The Pizza Locust

Old Chicago Pizza – the name itself suggests that it must have been around for a long time – and indeed, it’s been around longer than I knew. I’ve driven past one of their locations for years and never knew it was a pizza place. Maybe they should put better signs out front like, “Old Chicago Pizza” rather than just “Old Chicago.” I’d always assumed it was a mafia-themed Italian place, like Olive Garden, only with tommy guns.

I was chocking down a slice of pizza at Cici’s the other day, when what comes on the radio? You guessed it: an ad for Old Chicago Pizza. See? Advertising works.

The next time I was in the area, I took the family into Old Chicago to give them a try.

I chose a 9″ “individual” sized pepperoni pizza, in thin crust. When it arrived at the table, I must say, it looked very good. The crust was puffed up and promised that elusive crisp, cooked, yet not burnt nor baked to hard tack that is so rare. It was cooked, and yet, never have I had a crust this soft and bread-like, and yet still a bit crunchy. I can say it was quite like any pizza crust I’ve had before. Unfortunately, the crust barely had any flavor, except at the extreme edges, which had been brushed with butter. The crust was also a bit uneven, with the puffy side representing the better-cooked end, but clearly it had heated unevenly in the oven.

The pepperoni was completely typical, supermarket variety.

The cheese was loaded and very stringy. It was so thick that I had to recut the pizza twice, as the cheese healed the slices. It was plentiful and had good texture, but, like the crust, not very flavorful.

The sauce, however, was overpowering. It was strongly weighted towards the “tomato” end of the sauce spectrum, it was thick, and it was almost all that could be tasted in each bite. While I liked the sauce, I like my pizza to be a balanced medley a flavors without one overpowering the others.

Everything had potential, though, and I’ll certainly give them another try, probably at another location to see if things vary from shop to shop.

I’m adding a new feature to the Pizza Locust reviews and that is an attribute I call “iPhone Friendliness.” So what does iPhone Friendly mean? It means the restaurant provides free wireless access for their customers, and Old Chicago passed with flying colors. In fact, I typed up much of this review on their wireless connection.

9″ Pepperoni pizza, $9.99 or $0.16 (0.157) per square inch

Conclusion: The jury is still out, but it wasn’t really a bad pizza, and it had real potential.

Old Chicago

5695 W Bell Rd

Glendale, AZ

(602) 938-8808