Chicago Pasta House 24667 Sunnymead Blvd. Moreno Valley, CA 92553
(951) 924-5777
Featured Review - Extended "Back Page" Notes Page 2 of 2
Chicago Pasta House - Extended Review
Chicago Pasta House
Hours:
Sun - Thurs 11:00am - 10:00pm Friday & Sat 11:00am - 11:00pm
Family Friendly
Handicapped Accessible
Serving Beer, Wine
About This Review As a Restaurant Reviewer I enjoy sharing with many of my readers, personal friends, business relations, and column contributors, and always promise to provide an unbiased review.
Considering Rita & Dino have become personal friends this review is hard to be completely unbiased with. It is impossible not to be impressed with the countless awards the Chicago Pasta House has earned and with the warmth and hospitality shown everyone.
Treat yourself to a meal at the Chicago Pasta House and you will understand why everyone raves about the food. It is not just the pizza; a genuine love for serving everyone their best goes into every menu item assuring a memorable dining experience. Everyone is treated like an old family friend... Owners Dino & Rita serve up exceptional food!
Life is short... be good to yourself and dine out with your family and friends often at the Chicago Pasta House.
The "Cook's Tour" Continues... My first impression when we walked into the Chicago Pasta House’s kitchen was how they possible did so much in such a tightly compacted work area. The kitchen is aged with a stove and oven probably older than me (52 years old), but everything in order and in its place. Dino was working on preparing a large beef roast for baking in one area and Rita was working on another customers order in another area… all made-to-order. My second impression was that cameras and the Pasta House’s kitchen made for awkward photography work.
Everything Possible Is Made Fresh Daily As shown in the pictures, the beef was carefully seasoned, covered and placed in the oven. When done it would become the day’s supply of meat for the Chicago Pasta House Italian Beef Sandwiches. Dino than hustled us around a corner to a medium sized walk in cooler. Vats and buckets of sauces were still cooling from being made earlier, with the sheer quantity of products required to stock the restaurant being the overwhelming impression walking into the storage areas. As much as possible, everything was absolutely fresh, or created using fresh ingredients. Imported food stuffs are stacked everywhere with he emphasis being on quality and taste. Dino and Rita constantly taste everything to assure the flavor is what they expect… nothing is a cut and dry recipe as might be at a chain store restaurant.
Making Real "Home Cooked" Italian Food One of the tour highlights of the Chicago Pasta House kitchen was the time Dino took to allow me to sample some of the sauces they produce, with his explanation of what he tasted for. As a food critic I have toured countless chef’s kitchens. I am familiar with how seasonings are added in layers to bring out the flavors desired, and can attest that Dino and Rita are masters in the “Palette” department. Dino’s explanations going towards the justification behind the additional expense of the ingredients the Chicago Pasta House uses versus the savings recognized using cheaper caned items. None of this fastidiousness with ingredients is reflected in the Chicago Pasta House menu prices! Pasta House prices are surprisingly competitive.
Real Deep Dish Pizza When we finally got to the area where Dino built up their famous Deep Dish Pizza, I found myself in a work space so tightly laid out as to making taking pictures almost impossible. The already prepared pan was brought out with proofed dough already in the bottom of a deep dish pan and sauces and ingredients started to fly… with Dino working just about faster than my Nikon could focus. For those familiar with thin crust pizza, except for the thin hand worked dough, throw out the scale and wimpy portions! The quantity of ingredients that goes dumped into each Chicago Pasta House deep dish pizza could make half a dozen thin crust pies. After loading the pan just about full of cheeses and toppings, Dino hand stretched a crust for the top… carefully sealing off the pie. The finished pie was placed into the oven to bake.
Chicago Pasta House
Total Possible
Total Awarded
Taste
10
10
Ambiance
10
9
Service
10
9
Cleanliness
10
8
Table Comfort
10
8
Menu Selection
10
10
Serving Sizes
10
10
Perceived Value
10
10
Enjoyment
20
20
Total Points Awarded
94
The Birth of Deep Dish Pizza (a quick history) While it's true pizza originated in New York, it is far easier to support that pizza as a “meal,” the famous deep dish variation was invented in Chicago. At the same time the battle between New York (Thin Crust Pizza) vs. Chicago (Deep Dish Pizza), about which is better began its evolution also. Not many dispute “Pizzeria Uno” founder, Ike Sewell developed the pizza-pie that transformed traditional thin crust pizza into a casserole like “pie.”
It all began by over stuffing a cake pan full of fresh vegetables, double portions of meats and toppings while throwing on triple the cheese. The result bumped up a few notches what was once a snack sized meal (thin crust pizza) producing an artery clogging neighborhood feast. Deep Dish Pizza was born!
Success Breeds Imitation Ike and his now famous “Pizzeria Uno” inspired many imitators, and today has been renamed, “Uno Chicago Grill.” What many would have argued was once a culinary work of art has ballooned into a heavily franchised restaurant chain. Part of the price of “Pizzeria Uno’s” success has been losing all perspective of the passion that went into creating the original “Deep Dish Pizza.” Something in the passion department gets lost somewhere after appointing interstate divisional managers.
Chicago Pasta House Maintains That Original Taste There is nothing pretentious in the pride Dino & Rita bring to their recreation of the recipes Dino’s father worked with as a chef at the Original 1943 “Pizzeria Uno.” Tradition never tasted better than with Chicago Pasta’s Deep Dish Pizza... it simply doen't get better than this!
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