Located on the east side of Draper (1442 East Draper Parkway), SHC certainly doesn't look like much outside or inside. The first thing I noticed was the abundance of Chicago memorabilia around the joint. Reminders of championships past for Chicago based sports teams abound. The menu is simple, yet complex. They have a number a specialty pizzas with windy city names like: The Chicago Transit Authority or The Ditka (wondering why they don't have a 'Da Bears pizza won't make them create one). In ordering your pie you really have one choice to make. Do you want a thin crust -or- do you want one of the best pizza pies you have ever eaten and hence want to get a stuffed pizza? As you can tell, this is really not a question at all.
My favorite pizza (hence the one I will heartily recommend) is The Don. It's a classic meat-lovers type of pizza with the added beauty of green peppers and mushrooms. On top of a generous helping of toppings and cheese is another sheet of dough covered in a wonderful pizza sauce and some Parmesan cheese. The resulting pie is a masterpiece in your mouth. The sweet sauce is the first thing you taste, followed by a poetic mixture of meats and flavors. Eating multiple slices is a challenge for most, but don't skimp and order a smaller size. This is a pizza that I always want to take home with me. Leftover stuffed pizzas are almost as good as straight from the oven pizzas.
Not as amazing (again it's hard to be this amazing) is the thin crust pizza. To be sure, I'm not really a thin-crust aficionado, therefore I'm not fully qualified to state this opinion. It's good pizza, but it isn't super-memorable. Last time we ordered a thin crust pizza, I ate five or six slices before my stomach even detected that anything had been added to it. In other words, a lot goes a little way.
The menu also features a lovely Italian salad that has a sweet Italian dressing on it. It is delectable and easy to love. The cheese bread is also worthwhile, but you may want to forego adding anything to your meal in fear that you won't have enough of an appetite for the main event.
The staff at SHC is wonderful. After you order you can watch the goings-on in the kitchen as there are windows where you can watch them make, toss, and dress the pizza in your sight. We have never been in the restaurant when there was much of a crowd, a normal red-flag, but it's always been spot on.
Take the drive east on 123rd south until you find this pizza treasure on the south side of the road. You will thank me later. Tubby on.
*Update: Unfortunately Sweet Home Chicago could not overcome a bad location and is now closed.
No comments:
Post a Comment