Crave Pizza

My hubby and I ate there tonight and this place ROCKS! Will, the manager was so helpful in showing us their marghareta pizza - over 200 sold and co... more

I had a pie from here, the much-talked about deep dish pie in mt prospect with extra cheese. The extra cheese was worh it; the pie was very deep, and had an unfortunate resemblence to Pizza Hut as a result. However, it makes up for it by being (relatively) ungreasy, and retaining some excellent taste the following morning. more

I've had pizza from CravePizza twice now, and I've yet to set foot in the restaurant. That's right. Two check ins: both from home. Oh, I'm a rebel. That's right. Rebellious. I'm talking Marlon Brando in ""The Wild One."" Marlon Brando and his iconic response to Mildred asking, ""Hey Johnny, what are you rebelling against?"" Marlon Brando so freaking cool in saying, ""Whadda you got?"" You've probably never even heard of ""The Wild One."" I'll tell you this much: before ""Sons of Anarchy,"" before ""Easy Rider,"" before any and every other movie surrounding anarchical characters going left when society tells them to go right, there was ""The Wild One."" Check it out. ... Oh. Right. Pizza. There was a point to my Brando diatribe, and that point is as follows: my meager rebellion (which is more a manipulation of a Yelp loophole than anything else) pales in comparison to what I feel Lemoni is doing. You see, there's been a movement of late that equates amazing pizza with a coal oven. Don't get me wrong. I love coal-fired pizza. But that doesn't mean that the conventional oven should be bound in electrical tape and left on the side of the road. (Brownie points if you get that reference.) CravePizza is achieving pizza greatness with the kind of ovens that you and I were raised on. I can spend a lot of time going on and on about the freshness of the ingredients, and they are fresh. I mean, I've had pizzas topped with prosciutto and spinach and brie and basil and ricotta and mushrooms and garlic slices, (notice how I said SLICES) and it's all been fantastic. I'm talking about running-through-the-Garden-of-Eden-naked fantastic. I'm talking about God-not-thinking-to-look-up-and-smite-me-because-h e's-too-busy-devouring-a-CravePizza fantastic. So yes. The ingredients are fresh. But what I want to focus on is the crust... And I'm talking about CRUST. Golden brown and crispy and almost buttery in texture. The kind of crust that gives way to your teeth but makes you fight just a little bit to tear away that piece you so desperately want. And we all know that things are better when you're made to fight for them, when you have to suffer for them at least a little bit. Friends, I'm telling you. If you walk away from my review having learned two things, they should be as follows: thing the first, ""The Wild One"" paved the way for the 1%er biker movement; and thing the second, coal-fired pizza is NOT the end-all, be-all. So do yourselves a favor. Rebel for an evening. Stream ""The Wild One,"" (remember when we used to say ""rent?""), and order in from CravePizza instead of making your way to some coal-fired pizzeria for some all-too-often burnt crust. You will not be disappointed. more

Crave offers what is easily my favorite pizza in mt prospect as of now, and holds its own with the pies in Italy too. This is truly authentic Neopolitan style pizza. That means it's cooked in a screaming hot oven, lending a pleasant char to the bottom of the very thin crust. It also means that it is topped abundantly, with an emphasis on care and quality. Crave does everything first class: simple crushed San Marzano tomatoes, dots of fresh mozzarella, and the amazing cured meats from the market. The pepperoni and the Italian sausage are both the finest examples I've come across. The pork, mushrooms, and goat cheese are all local. It appears that they've added a salad and an shrimp topped pizza to the menu too. They often run off-menu special pizzas, and I hope to see one with the crave deep dish. The patio adjacent to the location tower is a great spot for lunch and for hangout, and the prices can't be beat. Most pies are $8.50 or less. You'd pay at least twice as much at cantanapoli or tartareces, and even they can't match the quality. Crave is doing everything right. more

I stopped by CravePizza on a Tuesday evening around 6 pm for dinner. My wife and I were greeted and promptly taken to our table. The restaurant looked to be a third full, but did pick up as we dined. Cheeseballs - We shared the cheese sprouts on the many recommendations from citysearch. Cheeseballs are served in our home on a weekly basis so they are a dish that I am extremely familiar with. CravePizzas Cheeseballs are good, with a nice balance of flavor. I personally didn't get much of the Red shiracha sauce, but I did appreciate the use of the ranch and will likely incorporate them into my own Cheeseballs moving forward. Another personal preference, I like my Cheeseballs a little less al dente, but that is my preference and CravePizzas Cheeseballs did have a very nice char to them. I think where CravePizza's Cheseballs take an unfair hit is with the lofty expectations put on them by the Yelp citigrind phenomenon; they are certainly good, but the hype attached to them below makes them nearly impossible to live up to. All in all, very nice ranch option that I appreciated and they were a perfect portion size for sharing amongst the two of us. Pizza - We split the Marghertia. It arrived promptly, warm, and most definitely passed the eye test as it looked delicious. Portion size was again ideal for sharing amongst two people. Upon tasting, I found the marinara and mozzarella to be very fresh. There was whole roasted garlic cloves scattered on top of the pizza that provided a nice pop of flavor. My basil looked a bit tired and was spread around like an after thought. The bites I got with the basil, garlic, and mozzarella were nice, but the basil was tired and to few and far between for me. The crust was magnificent, sturdy, nice char, extremely flavorful. The crust is something that other pizza places simply can't achieve like CravePizza can and their cheese was definitely the star. While the crust was nice and the pizza fresh, I thought overall that it was too small. They had all the ingredients in place. Service - The service was fine, our drinks were refilled when needed, and our space and conversations weren't interrupted by blatant tip jockeying. Service was more than adequate. I liked CravePizza more than thought. I like the location and the internal vibe, but ultimately it comes down to the pizza and that's where I felt the most happy. They have some interesting combinations of ingredients on their menu and I would like to say that I'll be back to try some of them. more

