ChicagoTRS wrote:Villa Nova just got a nice little write up in the Chicago Tribune "The Stew"

In Stickney, thin crust pizza you can root for...

http://leisureblogs.chicagotribune.com/ ... t-for.html

I wonder where Kevin got the idea for that...

stevez wrote:I wonder where Kevin got the idea for that...

Actually kevin got it from me. I was talking to him on the phone about something entirely different and started waxing poetic about our outing to Villa Nova. I made it sound so good he went there that night and then wrote about it on the Tribune blog.

Happy to see an out of the way spot, especially one as good as Villa Nova, get props.

I can't believe it took me so long to try Villa Nova in Stickney. I'd known about the place since reading Pat Bruno's 1986 book, Chicago's Food Favorites. As I posted above, I thought the pizza was excellent (though I still prefer Vito & Nick's). I've tried a bunch of similar "Chicago tavern style" pizzas over the last few years and this is one of the few I'm excited about having again.

Another thing that caught my eye some twenty years ago is the listing of Villa Nova in the Italian Beef chapter. Pat Bruno doesn't really have a lot to say about the sandwich ("Italian beef sandwich with red sauce or regular gravy is a menu standby but there's also . . ." is the sum of his praise) but just the fact that it's listed had me interested. I think I'd been to every* establishment mentioned in that chapter except Villa Nova.



The beef is decent but nothing worth going out of the way for. Given a choice between pizza and beef, it's really no contest. Beef came sliced medium-thin; slight chewy texture but not unpleasant; not a whole lot of beefy flavor though. Sweet peppers are obviously freshly prepared; maybe a bit on the raw side but much better than most. Bread was standard Gonella (or Turano) I think; nothing remarkable one way or the other. Gravy was the weak link; very salty with strong bouillon cube flavor; borderline unpleasant in bites that were sopping. So what if the beef isn't great; the pizza's top notch.

* The only ones I missed went out of business before I had a chance to visit. I need to return to is Paradise Pup though. I've eaten there but only had the burgers. Can anyone recommend their Italian beef?

Rene G wrote:The only ones I missed went out of business before I had a chance to visit. I need to return to is Paradise Pup though. I've eaten there but only had the burgers. Can anyone recommend their Italian beef?

I've had the Italian Beef at PP and I can't recommend it. It's pretty much the only item on their menu that misses the mark IMO. Go with the burgers, dogs or chicken and you'll be happy. They don't sell very much Italian Beef, and there's a reason for that.

I have guests coming from outta town, and there will be an obligatory pizza night. I'm going to push for Salerno's to see if what I had was an exception. If I get another good pie from there. I'm gonna stick my head on the chopping block and proclaim it a better pie than Villa Nova and only a few blocks away. I'll get piks, promise. Got a new cam I'm dyin' to try out anyway. I posted about Salerno's (On Grove in Berwyn) in the Best Thing You've Eaten Lately thread. I'm not a major pizza lover, but that pie was a thing of beauty, and I'm craving another one.

Was at Villa Nova last night...excellent pizza as always. Sausage, fresh garlic, and FRESH mushrooms.

Villa Nova now offering the choice of fresh or canned mushrooms. Spoke with the owner and I guess he had read a few reviews of people complaining about them using canned mushrooms and decided to give people a choice on the menu.

imo this place in GNR material...may not be fancy...atmosphere may not be fantastic...but they have been making incredible pizza for 55+ years and is literally an icon in the neighborhood. owned by the same family for that entire time and really has not changed very much in all of that time. just consistently puts out a great product.

Great Neighborhood Restaurant material? I think you are right.

Rene G wrote:Perhaps the most impressive thing about today's excellent pizza at Villa Nova was the toppings application and slicing style: precisely two lumps of sausage on each and every piece.





I found myself explaining that was the reason I was photographing our pizza. "That's nothing. The other day we had people in here taking pictures of us making pizzas. Weird."

Villa Nova Pizzeria
6821 W Pershing Rd
Stickney IL
708-788-2944
708-788-2992
708-788-2702
708-788-2720
708-788-3149

I'm so glad to see Villa Nova finally getting recognized. This has been my family go to spot for Chicago thin crust pizza with homemade sausage for many, many years. In my humble opinion, Villa Nova still represents the best thin crust pizza in the Chicagoland area. The sausage is the best around, the cheese is ALWAYS perfectly done, and the crust is cracker thin. "The Nov" has been an institution here in the Stickney, Berwyn, Cicero, Lyons, Brookfield area (and beyond) for a long time.

Hopefully, next year, it will be a GNR winner.

Good Eating,

deepdish

deepdish wrote:Hopefully, next year, it will be a GNR winner.

All you have to do is keep posting about it. Maybe organize an outing or two so more people have a chance to try the pizza and then, when GNR nomination time rolls around next spring, nominate it.

Funny that this popped up because I've been craving it...I'd definitely be up for a group outing...

