Since this is our 50th Positively Naperville review and, since we love pizza, we decided that we’d review a “pizza place” that we’ve frequented many times over the years – Lou Malnati’s Pizzeria.
Established in 1994 in the old Naperville Firehouse on Jefferson Avenue, Lou Malnati’s serves its unique style of Chicago deep dish pizza. The restaurant’s famous “Buttercrust” – light, flaky and buttery – is a secret recipe handed down from Lou more than 40 years ago.
On this occasion, we started with House Salad, a combination of Iceberg and Romaine lettuce complimented with carrots, red cabbage, Roma tomatoes, cucumbers, red onions and croutons finished with a creamy lemon garlic dressing – a fresh-from-the-garden taste and a nice beginning.
For the appetizer, we dared to share the “Trio of Dips and Pizza Chips” – three house made dips including roasted garlic, artichoke and giardiniera topped hummus served with crispy pizza dough chips. Malnati’s should sell these chips in grocery stores – they are that good.
Pizza is what we came for and, after much negotiation (since we were sharing a pie), we ordered the “Buttercrust” with sausage, mushroom and green peppers. Perfectly baked and loaded with the extras, we ate and ate and then took more than half the pie home. One pie, three meals.
Lou Malnati’s offers a menu complete with all the Italian favorites including soups, salads, sandwiches, pasta and lasagna – something for everyone. But for us, it’s usually the pizza – and the “Buttercrust” at that.
For fans of the Food Network, Chef Bobby Flay challenged Marc Malnati, Lou’s son, to a “pizza throw down” on national TV and lost. Take that, Bobby Flay.
Lou Malnati’s Buttercrust Deep Dish Pizza is that good.
Editor’s Note: More than a decade ago when Mark Rice headed up the official rib and sauce judging at Ribfest, we recognized his passion-for-food history. Sometime later, Laurie and Mark began contributing restaurant reviews to PN. As Mark noted, this column is Number 50. After making the rounds to many of Naperville’s best eateries, the Rices have decided to wrap up their tour this month. We appreciate their contributions as well as all of our columnists who contribute thoughtful and interesting stories, whetting appetites with their experiences. Thanks, Laurie and Mark!
