For the longest time my buddy, Jim Kellogg, was bragging about how great the pizza at Lucca Gril in downtown Bloomington, IL. I had to try it for myself.
The Lucca Grill is a corner building, long and two stories high. In fact, I was in the place probably a half dozen times before I realized it had an upstairs. The dining space isn't that big, but it's cozy. The big old oven is up front to the left of the bar - which is amply stocked with a lot of great beers to choose from
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The pizza is thin crust, light and crispy. The sausage is great, the sauce is great. The pizza is very, very good. Some of the best pizza I've ever had. I'm sure a lot of it is because the oven is old. It looks like it is the same one they installed when the place opened in 1936.
One night, I was sitting at the bar having a small A La Baldini - the house specialty - which consists of sausage, pepperoni, ham, onions, mushrooms, green peppers and pepperocini's. It's killer. A guy next to me was having Lucca's fettucine alfredo and it smelled out of this world. I commented to the guy that the fettucine smelled great and he said, "It IS great. I like it better than the pizza."
Well, I really like Lucca's pizza, so this guy likes the fettucine better than the pizza I'll have to try that sometime, too.
Very surprised to see that you have discovered an old family favorite in the Lucca Grill.
My father was born and raised in Bloomington, and he knew the Baldini brothers as close friends.
It has become tradition for our family to gather there after another Iowa Hawkeye beat down of the cheating ill whine eye football team.
The Baldinis, as well as my father, are gone now.
But the Lucca Grill still serves the best pizza anywhere, and is worth a visit.
Posted by: Dirk Keller | January 22, 2006 at 09:19 PM