Marisa's Pizza - Northbrook, IL

[ronnie_suburban]

Fired up by gmi3804's post on this thread, I decided to check out Marisa's Pizza which is only a short distance from my house. I'd also recently finished reading Peter Reinhart's American Pie and I was feeling a wee bit of pie envy when I saw gmi's coincidentally-timed post. I'd already decided that I needed to turn over every stone I could in searching for excellent, thin-crust pie in the area and Marisa's seemed like a good place to start. As a native of the Chicago area, I recognized full-well that thin crust is the red-headed step child of the Chicago pizza scene.

Located in the Sanders Court strip mall (Dundee and Sanders) is the unassuming Marisa's. From the outside, it looks like any other Chicagoland pizza joint but the reality of Marisa's was a surprising departure. As gmi described, it is a deep store front with a few tables up front and several more along one wall, stretching all the way to the very back of the restaurant.

I've now been to Marisa's twice. The first time, a late Saturday afternoon, we ordered slices...mine was pepperoni, wife's was sausage. Both were really great. In both cases, the crust was thin and very crispy. The ratio of sauce, cheese and toppings was well-balanced and we enjoyed the slices so much that we ordered and split a 3rd slice, cheese. Wow! There are only 2 other makes of Chicago thin crust pizza which I can remember liking as much as this--Barnaby's (admittedly a novelty but a time-honored tradition in my world) and Lou Malnati's whose thin crust pies have been essentially obscured forever by the legendary deep dish pies for which they are famous.

I chatted with Mike, the owner, who is a very personable guy. He used to be in advertising sales and bought the 15-year old Marisa's from the previous owner about 2 1/2 years ago. After surviving a slew of corporate buy-outs, he'd decided to go into business for himself--the pizza business. He encouraged me to come back for a whole pie, boasting that it was "10 times better" than the slices we'd just snarfed down. He didn't need to say a word. I was already planning my return and thinking which pies I'd order on my next visit.

Flash forward to the following Wednesday and the 3 of us (my son included this time) pull up to Marisa's. After 4 days of deliberating, eating a few other not-so-memorable pies from other joints and even making my own pizzas in the oven and on the grill, we decided on a large sausage pie and a medium pepperoni pie. After about 10 minutes Mike came to our table with Pie #1, Sausage. Wow! Absolutely wonderful pizza. Again, the sauce-cheese-topping ratio was perfect and the ingredients all tasted splendid. Aromatic and spicy sausage, rich and flavorful sauce (which was herbacious and not sweet) and sweet, tender and slightly salty mozzarella applied with deft judgment.

But here is the thing that sets Marisa's apart...the crust. It was perfection. Crispy on the exterior, chewy on the interior and with a slight tangyness, the crust was absolutely compelling. Unlike Malnati's, this is not a short crust at all. It's cracker-like. If there is oil in it, there isn't very much of it. Also, like a good sourdough bread, the flavor was in the chew, not the initial bite. Even without sauce, toppings or cheese, you'd want to eat this crust.

The edge, the cornicione, was golden brown, slightly blistered, chewy and crunchy. The section under the toppings was ultra-thin and quite crisp. When held by the cornicione, the large slices of pizza barely drooped at their tips. Mike brought out the second pie, Pepperoni. Same as the first but now the roof of my mouth was completely burned because, quite frankly, I could not...no, I would not wait for that first pie to cool. I had to eat it NOW. And I did. We made it through about half of each pie and took the rest home in a box.

Later that evening. I was convinced that I'd just gotten it wrong. "No way" I said to myself. "It couldn't have been that good. I must have just been really hungry." Perhaps, I thought, my enthusiasm, my intense desire for great, thin crust pizza had clouded my judgment. I tossed a leftover piece into the toaster oven and crisped it up for about 3 minutes. When I took it out of the oven and ate it, I again couldn't believe how flavorful and perfect every element of this pie was--and this was now as a leftover. Upon further review, Marisa's thin crust was every bit as good as I thought it was. This is great pizza. Woo Hoo!

I haven't been back since, but it's only been 5 days. I do plan on returning very soon but there are so many pizzas and so little time to try them all. I've been on a bit of a pizza kick lately and turned out some terrific pies at home over the past several days as well. But, there is always Marisa's when I need someone, a veritable pizzaiolo, to lay that pie down for me.

And don't let the Vienna Beef sign in the front window fool you. This place is the real deal and you'll be absolutely hard-pressed to find a better thin crust pie in the northern suburbs. I look forward to returning and checking out the sicilian style as well as the white pizza. If they're half as good as the products I've already tasted, I may actually be left speechless.

=R=

Marisa's Pizza

4175 Dundee Road

Northbrook, IL

(847) 564-3010

[maggiethecat]

Now, talk about Pizza Poetry (and History and Engineering) -- Dear ronnie, this is a great post! Thank you-- I guess!. (I am starving, waiting for dinner and live an hour away from Marisa's, you fiend!)