A remarkable pizza restaurant located in downtown has earned my highest marks for the best high quality assortment of specialty pizzas and other menu items in the chicago land area. The atmosphere offers good energy, assorted works of art on the ceiling and walls, sidewalk dining, and a pristine décor complete with matching table settings that make you feel at home. The area brings back good memories of a section from the city where I grew-up back east. The genuine special pampering offered by the staff has consistently typified stellar customer satisfaction, which along with the delicious food, has kept us coming back for more. From the over the counter view of the open kitchen, one observes the clean atelier of the chefs artistically creating authentic traditional and gluten reduced food dishes intrinsic to both Sicily and the Italian mainland. The menu overview includes specialty meat, chicken and vegetable pizzas on their original famous crust or, a section to create your own pizza, burgers, hot sandwiches, fresh salads, an assortment of appetizers, desserts, and beverages. What sets this pizza restaurant apart from all the rest is quickly discerned by the flavor and the finest quality ingredients used in the preparation of a superior food product. Take it from a Jewish-Italian-American, if your pallet is akin to five dollar schmatta pizzas advertised by our human brothers and sisters spinning signs on street corners and that would otherwise be more fitting for use as Frisbees for the dog, then oy gevald! - do yourself a real mitzvah and nosh on the authentic and incredibly delicious pizzas at CravePizza. Although the menu choices are numerous with ample portions set before you, the gracious owners mindfully cater to the special tastes of their customers. Adducing the chefs' cooking talents, the maestros frequently visit your table to happily proffer the modification of menu items to your personal liking or to suggest the creation of something totally new. Their willingness to please both delights the adult palate and accommodates young developing taste buds alike. Visit their website to review the online menu, it's a great place to have a pizza meeting or party, eat-in, takeout and the delivery area is published online. Mozel a presto! more

So, I know there's that whole ""Chicago vs. NYC pizza"" feud thing, however I do not believe there is any way to compare the two. They are complete opposites in every way possible. I do love my nyp and I am loyal to my deep dish, but I will give credit when credit is due. A co-worker recommended this place to me, and I'm not quite sure how he found out about it. I was staying in desplanes for work and my bf came for the 2nd week I was there. It may or may not have been our mission to eat our way through chicago Anywho... We got there at probably 6pm-ish on a Saturday and . if you didn't read in other reviews) When we were seated, we ordered just a simple pepperoni pizza. There menu,outside with the most unique ingredients listed as choices for toppings. My boyfriend pointed out that the owner and the guys making the pizzas kept going outside to make sure everyone is taken care of. We got the sauce on the side as recommended by other Yelpers. O.m.g. Hands down the best pizza we had in chicago. (we had a lot...) The sauce to dip the crust in was just perfect. Such amazing sauce. So, at the risk of making this place a long wait (for people who live there, sorry..) ....eat here! Or at least get takeout and eat it in your car in front of the restaurant like we saw some guys doing... more

Excellent - not fancy but clean and good - the house red wine is great -- and the sausage pan pizza -- the best -- love the place and the owner !! what a nice guy more

I stopped by this place last night before class...I should explain I'm lactose intolerant but I didn't want to prevent my two friends from coming here so I insisted on pizza and tagged along. There's only one pizza place in chicago that I eat at and it's loumanatis. They have a really delicious cheeseless pizza but it's pricey. I can now say there'll be TWO pizza places I'll eat at with Crave being my number one choice. While ordering, my friend mentioned I couldn't have cheese but I ordered a slice of pepperoni fully intending to just strip the cheese off and putting the pepperoni back on. When the slice came out to me -- to my delight -- the cheese had already been taken off and pepperoni laid perfectly on! Now how about that? Five star service at a tenth of the cost! The crust was perfectly crispy on the outside -- not burnt -- and soft and chewy on the innards. I ended up eating my friend's crusts too. And the potato wedges were tasty. I really don't like DTMP but for this pizza, I'd venture back again and again. more

I visit my family in mt prospect from time to time. Last night I found this awesome new place and decided to check it out. It was on a Wednesday so they where rather empty? well we sat down in the outside seating patio and ordered the deep dish pan pizza. it takes 40 minutes said the friendly waitress...And call me crazy but when something takes that long I get the feeling that when it comes out it's gonna be good! We were not disappointed, my two little ones my hubby and I thoroughly enjoyed the crust with a nice buttery flavor. It reminded me of true Italian deep dish I tasted in Italy. The room ambiance was nice and comfy..a true family place. I will say some of the art work was non-congruent ..But I guess that comes with supporting local artists. Not bad for a small place. On the negative the carpet at the door needs to go! more

I went to this spot recommended by my friend who lives in mt prospect. I must say I didn't think much of anything from that town but the thin crust was to die for. My friend had the 1/2lb burger that was incredible as well. we had draft beer for drinks and that was ok. I will say that it was a little bit hot with the pizza being made right in front of you. but I guess I still like to see an open kitchen. all In all not a bad restaurant. and I hope they expand in the city. more

8/23/12. Did our second order tonight so as to not cook over my birthday weekend.... Ordered tots, turkey burger ,wings,crave burger and another cheese & pepper pan pizza. While the tots and pizza were once again good. The burgers were on the raw. Crave burger was deeply rare. And the turkey burger was dangerously rare. Will I use Crave again...maybe...will I order another burger.....no way. Food poisoning just doesn't appeal to me at all. more