ChicagoTRS wrote:Villa Nova now offering the choice of fresh or canned mushrooms. Spoke with the owner and I guess he had read a few reviews of people complaining about them using canned mushrooms and decided to give people a choice on the menu.

I have to confess I'm one of those people who actually doesn't mind canned mushrooms on a thin crust. Perhaps it's because I associate old-school thin crust pizza with canned mushrooms. I'll have to try a side-by-side comparison to see if I prefer the canned to the fresh. Will nostalgia win out over flavor?

Will nostalgia win out over flavor?

Every time for me, especially pizza. I agree about the canned mushrooms. They were the only thing we ever had on pizza growing up.

I have to confess I'm one of those people who actually doesn't mind canned mushrooms on a thin crust. Perhaps it's because I associate old-school thin crust pizza with canned mushrooms. I'll have to try a side-by-side comparison to see if I prefer the canned to the fresh. Will nostalgia win out over flavor?

HI,

I think the canned vs fresh mushroom is more an issue of texture and perceived value. Fresh sliced white mushrooms from the store don't have a lot of flavor. The canned have been cooked and stored in a salted broth or water, but their texture may turn off some people. Plus fresh is more expensive than canned, thus canned mushrooms on pizza is considered cheap.

My very first introduction to mushrooms were the canned Jolly Green Giant mushrooms in my maternal grandmother's gravy. I loved those fresh from the can. The first fresh mushrooms I ever saw in a home environment was at my paternal grandmother's kitchen. I like them cooked, but have no use for them raw except for texture.

Regards,

Binko wrote:I have to confess I'm one of those people who actually doesn't mind canned mushrooms on a thin crust. Perhaps it's because I associate old-school thin crust pizza with canned mushrooms. I'll have to try a side-by-side comparison to see if I prefer the canned to the fresh. Will nostalgia win out over flavor?

Agree...I grew up on Villa Nova sausage and mushroom pizza and it is one of those things that you just love/crave because it has been a consistent part of your life...whenever I have a nova pizza it brings me back memories of my childhood and family. I always liked the canned mushrooms.

But...I have to admit I really liked the fresh mushrooms...brought an entirely different flavor...if anything I thought their taste was stronger than the canned variety. I should have took a picture...they put the fresh mushroom on top of the cheese...so it makes for a picture perfect pizza and I liked how the oven sort of browned the mushrooms...definitely brought a great flavor. Next time maybe I will get a sausage pizza with half fresh, other half canned shrooms

I've only had the New Buffalo location for Villa Nova a few times, and that pizza was a perfect example of a classic neighborhood thin crust pizza from the old days. I can only imagine the original being even better. Definitely worthy of a GNR.

A group outing would be great.

deepdish wrote:A group outing would be great.

It sounds like you just volunteered to organize the event. Here's a link to a thread about tips and guidelines for event organizers.

Cathy2 wrote:HI,

I think the canned vs fresh mushroom is more an issue of texture and perceived value. Fresh sliced white mushrooms from the store don't have a lot of flavor. The canned have been cooked and stored in a salted broth or water, but their texture may turn off some people. Plus fresh is more expensive than canned, thus canned mushrooms on pizza is considered cheap.

Makes sense to me. I figured the texture would be the main point of contention. See, that's the thing I like about the canned mushrooms. Like you say, if the pizza is just using standard white button mushrooms, there's not much difference in terms of flavor. I just like that juiciness and firm, yet somewhat gelatinous bite canned mushrooms on pizza have versus the leathery husks of white button mushrooms you often get when fresh mushrooms are used on a Chicago-style thin crust. Of course, if you're talking serious mushroom with flavor, I'll take the fresh, but for your standard pizza parlor mushrooms, I gotta give the nod to the canned mushrooms. Glad to hear I'm not the only one who feels this way.

Went here recently after reading something on this forum that led me to a Tribune article about the place. My husband and especially I love Italian food and we love and appreciate an excellant mom and pop place like this that shows good customer friendly service by making some tasty pizza. Needless to say, this exceeded our expectations. There was just something so melt in your mouth about the sausage pizza that is just too damn enthralling. So enthralling that when we basically had the same exact thing a couple of weeks later at Tortorice's in Arlington Heights, we compared it to the Villa Nova and while still very good, just not quite as tasty, melt in your mouth good.

I picked up a sausage pizza yesterday. I had not had any VN pizza for quite awhile and was looking forward to it, given all the positive posts recently. It was OK. I wouldn't go out of my way to get one, but I don't quite have it on the pedestal that many others seem to recently. I think HRI's sausage pie is better.

Going to Villa Nova tonight. My absolute favorite pizza joint.

A new Villa Nova restaurant opened in Chesterton Indiana this past week. A little more upscale than the other locations. Same great pizza but quite a few new pasta, appetizer, and dessert choices on the menu.

