#13 - Fiamme (Naperville)

Woodfire with Flair
We ventured to Fiamme near downtown Naperville for our 13th stop.  We had a good group with us too!  Thanks to the Svejda's and the Blakeman's for joining us.  We had a blast!

Location
Fiamme is located on the corner of Washingon and Franklin.  The parking lot is not very big so either arrive early or go around the corner and park in the garage on Benton (stoplight after Fiamme if you head south on Washington from Ogden).  We called when they opened and made reservations for the 9 of us at 5 pm.  That was a perfect time as once it got closer to 6:30 pm, it started to get busy.

They also have a patio that is shaded in the afternoons and looks to be a nice place to sit if it would have been a little warmer outside.

Food

We ordered bread right away and they gave us olive oil and a spicier olive oil to dip it in.  We found out that the bread was complimentary so that was a score!  We had a good variety of food as well.  Andrea ordered the wedge salad which was with romaine lettuce instead of iceberg.

We had many options for pizza and among all of us opted for the margharita, montanara, salsiccia, fiamme, and roasted vegetable.

Each pizza had their own distinct taste and the sauce was not too overwhelming.  My first favorite was the margharita and my second was the montanara which had lightly flash fried dough.  There were minimal left overs when we were all done eating.


Total People: 2 (on our bill)
Total Bill: $ 31.83 (2 pizzas - he didn't charge us for our sodas)


Recommendation: Yes
If you are going to be in the area and want a quick pizza, Fiamme is the way to go.  The woodfire makes it cook much faster and since the pizzas are all 12" you could easily pop in for a quick lunch if you needed to.  Don't get me wrong, the food is delicious, but sometimes when you have had 1 woodfire, you have basically had them all.  To hear from the pizza connoisseur himself, you know what to do:

Stop #12 - Pizano's Pizza & Pasta (State Street)

A Sox fan walks into a Cubs bar...
Chris, of course, is decked out in his White Sox attire and the minute we walk in, all televisions are pointed to the Cubs game.  Needless to say, we weren't there for the environment but for the food!

Location
Pizano's has several locations around the Chicagoland area and I chose State Street because it is closest to shopping!  Chris wanted to go to the Under Armor store too and that was only a 15 minute walk south / southeast.  I'm sure if it was a little warmer out the front windows would have been wide open, inviting guests in with the wonderful pizza aroma that was irradiating throughout.
Seating is limited though so if you're not going in to have a drink at the bar, you're better off hitting up an early or later lunch (we went around 1 pm).  There is a parking garage next door as well and your best bet is to Spot Hero if you have that app.  Otherwise there are plenty of parking garages in the area.

Food
We started the meal with their fried ravioli that came with a side of marinara.  This is one of Chris's favorite appetizers so when we saw that on the list we knew what we were getting.  They came out hot but quickly cooled down.  The breading wasn't too spicy and they weren't over-done.

For pizza, we opted for a thin crust pepperoni.  At first bite you think you're at Lou Malnati's, but there is a reason for that.  The widow of Rudy Malnati still makes the dough - an old secret family recipe and the owner of Pizano's is Rudy Malnati, Jr. 



Fun fact: did you know that Rudy Malnati Sr. originally opened Pizzeria Uno? We haven't been there yet but it's on the list!


Total people: 2
Total Bill: $40.22 (1 medium pizza, toasted ravioli, & 2 sodas)

Recommendation: Yes - no special trip needed
I liked that the menu offered several different options, especially personal pan deep dish and gluten free.  Although we didn't try those, my guess is going to be that the deep dish will taste like Lou's.  If you are downtown and want Lou's, Pizanos is going to be your choice.  You don't need to make a special trip though. Of course, Chris has much more to say about his recommendation: