RESTAURANT REVIEW
Lou Malnati’s Pizzeria
17787 North Scottsdale Road
Scottsdale, AZ 85255
480.681.3400
Offering dine-in, carryout, delivery & catering.
5 out of 5 stars
The History
If you have ever spent 24 hours in Chicago, you know that deep dish pizza is more than just a meal option, it is considered a food group all to its own. Deep dish pizza was invented in Chicago in 1943. It was first served by restauranteur Ike Sewell at his restaurant Uno’s. Later reports credit Mr. Sewell’s pizza Chef Rudy Malnati for inventing what became a staple of deep dish (Chicago style) pizza lovers.
Rudy and his son Lou left Uno’s to create their own pizza restaurants in Chicago in the 1970’s. In 1978 Lou passed away and his sons Mark and Rick took over the family business and became a Pizza empire by expanding to multiple locations around Chicago. And now the family has embarked on the Phoenix market.
The pizza
What is different about the deep dish is it is baked in a 3” deep steel baking pan. This allows the chef to load up the pizza with mounds of cheese, tomato sauce and toppings. The crust itself is considered a topic to debate for pizza aficionados as to which pizza joints has the best crust.
While other pizza chains have tried opening locations in Phoenix, none proved to have the staying power. There are many opinions but when Rudy Malnati’s grandsons decided to enter the Phoenix market the first thing they did was build a water filtration system to replicate the mineral content of Chicago water. This gives the flavor and texture to the crust that previous pizza operations could not recreate. Based on the number of people waiting for a table when we walked in, I think they succeeded
In our trip to the Lou Malnati’s restaurant on Scottsdale Road we found each slice to eat like a meal unto itself. The crust has a little sweetness and with the butter running down the side a little taste of heaven. Each slice is filled with their signature tomato sauce and cheese. If you are a fan of sausage it is layered on to perfection. Pepperoni has just enough of a spice to tickle your taste buds. We also had the veggie which is loaded with mushrooms and green peppers. Any way you like it you are in for a taste treat.
Not interested in Chicago style pizza? Not a problem. Lou’s offers a dynamite thin crust pizza too. Lou’s water filtration system proves once again why it is so important in the taste and flavor of the crust. It is thin, crispy and the perfect surface for the sauce, cheese, and toppings that explode in your mouth with every bite.
But Wait, There is more
If pizza is not your thing, Lou’s offers a robust menu of delicious options. For warm ups the minestrone soup is chock full of vegetables that tastes so fresh you’d think they were just picked.
There are fried calamari, three cheese bread, and wings. All meals unto themselves.If you feel like a salad, the Malnati’s salad is a traditional Italian salad packed with tomatoes, black olives, and Italian Salami.
It is huge and the dressings are all hand made. We had the sweet vinaigrette dressing. It was everything the name suggests, sweet and tangy.
There are a variety of sandwiches. We have had the meatball sandwich before & found it to be very tasty. The grilled chicken sandwich was ordered without a bun and served on a bed of spinach and mushrooms. An excellent healthy choice.
But let’s not forget the array of traditional pasta dishes that taste like they came out of your Italian grandmother’s oven, if you have an Italian grandmother. So many choices but you cannot go wrong with any dish.
Because of the popularity, and the fact deep dish pizzas take significantly longer to make than thin crust, the wait can be measured in hours to get seated during peak times. The restaurant does not take reservations. However, you can pre-order by calling ahead to reduce your wait time once seated. Prepare to wait, but it’s worth it.