Went this past weekend. Tried the mushroom ragout and fried cheese ball appetizers...both very good. Also had a pizza...very close to the original...imo still a little work to do on the dough but very close.

‎213 Broadway
Chesterton, IN 46304

http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/port ... 5e4d5.html

The Stickney location is rapidly becoming our new favorite pizza joint. We see ourselves spending a lot of time here in the future. The pasta always intrigues me and I just wondered if anyone reccommends anything on the pasta side of the menu. Is the pasta just as good as the pizza?

I ordered pizza from there Wednesday night. They now ask if you want fresh or canned mushrooms. The 'za was great, as always.

Cogito wrote:I picked up a sausage pizza yesterday. I had not had any VN pizza for quite awhile and was looking forward to it, given all the positive posts recently. It was OK. I wouldn't go out of my way to get one, but I don't quite have it on the pedestal that many others seem to recently. I think HRI's sausage pie is better.

Maybe we're mildly spoiled? I had another pie from Salerno's On Grove last night - med cheese & snausage ordered thusly:
Medium extra thin crust cheese and sausage. I want the EXTRA THIN crust that is available on request. I do NOT want the regular thin crust."

Best pizza I've had since the last time I went to Salernos On Grove. Super crunchy crust, excellent cheese, and enough sausage to fill up a hungry billy goat. Just opinion, but the super thin crust at Salerno's On Grove trumps anything I've had from Villa Nova. My cam was not cooperating with me in the restaurant, but the pix would have shown the same za I posted in the Salerno's thread. Not sure why I am getting super crunchy, crust and others might not, but there are TWO thin crust versions over there, and I can't stand the bready, doughy crust of their "regular" thin. The super thin crust is flippin fantastic, buttery, and full of flavor, not just crunch.

I gotta try one of those.

seebee wrote:

Cogito wrote:I picked up a sausage pizza yesterday. I had not had any VN pizza for quite awhile and was looking forward to it, given all the positive posts recently. It was OK. I wouldn't go out of my way to get one, but I don't quite have it on the pedestal that many others seem to recently. I think HRI's sausage pie is better.

Maybe we're mildly spoiled? I had another pie from Salerno's On Grove last night - med cheese & snausage ordered thusly:
Medium extra thin crust cheese and sausage. I want the EXTRA THIN crust that is available on request. I do NOT want the regular thin crust."

Best pizza I've had since the last time I went to Salernos On Grove. Super crunchy crust, excellent cheese, and enough sausage to fill up a hungry billy goat. Just opinion, but the super thin crust at Salerno's On Grove trumps anything I've had from Villa Nova. My cam was not cooperating with me in the restaurant, but the pix would have shown the same za I posted in the Salerno's thread. Not sure why I am getting super crunchy, crust and others might not, but there are TWO thin crust versions over there, and I can't stand the bready, doughy crust of their "regular" thin. The super thin crust is flippin fantastic, buttery, and full of flavor, not just crunch.

I'm with you, seebee. I prefer Salerno's to Villa Nova as well. By a good amount.

To each his own SeeBee. I think Villa Nova blows away Salerno's. I often make a special trip for VillaNova. but have never done so for Salerno's. Admittedly, Salerno's is pretty good for that style of Pizza, which is completely different from Villa Nova's style. It is sort of telling that you have to special order Salerno's pizza, in the style of Villa Nova. At Villa Nova, no "special instructions" are needed. Anyhow, what I don't get is why you keep posting about Salerno's in the Villa Nova thread.

I might not know what the difference in style is. I'm assuming they would both be classified as "cracker crust" which surely might be ignorance on my part - wouldn't be the first time, trust me. Why I post in this thread is because they are essentially down the street from each other, and, imo, Salerno's extra thin crust (available on request) is better. I have no real intention of saying VN is BAD, it's just that from what I have sampled from both places, imo, Salerno's wins hands down. Each component of the pie is better - dough, cheese, sausage, sauce. I have no vested interest in either place, though I do have a friend who works at each place, and in my situation, you'd assume I should be more inclined to praise VN over Salerno's since the friend at VN is much closer. Why I responded to Cogito's recent post - I believe we both live in the area around VN, and I (and I assume Cogito as well) don't get all the gushing over VN. Maybe we're spoiled? No disrespect intended to those who love VN, or to VN's pie. It's just that there might another good option a stone's throw away that is a little more tucked away. A few ppl like it as well, and one other person likes it more than VN. We might both be non-worthy for pizza recommendations, which is fine, I get it. Hell, I even thought for years that Salerno's was not that great. But after trying the "available on request" thin crust over there, I'm hooked. Might be a "what you grew up on" type thing.

d4v3 wrote:Admittedly, Salerno's is pretty good for that style of Pizza, which is completely different from Villa Nova's style.

Can you fill us in on how they are completely different? I've lived here all my life and have been eating both all my life; I think they are exactly the same style.