Tre Amici Pizza - Elk Grove Village, IL

Tre Amici Pizza - http://www.treamicipizza.com
This visit was at:
1536 Nerge Road, Elk Grove Village, IL

Great Pizza Search
Overall Rating (Pending…but really good)

A couple weeks ago we visited Tre Amici Pizza in Elk Grove, which used to be Taylor Street Pizza. Now we loved Taylor Street Pizza at this location, so Tre Amici Pizza had their work cut out for them. To top it off we ordered carry out.

We have no rating as of yet because it’s been decided, as with White Cottage Pizza, carry out does not give a fair and accurate representation… and this night we were going to experiment. So, living dangerously, we decided to try something different than our usual ingredients which are:

Thin crust, all Black Olive, all pepperoni and ½ onion…sometimes ½ tomatoes on the onion side.

Instead the ingredients we chose were thin garlic crust, peperoni, bacon, onion, and garlic. The results of this combination… very good. Even being carry out, the crust was crisp and delicious and the ingredients were spread evenly so there weren’t areas of un-topped crust. We were thinking that it might have been a bit light on the bacon, but further consensus was that this might have made the pizza too salty. The only thing that everyone noted was that the cheese, while good, wasn’t stringy and stretchy. It just seemed like it needed more cheese.

Now, since we enjoyed this pizza so much, and were perplexed by the cheese, we decided that the following week we would place the same order, as carry out, but with extra cheese. That order has now taken place and to our surprise, the pizza was not nearly as good. The extra cheese was a flaw in what we thought was a perfect plan. We got our stringy and stretchy factor, but the flavor of the cheese overpowered the other ingredients which made this combination so delightful.

Phase III. We’ve decided to take one more stab at this pizza with the original order, however this time we’ll have it fresh out of the oven at Tre Amici Pizza.

To be continued…

Crave Pizza - Mount Prospect, IL

Great Pizza Search
Overall Rating (5.5 out of 10)

Crave Pizza - http://cravepizzanow.com
This visit was at:
106 W. Northwest Highway Mount Prospect, IL

Pizza Type
Size: 12"
Crust type: Thin
Toppings: Pepperoni, black olive, onion, and tomato

Our visit was inspired by a Groupon ad we visited Crave Pizza. This is a nice place to relax with comfortable enjoyable sitting area. While not reviewed at this visit, the deep dish looked delicious. We will have to go back and try that sometime.

Presentation: 5
A fair amount of the pizza was not evenly covered.

Overall flavor: 6
Consistency / Texture: 6
Okay pizza, not great.

Cooked Consistency: 4
The crust was a bit under cooked.

Second Day Flavor
Cold pizza flavor: 5
It was okay by not something I'd crave.

Sides
Wings: The wings are okay. They were fried with no bread or seasoning then covered with different sauces. The meat was moist and tender.
Onion rings: Everyday run of the mill onion rings.

The Garlic Shrimp pizza - Delicious (8 out of 10)
Presentation: 8
Pretty good coverage and looked great to eat.

Overall flavor: 10
Consistency / Texture: 10
Excellent... bursting with flavor. Lots of garlic!

Cooked Consistency: 7
A little under cooked in the center.

Second Day Flavor
Cold pizza flavor: 2
Definitely not good as cold pizza. Heat it up with a pizza stone.

White Cottage Pizza - Italian Beef Special

Great Pizza Search
Overall Rating (7.8 out of 10)

White Cottage Pizza - http://www.whitecottagepizzas.com
This visit was at:
350 N. Wood Dale Rd, Wood Dale, IL 60191

Other locations:
280 S Randall Rd, Elgin, IL
596 Kuhn Road, Carol Stream, IL

Pizza Type
Size: 12"
Crust type: Thin
Toppings: Italian Beef Special - Carry-out

Presentation
Appearance: 8
Aroma: 8

Flavor
Crust flavor: 7
Cheese flavor: 8
Sauce flavor: 8
Other toppings: NA
Overall flavor: 8

Consistency / Texture
Crust crispiness: 4
Cheese coverage: 8
Cheese consistency: (Spongy/rubbery) 5
Sauce coverage: 8
Sauce Consistency: 8
Amount of other ingredients: 10
Ingredients even coverage/balance: 10
Other Ingredients Consistency: (tender but crisp) 10

