We have tried the new pizza place (Arvati's) twice now. It is where the KFC was on Roosevelt. I've been a Barone's person for 30+ years, but I do have to say that Arvati's makes one mean pizza. We ordered the Arvat's special, which is a garbage pizza, but they don't put too much of each ingredient on it so it's not a 'typical' garbage pizza. It also comes with double-dough...I haven't encountered a place in a long time that does double-dough...which is great for a pizza with a lot of toppings.

We will probably remain fairly loyal to Barone's, but will use Arvati's from time to time to mix it up a bit.

Does Arvatis have thin crust? The best thing about Barones is their thin crust Pizza.

I apologize ahead of time for my slightly negative review of Arvati's and I hope it causes them no harm.

Went there Sunday and the vibe was kind of strange. A man I think was the owner was extremely nice. His high school girl helper was appropriately incompetent. Order garlic bread for the old boy...who could live on it. Typical product...Italian bread sliced down the middle...some butter-like substance spread on it...and garlic powder sprinkled over the top. I think it was a $2 item. Ordered a couple of salads that were fresh...not typical for a place like that...but the sin of packaged dressing brought the grade way down. How hard is it to make a few dressings? Easy as hell. The pizza was ordered as thin crust...they were proud of it by the way they mentioned it on their menu. The crust was thick, chewy and doughy (not what we were hoping for), the toppings were pretty good and the sauce was good.

As I mentioned...the owner seemed like a nice gent.

I felt very badly for the trio that was sitting in the "dining room". They had ordered 3 individual pizzas that were sitting in the window when I arrived. The little lady at the register appeared to be the only help other than the owner and the constant flow of people picking up take out orders and the phone ringing kept her from delivering them to the table. When I walked out about 8 minutes later...they still sat in the window. I felt like delivering them to the table myself...but that may have been inappropriate. They better get some more help or some help that is better able to multi-task.

All in all...no competition whatsoever for Barone's. Still the king of GE pizza take out...IMO. I give them a 5 out of a possible 10...understanding that it is early in the game.

There. I said something relatively nice about a Glen Ellyn Establishment.

Has anyone tried that wood oven pizza place on St. Charles in neighboring Lombard, Illinois?

Having worked in restaurants I can tell you that even the Salad Dressing you get
that is poured on is not made on site it is usually supplied by a large restaurant supply store. Usually they come in these large one gallon size industrial strength containers. Salad dressing while not complicated is labor/space intensive at least compared to say opening up a jar. So packaged dressing is probably not that much different than what you would get anyway. So I wouldn't judge them to harshly base d on something as irrelevant as Salad Dressing. It sounds like the Pizza wasn't bad I should give them a try. I got enough flyers from them at VG. They should have a flyer where they give a buck off or something.

I knew we could smoke out Clam if we started talking about food.

quote:

Originally posted by taxpayer:
Having worked in restaurants I can tell you that even the Salad Dressing you get
that is poured on is not made on site it is usually supplied by a large restaurant supply store. Usually they come in these large one gallon size industrial strength containers. Salad dressing while not complicated is labor/space intensive at least compared to say opening up a jar. So packaged dressing is probably not that much different than what you would get anyway. So I wouldn't judge them to harshly base d on something as irrelevant as Salad Dressing. It sounds like the Pizza wasn't bad I should give them a try. I got enough flyers from them at VG. They should have a flyer where they give a buck off or something.

This is understood. Dressings do indeed come in one gallon cans...along with creepy coleslaw dressing.

All I'm saying is that if I owned a restaurant...I'd mix up 3 or 4 dressings because I used to do that at some of the real restaurants I worked at and...they are so easy to make...that it's a no-brainer. Caesar salad should not come with a packet of Kraft "Caesar Dressing"...period.

If the pizza were to-die-for...I'd forgive this culinary indiscretion. Since it was merely average...IMO...I have to give an overall thumbs sideways to the place...again, with the hopes that my slightly negative to neutral comments cause them no harm.

FWIW, they are too far away for me to justify passing by Barone's, anyway. The only pizza I am in the habit of traveling for is Armand's and Sanfretello's.

