A tall, bronzed pizza crust changes the whole meal. At this Urbana-Champaign restaurant, the original and deep crusts rise high above the plate, crisp at the edges and underneath but soft and breadlike through the middle. The comparison to a fresh loaf or a dinner roll makes sense once you see the height of it.
Pizza comes in several directions here: Detroit-style, pan, deep-dish, Sicilian and thin crust. The pan pizza occupies a useful middle ground, with a fluffy dough and a tall profile but less sauce than a classic deep dish. That range helps when one person wants a substantial, fork-and-knife sort of pie and another wants something closer to a familiar thin-crust dinner.
The toppings do not disappear into the cheese. Sausage arrives in notably large pieces, nearly meatball-sized, and combinations can run from pepperoni and mushrooms to sausage, green olives and garlic. A pie with that much crust and topping is not a light snack; individual slices can easily stand in for a meal.
A pizza menu built for disagreement
The Kitchen Sink Pizza is available for diners who prefer to settle the topping question by putting plenty of things on one pie. The Original Sicilian Pan Pizza is another notable choice, especially for a group curious about the restaurant’s tall, airy crust.
For a table with several opinions, ordering different styles makes more sense than trying to negotiate one perfect topping combination. A full pie can be substantial enough to feed a small group and still leave some for later, so it is worth thinking of the order as a shared-table affair rather than a quick personal pizza.
Vegetarian diners have clearly marked choices, and vegan pizza is available with non-dairy mozzarella. A Greek salad provides a fresh counterpoint to a meal that can otherwise become happily devoted to cheese, dough and sausage.
Lunch can be a slice instead
During the lunch period, the restaurant offers individual slices, including cheese, sausage and pepperoni, along with a rotating slice of the week. It is a useful format for a shorter stop or for anyone who wants to sample a style without committing a whole table to it.
The slice setup and the full-pizza setup work differently. Prepared slices are counter ordered and taken to go, while diners settling into the dining room order through table service. A freshly made original-crust or deep-dish pie is a slower proposition, often requiring roughly 50 minutes to an hour after ordering.
That distinction is worth keeping in mind for a road-trip lunch or a stop between University of Illinois activities. The slice route is built for speed; the full-pie route gives the meal time to become a gathering.
Breadsticks with some length to them
The breadsticks are unusually long—about a foot in some orders—and they have the visual presence to match the pizzas. For a family table, a basket of them can keep everyone occupied while a made-to-order pie finishes baking.
The appetizer list goes beyond the expected. Stuffed mushrooms offer a more old-school starter, while pickled cheese curds and Sriracha cheese curds bring two different tangy, salty, spicy directions to the table. Chicken tenders, served with dipping sauces, are another easy shared order.
Family-sized salads and breadsticks can round out a pizza order without requiring everyone to eat the same thing. That flexibility matters at a table of kids, grandparents, sports fans and the one person who would rather have pasta or a sandwich.
Room to settle in
The dining room has enough range to suit different kinds of visits: booths for a family meal, counter seating for a quicker stop, and a bar area for a more casual perch. Large groups have room to spread out, including in an upstairs area.
Televisions around the bar make the restaurant useful for sports viewing, including soccer matches. Beer is available alongside options such as Old Style and Bitburger nonalcoholic beer, and an Orange Crush is a cheerful change of pace from the usual fountain-drink lineup.
It has the broad, easygoing format that works well for a mixed crowd. One group can be dividing a large pan pizza, another can be focused on sandwiches and salads, and a few people can be watching the game without the room becoming solely a sports bar.
An easy stop for a crowd
The restaurant has free on-site parking with ample space, which is welcome when the plan involves a family lunch, a team-sized group or a stop while traveling through the Urbana-Champaign area. Its larger seating areas have accommodated sizable parties, including groups around a dozen people.
Large-party arrangements can vary with the day and time, so the upstairs area should not be treated as an automatic no-reservation solution. Still, the scale of the room makes this a more practical choice than a tiny pizza parlor when several cars and several appetites arrive together.
For people who do not live nearby, pizzas are also sold fresh or frozen. It is a handy way to carry a little of the tall-crust habit home after the dining-room meal is over.