Mike may have achieved great things in his former career, but apparently he's found his Bliss (and yours) in the pizza biz. Now if he'd only consider opening a joint in the Western burbs...

Note to self: Check out American Pie.

[gmi3804]

Great report, Ronnie!

And here's a tip for heating up leftover pizza: do it in a hot pan on your stovetop. This crisps the crust and heats the toppings at the same time. It's kind of like having a mini pizza stone without having to wait for the oven to heat.

Buon Apetito!

[ronnie_suburban]

Thanks for the kind words guys and for the pizza reheating tip!

I tend to be a bit obsessive about food and cooking, so I'm on a major pizza kick right now. On that note, I highly recommend American Pie which basically launched me into my current pizza craze. Not only is it filled with great accounts and well-laid out recipes but it really touches on what is at the core of our food loves and memories. I'm not saying it definitively answers any questions, but it certainly poses (and leads to) some central ones.

=R=

[Tim D]

=R=, you really are the restaurant review master. Bravo!

[ronnie_suburban]

Thanks Tim...very nice of you.

=R=

[Toasted]

I'm also obsessesed with American Pie at the moment. I've made so much pizza lately that the children are getting sick of it! It's a great book for anyone who hasn't picked it up yet.

[Sweet Willie]

seeing as it is YOU that is recommending it, I guess I'll have to try it, unlike a certain someone in the SW US.

edited to add: When in Milwaukee a must eat, ultra thin/crispy crust pizza is Zaffiro’s Pizza 1724 N Farwell Ave.

Edited April 30, 2004 by Sweet Willie (log)

[ronnie_suburban]

seeing as it is YOU that is recommending it, I guess I'll have to try it, unlike a certain someone in the SW US.

edited to add: When in Milwaukee a must eat, ultra thin/crispy crust pizza is Zaffiro’s Pizza 1724 N Farwell Ave.

Touche'

and thanks for the Milwaukee rec.

=R=

[gmi3804]

Another great pizza at Marisa's last night! (Thin crust sausage, again.)

This time, I printed out ronnie_suburban's review from the beginning of this thread to show to Mike (and his wife Marcy, whom we met last night). They'd seen my original post on the Best Pizza thread, but didn't realize there is now a special thread devoted just to Marisa's!

[Sweet Willie]

Had a couple of slices for lunch on Sunday.

nice crisp thin crust, good tart sauce, cheese looked heavy but was not.

Only downside is the sausage did not have much flavor at all.

For sure a VERY good thin crust! I think it would be better with extra sauce.

I did my best not to compare it to Bianco in Phoenix

[ronnie_suburban]

Had a couple of slices for lunch on Sunday.

nice crisp thin crust, good tart sauce, cheese looked heavy but was not.

Only downside is the sausage did not have much flavor at all.

For sure a VERY good thin crust! I think it would be better with extra sauce.

I did my best not to compare it to Bianco in Phoenix 

LOL! I think Pizzeria Bianco is in a class by itself...well, from what I hear and read anyway

I didn't find Marisa's sausage flavorless, but I will admit that I don't think it's as good as what can be had at Malnati's or Pizzeria Due. Ratios...fine, no, nearly optimal in my book.

Thanks, again, for the post Willie

=R=

[ronnie_suburban]

Another great pizza at Marisa's last night!  (Thin crust sausage, again.)

This time, I printed out ronnie_suburban's review from the beginning of this thread to show to Mike (and his wife Marcy, whom we met last night).  They'd seen my original post on the Best Pizza thread, but didn't realize there is now a special thread devoted just to Marisa's!

LOL! Mike asked me to print it out too, since he said he could never find our site. But I, of course, forgot to do so.

I will email him links to this forum and eGullet.com too.

=R=

[ronnie_suburban]

Went back to Marisa's yet again last night and was treated to a delicious "White" pizza which was topped with ricotta, mozzarella and parmesan--no sauce. It was delicious...sweet and salty and rich. Yum!

Also had one of Marisa's newest innovations called "garlic knots." These were small balls of pizza dough lightly topped with garlic and herbs and then baked off in the pizza oven until crispy on the exterior and tender on the interior. They were served with a red sauce. Very nice and not greasy or oily like other renditions at other places.

We had 1 piece of our order of 6 leftover and I told Mike that I wanted take it home, slice it open and make a sandwich out of it with some prosciutto and asiago. He laughed at me and said "we don't get that fancy around here." LOL, I certainly appreciated his comment. Fancy...Marisa's isn't, but outstanding it is.

Next up...Sicilian style (rectangular deep dish).

=R=

[Sweet Willie]

Next up...Sicilian style (rectangular deep dish).

Looks like I'm adding another out of the Heartland suggestion for pizza, but YOU keep bringing things up!