Damn you all and your food-discussion trap.

Here is a review on Arvati's from Yelp.com...it also included a link to a myspace video at the end, which is, shall we say, interesting? The late hours at Arvati's will be one of the reasons we choose them over Barone's.

Again, nice folks running it, clean environment, decent pizza, good prices, very good hours.

Um, and I would be more concerned about having homemade dressing at a place like Cab's or Figo, but at a pizza place? And with family that was in the higher-end restaurant trade, taxpayer is right on...you would be surprised what restaurants will serve these days from a supplier like Sysco or Reinhart that is surprisingly good and, often, passed along as 'homemade with love.'

FROM YELP.COM:

"This place just opened a couple of weeks ago in the deserted (and rightfully so) KFC on the corner of Park and Roosevelt in Glen Ellyn. Nice thin crust pizza, and many ups-and-extras give it an edge over the competitors. After speaking with one of the proprietors, they use only the highest grade cheese (Grande Cheeses) and meats.

And while it may not seem special to you dazzling urbanites, it's very exciting to us hicks in the burbs that Arvati's serves until midnight Monday to Thursday and until 3 a.m. on weekends. Holy cow! We were able to swing in after our concert last night and have a fresh slice at 11:45. Oh, and did I say they offer slices all day? Fresh slices that they slide in the oven for you, so they're reheated nicely?

Speaking of nice, the owner-proprietors of this place are really great. We were the only ones in the place last night, talking it up at closing time, and he gave us three huge slices of cheese & sausage to take home to my son. Said he didn't want to go to waste when he could give it to good customers. How nice was that? We'll be going back.

A unique twist is a home made YouTube video they posted if you'd like to see the place. It's a little bit long, but well-intentioned. Go get your sauce on and grab a slice."

Arvati's My Space Video

quote:

Originally posted by Clamato:

Has anyone tried that wood oven pizza place on St. Charles in neighboring Lombard, Illinois?

Yes, lots of people have tried it. We've even gone a couple of times. I like it. Good pizza, good sandwiches. A limited menu for a pizza place. I like the focus but others may find it too restrictive. One size, one crust. Thin crust. Makes for a great snack on a Saturday afternoon.

(Note that the positive comments expressed on this establishment located in Lombard in no way was meant to diminish any retailer in specific or the retail industry in general in Glen Ellyn)

GE Fan, the handsome one-time poster, has told me that he has tried the wood-fire pizza place and that he did not like the experience . . . nor was he particularly impressed with the food (and he told me I was free to pass it along). Keep in mind that this establishment is also located in Lombard.

There is a brick oven place in Lombard, which I adore. I love the fresh Club- Med veggie sandwich, which is basically a greek salad on a warm crusty roll. We love their pizzas for a change of pace. The salads are fresh and their home-made dressings are spot on (for me)!

Barone's and Lou's are awesome, I look forward to trying Arvati's, but thought another brick-oven opinion may be helpful.

There is not one awesome pizza place out here, mostly average to okay. We have found nothing in the western suburbs (and trust me, we have tried a ton) that equals this little place in Lansing, Illinois on Ridge Road called Rico's Pizza (708.895.2630 - is it bad that I have their number on a speed dial?). Rico's is so good, I have had to ship frozen one's out of state to people that have left the area. I once carried, are you ready for this, 12 frozen 20" pepperoni and sausage pizzas as carry-on to San-Franscisco and the people that I brought it for treated me like a god when they saw them in my hand at the airport. As thanks, they took me to Pebble Beach and we played Pebble and Spyglass and then had dinner at the lodge and I didn't pay one cent. The wife and I will drive the 90 miles + round trip to just eat one, bypassing our family on the way (my mother lives 5 blocks away from it and we are so focused on the perfect pizza, we don't even stop to say hi). We order it, pick it up, and sit in a park and eat it (the do not have a sit in area, it is just carry out), then drive back up the GE. My wife was down there last night and brought one back up half backed, throw it in the oven at 500 for about 10 minutes, and eat the entire 20" pizza in one sitting. It is ultra thin crust, crispy, and they do a spicy sauce thats awesome. They use a different type of pepperoni that is also spicier than most. If you ever in the Lansing area on the south side, order one up, but I warn you, you will be addicted and laugh at all other pizza places. Seriously. No really, seriously, there is no better.

