For years, there has always been an endless war in Chicago for who has the best pizza. The debate goes on with what is the preferred style, such as deep-dish versus thin crust. As someone who has traveled the world and tasted pizza from New York to Italy, I think of myself as somewhat of a pizza snob. I have had the fantastic opportunity to try some of the best pizzas in the world. I found a place that appealed to my love of all types of pizza. The name of the restaurant is called Pizza Bella.
It is a little pizza joint tucked away in a strip mall located in Palatine, Illinois. The place had an old-school Italian feel, where quality is the main focus and fresh ingredients are used over cost. When I walked in, I was expecting it to be a sit-down place, but rather it was a simple counter where I put it in my order.
Pizza Bella is run by the charismatic owner and Chef Tony Defilippis. He treated me like a member of his own family when I walked in the door. This place does not just make a run-of-the-mill pizza. He makes delicious one-of-a-kind style pizzas. The Bruschetta-style pizza was my favorite. It was made with vine ripe fresh tomatoes from the garden, basil, juicy chicken, and a light crust.
Another stand-out pizza was his Detroit-style thick crust made in a custom special pan loaded with pepperoni and creamy ricotta. The ricotta was so fresh and the pepperoni was perfect and crispy with a perfect crunch and spice. The pizzas all have natural ingredients which made them even tastier.
Another style of pizza that I truly enjoyed was the Buffalo chicken pizza. It had tangy buffalo sauce and perfectly cooked chicken. The spiciness from the buffalo sauce worked so well with this and I was pleasantly surprised. I did not feel that the pizza was overly greasy or too sloppy to eat.
I never would have thought from the outside of this restaurant that it was producing some of the best food and pizza in Chicago and suburbs. My only advice that I could give is to get there early because people were already lined up as soon as they opened. I was even more eager to try this place out.
Overall, Pizza Bella is the perfect storm of a great owner, fresh ingredients, and unique one-of-a-kind style pizzas. I definitely would recommend checking it out and trying one of their unique styles. Make sure to ask for Tony and tell him the Chicago Food King sent you and you will not be disappointed!
I give this place a rare rating of a 9 out of 10!
© Frank S ChicagoFoodKing , 2021. All Rights Reserved.
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