Easily one of the best pizzas in my life was a Sicilian rectangular slice from L & B Spumoni Gardens in Brooklyn. A friend who grew up in Brooklyn took me here. Unbelievable how good the rectangles were. Had one, then two, then three. I only stopped at three because I did not want to make a pig out of myself.

Pillowy light with a delicious light crisp crust, just the right amount of toppings. ohhh!

L & B Spumoni Gardens

2725 86th St., Brooklyn, NY 11223

Restaurant - 718.449.6921

Pizzeria - 718.449.1230/718.372.8400

http://www.spumonigardens.com/

Edited May 14, 2004 by Sweet Willie (log)

[gmi3804]

Next up...Sicilian style (rectangular deep dish).

Looks like I'm adding another out of the Heartland suggestion for pizza, but YOU keep bringing things up!

Easily one of the best pizzas in my life was a Sicilian rectangular slice from L & B Spumoni Gardens in Brooklyn. A friend who grew up in Brooklyn took me here. Unbelievable how good the rectangles were. Had one, then two, then three. I only stopped at three because I did not want to make a pig out of myself.

Pillowy light with a delicious light crisp crust, just the right amount of toppings. ohhh!

L & B Spumoni Gardens

2725 86th St., Brooklyn, NY 11223

Restaurant - 718.449.6921

Pizzeria - 718.449.1230/718.372.8400

http://www.spumonigardens.com/

I'm wondering how pizza from a place called Spumoni Gardens can't be good!

[ronnie_suburban]

Easily one of the best pizzas in my life was a Sicilian rectangular slice from L & B Spumoni Gardens in Brooklyn. A friend who grew up in Brooklyn took me here. Unbelievable how good the rectangles were. Had one, then two, then three. I only stopped at three because I did not want to make a pig out of myself.

Pillowy light with a delicious light crisp crust, just the right amount of toppings. ohhh!

L & B Spumoni Gardens

2725 86th St., Brooklyn, NY 11223

Restaurant - 718.449.6921

Pizzeria - 718.449.1230/718.372.8400

http://www.spumonigardens.com/

Looks like the NYC Pizza surveyors will be hitting Spumoni Gardens soon...

NYC Pizza Survey

=R=

[Sweet Willie]

WHOA! Had two slices of sausage thin today at Marissa's.

Not good, they were missing the thin crust that I enjoyed last time.

Certainly an off day.

[ronnie_suburban]

WHOA! Had two slices of sausage thin today at Marissa's.

Not good, they were missing the thin crust that I enjoyed last time.

Certainly an off day.

That's too bad. Sorry to hear it Willie.

=R=

[adoxograph]

OK, so I didn't wake up this morning bleary eyed, sheets twisted around my ankles with my hand thrust in an empty pizza box.

That having been said, I thought it was about the best thin crust I've had since leaving New England. We pulled in last night at about 7, past the Dominick's $5 Friday Night Pizza Special sign (have you tried one of those? gah!), parked the car, and headed in. Crossing the parking lot, the conversation went something like this:

"There's a Vienna Beef sign in the window."

"I know, ignore it."

"They have a hot dog special."

"I know. Ronnie said ignore the sign."

"You think they'll put hot dogs on my pizza?"

I was so studiously ignoring the Vienna Beef sign I missed that Ronnie's writeup had been given a place of honor by the door. We entered, and suddenly everyone who had been sitting in the booths scurried in to action behind the counter. Hah! Caught! We ordered two mediums and garlic knots. I'm predisposed to like any pizza place where you can get green olives, so I had the olives and mushrooms on mine. He saw that they had gyro meat as an offering, and couldn't pass it up - added that to the pepperoni he originally intended.

I live with a freak.

Garlic knots came first, steam pouring out as I ripped one open. He picked one up, put it back. "It's too hot." I gave him the eyebrow that replied, "Your girlfriend now believes that you are a big wuss." He didn't relent. I kept eating. My pizza appeared first and yep, it's a nice crust. Crunchy, nice sauce, and, happily, something I could eat multiple pieces of without expanding past bodily capacity. He snagged one of my pieces just as his pizza came up. That one looked tasty too. He put it aside to cool while eating part of mine.

I think this is where things went wrong for him. See, the wuss let it cool, and he eats SLOWLY. Agonizingly slowly. When we were at TRU, it took a few courses but we eventually convinced the impeccable waitstaff that it was ok to clear the rest of our dishes while he was still eating. So, by piece number three of his pizza, the going got a little less crisp, a little more chewy. He mentioned it. I asked for clarification. Pointedly ripping at it with perfect incisors he went on to note that although the pizza was good, it wasn't greasy enough for him. Where were the pools of grease, the drippings? If he didn't have the keys, and I didn't know that was sarcasm, I would have stabbed his hand with my plastic fork and taken both pizzas to someone who appreciated them. Realizing that he was walking dangerous ground, he asked me to make sure we took home the leftovers. He wanted some for later. He's still sleeping, so I don't know how he felt about the leftovers, but his hand isn't thrust in an empty pizza box either. Which is good because then he would have eaten mine, and I'd have to kill him while he slept.