Have you ever thought of having some of those brought over to the idiot that lives to the north of you (since you know where the place is...you can get them)...we could sit around his fire pit, drink your wine, and eat his pizza...good idea or no?

okay, I will say this one more time, seriously, this is the best freakin thin crust pizza you will ever eat in your lifetime.

See above.

quote:

Originally posted by Clamato:
Have you ever thought of having some of those brought over to the idiot that lives to the north of you (since you know where the place is...you can get them)...we could sit around his fire pit, drink your wine, and eat his pizza...good idea or no?

Sounds good to me. Except is it my wine were are drinking or his, or is it my pizza and his wine. I am confused.

Thanks for the tip, SoxFan. Next time we head up to Saugatuck, we will make sure we call on the way down for a pizza to bring up with us.

Can you ask for it partially baked? Any favorite combinations? We are big on pepperoni.

quote:

Originally posted by SoxFanInGE:

quote:

Originally posted by Clamato:
Have you ever thought of having some of those brought over to the idiot that lives to the north of you (since you know where the place is...you can get them)...we could sit around his fire pit, drink your wine, and eat his pizza...good idea or no?

Sounds good to me. Except is it my wine were are drinking or his, or is it my pizza and his wine. I am confused.

Your wine, your pizza, his fire...

Ring...you're big on what?

yep, thanks to my wife and I, they do have baked pizzas. We asked and asked and asked and they finally agreed to start doing them.

coming back from Saugatuck, get off on Calumet Avenue south to Ridge road and take a right. Right past the indiana/illinois border (there is a Strack and Van Tils grocery store and a Tortilla Flats restaurant at the border) on the left side is a small parking lot with Rico's right next to it. Drive from the expressway is about 7 minutes, so if you call 13 minutes before you exit I-80, you will time it perfectly. Just eat the darn thing in the parking lot, but don't forget to grab and RC cola from their frig.

Going to Saugatuck, get off at Torrance Ave south to ridge road and then take a left. It is like 2 miles until you reach Wentworth Avenue, one block past Wentworth is Ricos. From exit at torrance to Rico's takes about 10 minutes, so if you call at the Quarry, you will time it perfectly.

It IS the only thing worth getting off the expressway for in Lansing, so much so, the rest of the town could be destroyed and nobody would skip a beat. (Can you tell I grew up there?)

Thanks SoxFan...we are going up next weekend and I'm getting one! Great directions, btw.

Clam, it sounds more like you're trying to get some pepperoni around the fire! Pizza, wine, fire...watch out Western Ave.! (I seriously did laugh when I read your comment...too funny!).

I decided to give Arvatis a shot to support local business. I went in there with rose-colored glasses on, I was hoping it was going to be good. I was ready to give them the benefit of the doubt, I was hoping so much it would be good. So, I picked up the carry-out bags, asked if they were sure they had everything. The young waitress-type person at the register looked at my order slip, looked in the bags, and said "Yep!". So I get home, take stuff out, and they forgot to put in the personal pizza! I drove back and the owner offered to give me a bottle of pop. Whoopee. No Thanks! Live and learn, always check your order before you leave. Note to owner: Take better care of your customers, train your staff, or hire better staff. I'm never going back. The hot wings were the most disgusting things I've ever had, seemed like they were fried in year-old oil. The breading was separated from the wings and was crispy and dark colored, overcooked. The pizza dough was powderey and tasted like a dry paste, what I imagine Plaster of Paris would taste like. Almost like it was not thoroughly mixed and then coated with dry flour. It was like a cardboard box with powder on it. I was so disappointed. Was it a single bad day for them? For me it was 3 strikes in one visit. Too bad, a good pizza joint in that area would be a great addition. So, Bacci's farther west on Roosevelt for those massive slices is the current pizza quick-fix for my kids. Shoot, even Little Caesars pizza tastes better!