Homemade Pizza Is Great But Needs Help

food and drink

I've been a fan of Homemade Pizza for a long time, although my pizza days were curtailed for a couple of years due to extreme carb consciousness.

A special thing about this pizza is that you bake it yourself, resulting in a marvelous fresh taste, piping hot.  Additionally, there are many options from which to choose; creating your own custom pizza is a cinch.  This is thin pizza and personally I find the flavor more delicate and intense at the  same time. You may pick it up, as I prefer, or have it delivered.

Choose from three bases;  tomato, olive oil or pesto.  Some of the more intriguing ingredients include wild mushrooms, roasted garlic, poblano pepper, vidalia onions, chevre and pine nuts.  Normal ingredients too, of course.   Check out their web page www.homemadepizza.com  and you'll find some special suggestions, even a  mini cheese pizza for children.

Homemade suggests a fresh herb pizza as an hors'd oeuvre for your guests.  Cool thought.  No one I know has ever even heard of Homemade Pizza, so my hostess chic is bound to expand.

All this began at an immaculate-looking storefront on Belmont.  As a former retailer, I could tell immediately that this location wasn't ideal...not enough boutique pizza traffic in the area.  The owners were scouting out better space from the outset and now, some years later they've got a small Chicago area chain, (a chain but not a chain) up and running.

The spare look continues at the 850 W. Armitage location, so much so that you may be wowed by the modernist interior as you enter.  In fact, one of the pizzas is called "The Miesian."

Branches have now appeared at 3430 N. Southport, 1953 W. Wabansia, 3314 N. Broadway and in Evanston, Glencoe and Highland Park.  The website tells all.

I have two serious complaints, based on a recent visit.

At 5PM this last Monday, the Armitage location was overwhelmed with phone calls and my order was delayed at least 15 minutes past the promised time.

Also, when I got home I discovered that the ingredients ordered were actually skimpy, definitely different than my early experiences with Homemade.  I did call a couple of days later, found out that these were "portion controlled", a scary sounding term in my book and defined as 1/4 to 1/2 cup, depending on pizza size.  I could ask for more at the time of pickup and would be accommodated without charge, said the phone person.

These things should not deter you, however and forewarned, you can allow for them.  The pizza is really terrific!