as was apparently the style at Exchequer, very little sauce. Meat and cheese is always good. The crust was virtually the same as the thin crust. In fact, I don't think there was a difference between the thin crust and the crispy one.

The pizza at Exchequer was edible, but with all the dining choices in the vicinity, I am confident I will never eat it again.

Petey gives Exchequer a 4/10.


Happy Pizza Clubbers... (and what awesome shirts they have...)


Thin crust & spinache


the Aegean appetizer pizza


The Meat Eaters crispy crust


Where it went down...

Chicago's Pizza [Meeting #35]

Wednesday, October 18th
Chicago's Pizza
3006 N. Sheffield (GoogleMaps)
773.755.4030

CPC invaded Chicago's Pizza on 10/18/06

Come judge harshly indeed.

Chicago Pizza Club meeting #35 has come and gone, and those who attended are probably most happy about the "gone" part. The general consensus was that this was the most mediocre of mediocre Chicago pizza, and one can't help but wonder if they truly deserve to besmirch our good city's name.

The Chicago Pizza Club invaded Chicago's Pizza on North Sheffield last night and ordered up our pies just before 8pm. Our selections this week were:

• the Garlic Lovers Pizza: With fresh sliced tomatoes, roasted garlic, fresh basil and mozzerella cheese, brushed with olive oil. (This was from their 'Gourmet Pizza' menu).
  
  
• The Chicago Special Stuffed Pizza: Sausage, mushrooms, green peppers & onions.
  
  
• Thin crust pizza with pepperoni: This one is self explanatory.

Our pizzas took about 40 minutes to arrive, and worked out to $9 per person (paid in advance, including soft drinks) for the 8 Pizza Clubbers that we had in attendance (side note: we managed to order the perfect amount of pizza for 8 people). The Stuffed Pan Pizza was probably the best pizza of the three that we ordered, the sauce was pretty interesting but in the end I think it was mainly responsible for the massive heartburn I had when I woke up at 4 in the morning. The thin crust pepperoni pizza was pretty standard and nothing really to speak of, other than to say, yes, it faired better than a Domino's pizza. Their 'Gourmet' Garlic Pizza was probably the most maligned of our order, though I do know of at least one member who liked it.

As for this restaurant's atmosphere? Well, I think you'd find more atmosphere floating in space in an orbit around Pluto (I still can't get used to their only being 8 planets, but that's neither here nor there...). This was storefront seating, and the restaurant's modus operandi at this location seemed to revolve around carryout, delivery and pizza by the slice. Though I was presently suprised when they brought us out real plates and silverware. And, they did let us turn on the baseball playoffs, and that was nice.

In the end, this pizza wasn't worth the effort of our trek, parking in this neighborhood is extremely difficult, and even more so when the Vic Theatre across the street is attracting hippies like nobodies business for a concert. I'm guessing this place bases their business on locals who eat there out of convenience.

Petey gives Chicago's a 4.55.


Here comes our pizza


Maybe it's the Garlic Lover's, maybe it's not...


Thin-crust pepperoni


The pan pizza, looking a little worse for wear


Where it went down

Waldo Cooney's Pizzeria [Meeting #26]

Waldo Cooney's Pizzeria
2410 W. 111th street GoogleMaps
773.233.9781

CPC invaded Waldo Cooney's on 3/15/06

Waldo Cooney's is a name many people associate with South Side pizza. It has 6 locations and was established in 1981. Mainly known as a take-out operation, it does have a few tables at each location. After calling another location, we chose this one because it had the most seats of any location within city limits. It had 6 tables with seating for 22. We were greeted by two high school-aged employees behind the counter. Now, maybe they thought we were older or just really lame, but I noticed halfway through the meal that the radio station they had on was playing bands like Wilson-Phillips, Celine Dion, Aaron Neville. Aaron Neville was a treat, but every other band on the radio sucked.

Ok, on to the pizza. We ordered 3 pies this time:

• 18" Thin Crust, Sausage, Green Peppers, Onions, and Mushrooms
• 18" Thin Crust, Green Peppers, Onions, Mushrooms
• 14" Thick Crust, Spinach
  

The pies took about a half an hour to arrive, and were served unceremoniously in take out boxes. This is not an indictment of Waldo's, since they're not usually a dine-in establishment. They gave us plates and some knives and we got a free 2 liter bottle of RC-Cola. They have tons of Coca-Cola paraphernalia on their walls, but interestingly, in true South Side Style, they feature RC Cola. The pizza was, in a word, unimpressive. The two thin crust pizzas featured fresh ingredients and the sausage was average. The sauce was sweet and not overly seasoned, but was hardly present in any appreciable quantity. The thick crust pizza, not to be confused with pan or stuffed, turned out to be the winner of the bunch. I'm not sure if the spinach was fresh or not, but it tasted good and there was enough sauce so you didn't have to imagine tasting it. I think as a group we were all underwhelmed by Waldo's and it appears their reputation exceeds their quality; I hope that at some point they were able to actually meet it.

Our costs came to about $10 a person for these three pizzas. Incidentally, they have a great offer of a large slice and a pop for $2.89 if you're travelling solo.

Petey gives Waldo Cooney's a score of 4


The first victim...


Mmm... crust!


The club in action


Dave goes in for the kill!


Where it went down