I have found one helluva great pizza and it's from Roberto's Ristorante and Pizzeria in Elmhurst, IL. It is simply one of the best pizzas I have ever had in my life. And God knows I've eaten a few pizzas in my day.
Established in 1962, Roberto's is located on Spring Road in Elmhurst (see map) and is housed in a nice building that was recently updated in the dining room and bar area. They also have a nice little outdoor seating area for summertime dining.
After hearing about Roberto's, I did a little research and it sounded kind of stuffy and snooty. I read somewhere that even though they do a great pizza, it's not available to eat in the dining room. The article said something about Roberto's wanting to keep the fine dining apart from the pizzeria. I thought, "Why in the world would they not allow pizza to be eaten in the dining room?"
I took a look at their dinner menu and they offer the usual high-end Italian fare - and at a pretty steep price. Their veal dishes are $24.00, steaks and chops are $19.00 to $34.00, and their pasta dishes were $13.00 to $20.00. They'd better be good at those prices.
A couple nights earlier, I had stopped at Armand's in Elmhurst to have a pizza there and it was kind of late - about 10 till 9. I know that Armand's serves until 10 p.m., but not that night. I was told that they closed the kitchen early that evening. I was kind of pissed off - I wanted a pizza. You don't want to piss me off when I'm hungry. So Armand's is off my "must visit" list for the time being. (Plus the fact that I had an Armand's pizza at their St. Charles location earlier this summer and it was over-cooked and the service was poor.)
I had finished with a full day of appointments and was headed back to the hotel. I was hungry, tired, thirsty for a cold beer and I had a ton of computer work to do when I got back to the room. I decided to order a Roberto's pizza and grab a six-pack and take it back to the room. I called the order in and they said I could get it in 20 minutes. Perfect.
I ordered a small, thin-crust sausage, pepperoni and mushroom. (Is there any other toppings that should go on a pizza?) They also offer Chicago style pan and stuffed pizzas, as well. Roberto's grinds their own sausage and when I read that, I knew it had to be good.
Roberto's has 10 minute parking out front for people to park to pick up their "to-go" orders. In addition to pizza, their carry-out menu also offers most of their pastas, parmigiana, and sandwiches. I went in and got my pizza. It was a little pricey, $14.80, but I didn't care at that point.
As I was getting my pizza, I was asking the girl who was waiting on me if it was true that you couldn't order pizza in the dining area. She said, "No, who told you that?"
I said that I had read that somewhere. She said, "No, everything we make is available in our dining room. There's probably 10 to 12 tables in there right now that have pizza on them."
The pizza was cut in the little squares with the "honey-pot" square slices right in the middle. I had to have a small slice on the way back to the hotel and I about drove off the road. The crust was crispy, yet airy and light. The sausage was the big chunk kind like you're supposed to have on a pizza. The pepperoni was flavorful and the mushrooms were just as good. (I'm not kidding you - my stomach is doing jumping jacks right now as I'm writing this. It was so good.)
The pizza was simply one of the best - if not THE best - pizza I've ever had in my life. Even for a take out! I'm going to have to try it again sometime just to make double sure that it's consistently good.
I also want to try Roberto's Italian fare and I'll be sure to put that in the "Restaurants" category later on.
(Update - And I did try Roberto's authentic Italian food. Click here to see that entry.)
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