Traverso's [Meeting #80]

Traverso's [GoogleMaps]
15601 S Harlem Ave
Orland Park, IL 60660
773-465-1616

CPC invaded Traverso's on 5/13/09.

Review submitted by Jen

The Traverso brothers, John and George, have been Chicago suburb restaurant owners since 1962 when they purchased a tavern in Roseland. Within the next few years they opened two pizza restaurants in Mount Greenwood, the second in response to overwhelming demand for their pizza. With the opening of the restaurants, they also employed their mother, Mama T, a veteran to the food industry and holder of Traverso's “famous homemade recipes” from Italy (where she grew up). AND, only a few years after that, they opened their first Travero's in Orland park, eventually closing the Mount Greenwood restaurants in order to focus their attention on it. It seems to have paid off. They had to expand it to meet demand and in 1993 George's sons Mike and Paul carried on the family tradition and opened a location in Naperville.

We had a small group, so ordered only 2 of the pizzas, both large and thin crust. It was plenty for four people and leftovers. We ordered:

• Bacon and Mushroom
• Sausage, Onion and Green Pepper

There was an option for double crust, but since it appeared to be an afterthought -- (it was itemized along with the extra cheese charge) -- we opted to just do both as single, thin crusts. Both pizzas came out about 20 minutes after ordering, piping (mouth singeing) hot -- but a good temperature after a few minutes. Overall, I think the pizzas went over really well. The first thing we all noticed was the crust, which was very thin, but held up well under the toppings. The sauce was thick and plentiful, and tasted heavily of oregano and thyme. The sausage was made at the restaurant, with good quality meat; it had a great texture and none of the chewy weirdness you sometimes encounter with lower grades. The cheese was standard, and a few of us thought that it might have been the source of saltiness in the slices, (although I think it was mostly the bacon that was responsible for that). The toppings were in good proportions; almost every bite had all ingredients and the right amount of cheese.

One thing that should be mentioned is that we went on a Wednesday night, which has karaoke starting at 8pm. This has to be the best karaoke night I've ever been to -- all of the performers were obviously regulars, (we were told that they would show up even during a tornado watch, and it turns out that there was one that night), and they sang wonderfully. They were an older crowd and sang mostly standards while some couples danced and others mingled at the bar. Also of note, the service was impeccable, truly outstanding.

As a group, we seemed to have similar opinions about the pizza. We liked the crispiness of the thin crust and the quality of the meat but thought that the cheese and mushrooms were mediocre and would have liked the pizza to be less salty.

Overall, I think Traverso's is a gem in the southwest suburbs, and it is certainly worth going to for the pizza, (and the overall experience), if you are in the area and have a car.

Chicago Pizza Club gives Traverso's a 6.2