I’ve heard the buzz that surrounds Al’s Pizza in Warrenville… I’ve heard it spoken to me and there are similar statements that can be found in online reviews.
People say things like, “Al’s Pizza is the best pizza ever, all-around without exception.” I’ve heard, “Whenever I travel back to the Chicago area, I make sure I stop in for Al’s Pizza in Warrenville.” And, on the more extreme-end of the pizza-gloatting comments, “I would give my left nut for an Al’s pizza right now!” Really? It’s that good?
Being that pizza is a passion of mine (but not so much so that I would be willing to surrender a testicle for even the most divine of pies), I had to try Al’s. As I do in such situations, I ordered a cheese pizza. There would be no toppings to potential hide any flaws or highlights in the holy-trinity of pizza’s DNA: dough, tomato sauce, and cheese. If it doesn’t contain these base ingredients, it is not pizza. Okay, enough foreplay…
I ate my first Al’s Pizza pizza. Was it everything I had heard it was? Shall men live and die for it? Was it THAT good? Meh. It was good, but not the perfection I had anticipated (very much like my last girlfriend in fact). Would I eat it again? Sure. Would I drive past Pal Joey’s on Roosevelt Road in West Chicago to eat it again? Not a chance.
Here’s my take on all the Al’s Pizza hoopla… The place is an old-school dump. It has real character and simple traditions attached to it – go there sometime and you’ll see what I mean. I think people like the comfort of knowing that as every damned thing in our lives is in a constant flux, Al’s Pizza is the same as it’s always been. Al’s is the proverbial rock that just happens to serve a decent pizza. That’s what keeps them coming back.