I asked the hubby write the review for this week’s Deep Dish Decision 2011. He had strong opinions about this wedge, so please pardon his language.
Lou Malnati’s | Lincoln Park Location: 958 West Wrightwood Ave.
There’s an old saying that goes something to the effect of, “No matter how bad they are, sex and pizza are still pretty good.” I thought of this phrase while thinking about a review for this week’s deep-dish pizza franchise. That’s not to say Lou Malnati’s pizza is bad, because it’s not really. But it’s not good either. It just sort of exists. There’s a reason Nicole asked me to guest-post this one, and it’s sure as hell not because she loved it so much. When I go out for pizza and the thing I enjoy the most was the salad appetizer, you know there’s something wrong with this picture.
Sauce: Sweet and tasty, with just a hint of herbs, and by far my favorite part of this pizza. My only problem was there wasn’t enough of it.
Cheese: Nothing to write home about. A thin layer of good ol’ mozzarella, with minimal salt (read: flavor) content.
(Note from Nicole: I loved the cheese, which tasted like it had some provolone melted in. I thought it was the tastiest so far.)
Sausage: Ugh, the disk o’ sausage makes another appearance. Much better than the Gino’s disk, but not as good as Uno’s. The squishy texture gets to be a bit much in every single bite, and there wasn’t nearly enough cheese and sauce to cover it up. Why can’t they offer a crumbled option?
Crust: The reason that I didn’t get enough cheese or sauce for my liking. This guy was tiny (relatively speaking, of course). If you sat a Malnati’s deep dish next to Uno’s or Gino’s, I’m guessing it’d measure about a ½-inch shorter. Good enough, with a nice bit of cornmeal mixed in with the flour, but lacking in overall flavor.
Atmosphere: If Gino’s has a dingy bar vibe to it, and Uno’s is a pizza-centric Applebee’s franchise, the most apt comparison for Malnati’s would be a cafeteria. It was bright, clean (almost too clean) and unbelievably quiet. You can tell this is the family-friendly suburban pizza franchise around town.
Nicole M. Markle 