Midwest

Tips for Dining, Eating, and Food Shopping in OH, IN, IL, MI, WI, MN, IA, MO, KS, OK, ND, SD and NE

1. I like the joint run by New York natives on Grape Rd. next to Outback Steakhouse. It might be called Polito's. I don't think I've ever had a whole pie there. I usually get one of the stuffed slices (more like heaps) in the case by the register. Be prepared to have to let the belt out a notch.
   
   Good luck.

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   Mugs Dec 05, 2005 01:31PM

   1. re: Mugs

      politos was some of the best pizza i have ever had

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      Danimal Oct 12, 2006 02:44AM

2. Try the original Barnaby's on Jefferson Blvd! I grew up eating there every Sunday night. I wish they shipped out of state!

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   KPickenpaugh Sep 15, 2006 09:22PM

   1. re: KPickenpaugh

      If you ever fly to OHare in Chicago, call the DesPlaines Barnabys on Touhy. They frequently fill requests for their 10" pizzas in quantity, par bake them, freeze them and pack them for transport. I have done this many times, ordering 10-20 pizzas for my freezer in Ohio. I was told by one of the owners that they have a frequent flyer who is a Chicago transplant to Atlanta. He picks up at least 20 frozen pizzas every month. He made the mistake of sharing Barnaby's with his southern neighbors, and now they place orders with him for themselves. You have to experiment a bit with the baking to get it close to done right. We partially defrost the pizza (30 min out of the freezer) then cook it on a baking stone at 350 until it looks right.

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      Pizzahound Nov 05, 2007 05:57PM

      1. re: Pizzahound

         I'm an ex-Chicago native that moved to Atlanta in 1986. I called the Des Plaines Barnaby's but they said they don't ship frozen pizzas.

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         Dawizard Dec 07, 2007 09:30AM

         1. re: Dawizard

            Right. You have to be there and pick them up yourself.

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            Pizzahound Jan 01, 2008 09:37AM

3. First, is the DesPlaines Barnaby's crust, the same "crispy cornmeal crust"
   served at the Northbrook Barnaby's ....memories of my teenage years.... ?

   Second, for those of us who have unfortunately moved far away from Chicagoland, has anyone been able to develop a similar crispy-cornmeal crust recipe duplicating Barnaby's for home cooks?

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   westport11 Nov 26, 2007 10:11AM

   1. re: westport11

      yes indeedy it is. I have come close to duplicating the crust, but just close. The cornmeal at Barnaby's seems to be just the adder on the oven rack to allow the air to get between the crust and the shelf.

      I have had better luck fusing the taste and texture of Gino's and Lou Malnati's in a home cooked deep dish. I used the basic pizza dough recipe from the Joy of cooking, disolved the yeast in warm water before adding it to the flour, and used mostly warm beer (Miller High Life in this case) rather than the warm water called for in the book.

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      Pizzahound Dec 04, 2007 08:31PM