I introduced myself to Mike, the owner as we were heading out. He seemed pleased to hear that we had made the drive, and pleased to hear that we thought it was worth it. He also asked if I had met our Mr. Suburban in person yet. When I said no, he replied, "Ronnie's great, you'll love him." He mentioned the writeup on the door, so we stopped to admire it on our way out.

So I got a nice thin crust pizza, some tasty garlic knots, and a compliment for ronnie_suburban all in one sitting. Very nice for a neighborhood pizza place, dontcha think?

[ronnie_suburban]

adoxograph,

First, I commend you for working a TRU reference into your write-up

It's always a conundrum when deciding between eating the pizza while the crust is at its hot and crispy best or preserving the roof of one's mouth and letting it become a little chewier before digging in. I always choose the former, promise myself that it will never happen again, rinse, repeat...

I'm glad you enjoyed it. We all have gmi3804 to thank for steering us to Marisa's. As close as it is to my house, I don't recall ever noticing it before his initial post. It really is buried in the back of that strip mall and the owners of the mall seem to be doing very little to indentify the businesses therein to the endless streams of car traffic that whizzes through that intersection everyday.

I had no idea that my, erm...prose had found its way onto the door at Marisa's. But, now I understand why those paparrazzi have been staked out in my driveway all week. Fat Guy told me there'd be days like these

=R=

[gmi3804]

I'm glad you enjoyed it. We all have gmi3804 to thank for steering us to Marisa's. As close is it is to my house, I don't recall ever noticing it before his initial post.

Much as I'd love to take all the credit for this, it was my partner Greg who actually first read about Marisa's on the Check, Please! message board.

But I still posted here first!

[ronnie_suburban]

In the food world, there is little better than taking friends who've never been, to a place you like, and having it blow them away. That was our experience at Marisa's last night. We pre-ordered 3 pies over the phone for 'eat-in' and Mike had them ready for us and our friends who'd never eaten there, when we walked in the door.

Damn! This is some great pizza. Even our friends' notoriously picky kids were snarfing it down with wild abandon. Moments after we carried the pies to the table, the previously incessant chattering of the kids came to a delightfully abrupt halt.

Between the 8 of us (4 adults, 4 kids) we managed to effectively polish off 3 thin-crust pies--a small, a medium and a large. Our friends were blown away by how good it was. The only issue was how full we were going to be when we left. At one point I looked over at my friend, who had already eaten 3 slices, as he was coveting a 4th, which we eventually shared.

Amusingly, before we arrived, he'd mentioned something about a salad. Salad?!?! Bwah! He was probably into his 2nd slice when I reminded him about it. He dismissed me with an impatient wave and went back to inhaling his pizza.

Included in last night's order was our inaugural veggie pie from Marisa's...mushroom, onion, spinach leaves and sliced roma tomatoes. Wow! It was excellent. I didn't even think I'd like it yet I happily finished a whole slice. Of course, the pepperoni and sausage (my go-to combo) was as good as ever.

Anyway, I just can't say enough good things about Marisa's. The place is as solid as they come. Their pies are absolutely wonderful...and consistently so.

=R=

[adoxograph]

Ron, I am so jealous!

I've been dying to go back to Marisa's, had gone so far as to grab my keys, but then remembered all the food in the fridge we need to eat before going away...

I've hit the stage since my last visit of skepticism - was it really that good? Maybe I just caught a good night, etc etc. I'm glad to see it stands up one multiple repeat visits.

Have you tried the Sicilian pie yet?

[ronnie_suburban]

Ron, I am so jealous!

I've been dying to go back to Marisa's, had gone so far as to grab my keys, but then remembered all the food in the fridge we need to eat before going away...

I've hit the stage since my last visit of skepticism - was it really that good?  Maybe I just caught a good night, etc etc.  I'm glad to see it stands up one multiple repeat visits.

Have you tried the Sicilian pie yet?

I know exactly what you mean. I go thru that 'was it really as good as I remember?' phase with places all the time. For me, Marisa's absolutely stands up to that test. And last night's visit came at the end of a week where I also made pizzas at home twice (Sunday on the grill and Wednesday in the oven) and had Malnati's (Tuesday) as well. Ok, it was a very pizza week for us.

If we'd been there without our friends last night I would have definitely tried the Sicilian for the first time, but since they were with us, we opted for the thin pies, since we know them and love them. I wanted our friends to try the item we could recommend from experience.

But next time, I'm trying the Sicilian regardless of the circumstances.

=R=