Now pizza can be a dicey thing, particularly on a college campus. The University of Illinois is no different. Certainly, we have our share of national chains. We have a couple places that make good thin crust (Jupiter's comes to mind) and a place that makes a good deep dish or stuffed pie (Papa Del's is the exemplar here). And there are the "college" pizza places where cardboard, ketchup, and cheap cheese served warm passes for pizza. Of course, this isn't to say that I haven't ordered a 3 pound calzone from one of these places at 2:30am for $6 delivered. But what I haven't really had out here is a good slice of New York-style pizza here. Being a kid who spent his late teenage years near Albany, NY, it's definitely been something that I've missed.
And now there's been a change. We have a new pizza joint in Campustown. I can actually get a reasonable replication of New York-style pizza here on campus. So with that, welcome, Antnoio's. What's wonderful about Antonio's is that it's open late. Until after the bars close. And it's right in the heart of campus. That right there gives it syle points in a college town. Add in the fact that you can get a huge slice (1/8th of a 24" pie is a meal for many folks) for $1.50, and you're golden.
It's pretty fun to go in there. First, you see this big white board that lists out like 30 different pizzas. Next you notice that they have racks of like 30 pre made pizzas ready to go. You go into line, and call out what you want (or just point to the examples that are on the counter), and they go and grab a slice that's already made, and run it through an oven to warm and crisp it up while you go pay. It's a little different, a little louder, a little less civil, and a little more salt of the earth. If you're not ready to go, someone who is will call out what they want. They'll have a few guys working during the rushes so it's not like you'll lose out with the Soup Nazi and get sent back to the end of the line. It's more like working on the floor of the stock exchange. You may miss your shot now, but it'll come again shortly.
As for the pizza itself? Well, it all starts with the crust. You can watch the guys hand stretch the dough, and even let gravity do the work. You see a ball of dough turn into this huge sheet of soon-to-be pizza. What I didn't see was them toss the dough into the air. Which I'm just fine with. I think that most pizza guys will acknowledge that the toss is really more for the show than for the dough. It looks good, but doesn't really help anything.
Then, a ladle full of sauce goes on, and is spread out over the dough. And they get it right. There's enough so that you can feel the sauce (and not eat the pizza too quickly for fear of losing a layer of skin from the top of your mouth), but not so much that it oozes out of the slice when you bite in. The sauce is solid, though not spectacular. I doubt that it's made in house, but it serves its purpose.
The layer the top with cheese, and whatever toppings are needed for a particular pizza. As for the toppings, Antonio's has a blend of old school and new school. You can get all of the traditional toppings, or just a nice slice of cheese. Or, you can get some more "gourmet" toppings for a little more (they do a pretty good version of margherita (tomato, basil, and fresh mozzarella, make some good pesto pizzas, and white pizzas). They also do some interesting theme pizzas like a steak burrito pizza where instead of sauce, there is a layer of bean, cheddar, some rice, tomatoes, peppers, and steak. Now, no pad thai or peking duck pizza, so we haven't gone California, yet, which is good for a college place.
So how does it taste? Wonderful. The crust is crispy and still chewy. The sauce does it's job as an accomplice. The cheese is ample, but not overwhelming. The rest of the toppings can be overwhelming, but only if you want to order it that way It's nice now you get this huge slice of pizza, fold it over at the corners of the crust, and just start eating it from the point. No silverware needed. Here's the thing. If you want something simple and traditional, go with just a slice of cheese, pepperoni, sausage, or tomato. It'll give you the feel of what New York-style is. Then branch out and try some different topping combos.
With 30+ varieties, I haven't gone with them all, yet. But I am happy to report that so far, I've had no bad experiences, and have really enjoyed the BBQ steak pizza (steak, cheddar, bacon, onion on BBQ sauce) and the Meatcravers (sausage, pepperoni, beef, bacon, etc., etc. on red sauce) when I need to indulge the carnivore. The neapolitan pizza (spinach, tomato, feta on red) was also a good bet when I felt the need to pretend to eat vegetables.