Cooked Consistency: (Cooked evenly) 8
Reheated - Pizza stone: 8

White Cottage Pizza - Wood Dale, IL

Great Pizza Search
Overall Rating (6.3 out of 10)

White Cottage Pizza - http://www.whitecottagepizzas.com
This visit was at:
350 N. Wood Dale Rd, Wood Dale, IL 60191

Other locations:
280 S Randall Rd, Elgin, IL
596 Kuhn Road, Carol Stream, IL

Pizza Type
Size: 16"
Crust type: Ultra thin
Toppings: Pepperoni, black olive, onion, and tomato

In all fairness for this review, it's important to point out that the pizza was carry-out and one can not expect pizza to be as good after pizza box conditions. Get a pizza stone for better results on carry-out. White Cottage has a nice dine in experience.

Presentation
Appearance: 5
Aroma: 5

Flavor
Crust flavor: 5
Cheese flavor: 6
Sauce flavor: (zesty) 8
Other toppings: (crisp)  8
Overall flavor: 6.6

Consistency / Texture
Crust crispiness: 3
Cheese coverage: 9
Cheese consistency: (Spongy/rubbery) 3
Sauce coverage: 7
Sauce Consistency: (a little watery) 5
Amount of other ingredients: 8
Ingredients even coverage/balance: 8
Other Ingredients Consistency: (tender but crisp) 9

Cooked Consistency: (Under cooked/doughy) 4

Second Day Flavor
Cold pizza flavor: 7
Reheated - Pizza stone: 8

Sides
Fried Zucchini: Pretty good, better than most.
Coconut Shrimp: Small, tough, mostly bread.

Moretti's Ristorante & Pizzeria - Chicago Suburbs- Multiple Locations

Overall Rating (5.7)

Moretti's Ristorante & Pizzeria - http://www.morettischicago.com
This visit was at: 1175 W Lake St , Bartlett, IL

In attendance: 3

Pizza type: 16" Thin crust
Crust flavor: 5
Crust crispiness: 7
Cooked evenly: 3 - The crust was burnt in some areas
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Cheese coverage: 5
Sauce coverage: 6
Sauce flavor: 3
Amount of other ingredients: 8
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Presentation: 7
Overall flavor: 3
Smell: 7
Ingredients even coverage/balance: 6
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Second day cold pizza flavor: 8

Ingredients chosen: All Black Olive, 1/2 Pepperoni, 1/2 onion, 1/2 green pepper

Comments: Sadly it was unanimous, that fresh out of the oven, the pizza here is bland. It's like the flavors of the ingredients didn't meld together and the sauce just left us wanting. The pizza needed more sauce and had not nearly enough cheese. While the thin crust was crispy, unfortunately is was not cooked evenly and was burnt in some areas.

However, surprisingly, the next day "cold pizza factor" was excellent. Over night in the refrigerator gave the ingredient flavors time to mature. This pizza is very good for a next day quick cold snack. Those of you who really enjoy good cold pizza will appreciate this one, just try something else for dinner and get the pizza to go. Another nice surprise was the Coconut Onion Ring appetizer. Wow these were amazing! Big thick onions with lots of flavor, that didn't pull out of the breading. They came with a sweet but tart sauce and one could argue the need for a steak knife.

At Moretti's in Bartlett we enjoyed the nice weather by sitting outside. You might too, but Moretti's doesn't have much of a sound barrier from the traffic on Lake Street so it can be a bit loud with all the cars and trucks.

Lou Malnati's - Chicago Area - Multiple Locations

In the Chicago area the "Great Pizza Search" votes Lou Malnati's the king of deep dish. We give it a rating of (10).  HOWEVER, that rating is reserved for a specific list of ingredients.  We found that adding a bunch of other ingredients tames the overall flavor and we haven't tried Lou's specialty pizzas... we're getting there.

The crust (deep dish) - crisp, light and buttery

The sauce - rich and zesty

The cheese - thick, stringy and full of flavor

Other ingredients - Pepperoni, onion, black olive all add a perfect balance of flavor.

Lou Malnati's is a popular place so mind your arrival time. Show up at rush hour and you're in for a wait.  Once you're seated and order your pizza you're still in for about a 30 minute wait. So relax and have an appetizer. Try the fried zucchini... it's wonderful!

Locations??? To many to list... see their website, http://www.loumalnatis.com/locations