Now some traditionalists will hold that you should only have cheese, or something traditional like the margherita. I'm much more liberal in my interpretation. Happily, Antonio's allows for both conservative and liberal thinking in pizza. They're a uniter, not a divider. After all, you can't really go wrong with stopping in, grabbing a slice or two, and not breaking the bank while getting a good meal. Particularly when it takes me back to my time back East.
-foodgeek
And now there's been a change. We have a new pizza joint in Campustown. I can actually get a reasonable replication of New York-style pizza here on campus. So with that, welcome, Antnoio's. What's wonderful about Antonio's is that it's open late. Until after the bars close. And it's right in the heart of campus. That right there gives it syle points in a college town. Add in the fact that you can get a huge slice (1/8th of a 24" pie is a meal for many folks) for $1.50, and you're golden.
It's pretty fun to go in there. First, you see this big white board that lists out like 30 different pizzas. Next you notice that they have racks of like 30 pre made pizzas ready to go. You go into line, and call out what you want (or just point to the examples that are on the counter), and they go and grab a slice that's already made, and run it through an oven to warm and crisp it up while you go pay. It's a little different, a little louder, a little less civil, and a little more salt of the earth. If you're not ready to go, someone who is will call out what they want. They'll have a few guys working during the rushes so it's not like you'll lose out with the Soup Nazi and get sent back to the end of the line. It's more like working on the floor of the stock exchange. You may miss your shot now, but it'll come again shortly.
As for the pizza itself? Well, it all starts with the crust. You can watch the guys hand stretch the dough, and even let gravity do the work. You see a ball of dough turn into this huge sheet of soon-to-be pizza. What I didn't see was them toss the dough into the air. Which I'm just fine with. I think that most pizza guys will acknowledge that the toss is really more for the show than for the dough. It looks good, but doesn't really help anything.
Then, a ladle full of sauce goes on, and is spread out over the dough. And they get it right. There's enough so that you can feel the sauce (and not eat the pizza too quickly for fear of losing a layer of skin from the top of your mouth), but not so much that it oozes out of the slice when you bite in. The sauce is solid, though not spectacular. I doubt that it's made in house, but it serves its purpose.
The layer the top with cheese, and whatever toppings are needed for a particular pizza. As for the toppings, Antonio's has a blend of old school and new school. You can get all of the traditional toppings, or just a nice slice of cheese. Or, you can get some more "gourmet" toppings for a little more (they do a pretty good version of margherita (tomato, basil, and fresh mozzarella, make some good pesto pizzas, and white pizzas). They also do some interesting theme pizzas like a steak burrito pizza where instead of sauce, there is a layer of bean, cheddar, some rice, tomatoes, peppers, and steak. Now, no pad thai or peking duck pizza, so we haven't gone California, yet, which is good for a college place.
So how does it taste? Wonderful. The crust is crispy and still chewy. The sauce does it's job as an accomplice. The cheese is ample, but not overwhelming. The rest of the toppings can be overwhelming, but only if you want to order it that way It's nice now you get this huge slice of pizza, fold it over at the corners of the crust, and just start eating it from the point. No silverware needed. Here's the thing. If you want something simple and traditional, go with just a slice of cheese, pepperoni, sausage, or tomato. It'll give you the feel of what New York-style is. Then branch out and try some different topping combos.
With 30+ varieties, I haven't gone with them all, yet. But I am happy to report that so far, I've had no bad experiences, and have really enjoyed the BBQ steak pizza (steak, cheddar, bacon, onion on BBQ sauce) and the Meatcravers (sausage, pepperoni, beef, bacon, etc., etc. on red sauce) when I need to indulge the carnivore. The neapolitan pizza (spinach, tomato, feta on red) was also a good bet when I felt the need to pretend to eat vegetables.
Now some traditionalists will hold that you should only have cheese, or something traditional like the margherita. I'm much more liberal in my interpretation. Happily, Antonio's allows for both conservative and liberal thinking in pizza. They're a uniter, not a divider. After all, you can't really go wrong with stopping in, grabbing a slice or two, and not breaking the bank while getting a good meal. Particularly when it takes me back to my time back East.
-foodgeek
