Comments on Chicago Pizza Club: Traverso's [Meeting #80]

Traverso's is the best pizza EVER!!!! Travel t...

2010-11-05T19:49:59.288-05:00

Traverso's is the best pizza EVER!!!! Travel the world and anytime I am in Chicago, this is a must visit... EVERYTIME

I thought the pizza here was definitely worth gett...

2009-05-19T16:36:00.072-05:00

I thought the pizza here was definitely worth getting again, and the place itself makes it worth the drive. I especially liked how the crust was very thin but held up under the ingredients. Unlike El Presidente, I liked the amount of bacon used. I didn't care much for the mushrooms though. I also appreciated the way the sauce was distributed. It's possible that the integrity of the crust would have suffered had it been saucier under the toppings.

If the rating was based on ambiance and service it might be close to a 10 for me. I'm already making plans to go again and look forward to trying more menu items. The pizza itself gets a 6.5.

Addendum: When I reheated a few slices at home, i...

2009-05-19T10:02:00.000-05:00

Addendum:

When I reheated a few slices at home, it was clear that the bacon was the salt culprit. They generously put a ton of bacon on there, but maybe they should ease off it a little.

Traverso's on a Wednesday night is a must when you...

2009-05-14T11:37:00.000-05:00

Traverso's on a Wednesday night is a must when you feel like going for a drive outside the city. The entertainment is top-notch, service is personal and attentive, and pizza is adequate.

The crust is incredibly thin and very crunchy without much (if any) chew. It had a bit of flour dusted on it and didn't get soggy at all. As far as the toppings go, I enjoyed the sausage and bacon the most. Chewy meat makes me cringe and there wasn't any cringing here! I didn't find the vegetables to be that flavorful. The mushrooms were canned. The cheese was the overpowering flavor and I found myself fighting with it in a game of tug of war. Tomato sauce was sparse with the exception of the slices on the perimeter that weren't covered in cheese. This is where I could taste and see the presence of oregano. As far as the overall saltiness of both pizzas, I blame the cheese. I wouldn't write this pizza off but I also won't call it exceptional. However, the restaurant as a whole is a winner.

Btw, the pizza is served hot, so take a minute or two before diving in. The roof of my mouth is still recovering.

Traverso's gets a 6.

This review comes with a caveat: I think that if w...

2009-05-14T09:43:00.000-05:00

This review comes with a caveat: I think that if we had ordered a specific topping set this pizza would have scored above an 8. However, we did not order that specific set and the score suffers.

So, as Jen points out, this place is like the world's classiest dive bar, except it's not a dive bar at all. It is partitioned into two areas - dining and bar. We chose bar, which still has many tables and booths and dim lighting along with very friendly customers and staff. The ambiance score here is the tops and medals should be given all around for the nice and attentive, but never intrusive, service. It is the paradigm of Midwestern hospitality. Without the racism and cross burning and stuff.

Ok, so onto the pizza. I think going with the classic thin was a wise choice. They didn't seem to be pushing the double crust and in these tavern styles of pizza the crust is best when it is thin. One the pie with two toppings, it held up well and had a great crispness. On the pie with three toppings (2 of which had high water content) it did mush up on inner pieces. The initial flavor I got when biting into this pizza was saltiness - in a good way. As the meal progressed and I went through my beverage and my water glass, the persistent saltiness became a bit of a negative. I think it came from the cheese, but it was hard to tell even after dissecting my pizza. The sauce was tart with oregano and thyme shining through and it was more of a paste than a true sauce. I think it went well with the salty profile of the overall pizza. The meats we ordered were salty, true, but they were very good. The bacon, in retrospect, was a mistake when paired with mushrooms. This because the mushrooms were canned and contributed a lot of salt to the pizza. In a positive light, the bacon was in thick pieces and well cooked and the sausage was homemade with strong garlic flavor. It was generously spread throughout the pie. The cheese was nondescript part skim mozzarella and I think was the source of the saltiness. I am not sure why this cheese would be so salty, so it is certainly possible it came just from the meats. I did try every component separately though and felt the cheese was the culprit, although it could have absorbed some of the fat and salt from the meats during their cook.

As the caveat mentions, I think the ideal topping here would be a one or two veggie pie. That way the salt helps perk up the vegetables and keeping the ingredients to one or two keeps the crust crisp. If I am ever out in this part again, I will stop by and make get a cheese pizza with garlic. Or I may tempt the fates and just get a plain old pepperoni and hope the saltiness of tonight was a fluke. My score for Traverso's is a 6.0, which is slightly disappointing to me because I feel that with a few minor changes this could be much, much better pizza.

A few questions remain:

1. Were all the males here gifted with silky smooth karaoke voices or did the microphone do this?

2. Why don't more places have glowing green ice cubes in their mixed drinks?

3. Will our waitress find true love with the nephew of the professional athlete she is dating?

The ambiance rocked! I mean this place was decore...

2009-05-14T09:17:00.000-05:00

The ambiance rocked! I mean this place was decored in the 1960's and never looked back! Everyone was super friendly and the karaoke really was a sight to see. Most of these people could have been on the senior edition of American Idol.

The pizza. I sat back as a first time attendee and let the others order. As a non-sausage lover, I REALLY liked this sausage. It had a breakfast sausage taste that was pretty mellow and allowed the green peppers and onion to shine. I do believe the bacon made that other pizza salty, but I also think it was the sauce which seemed to be heavier on the bacon pizza.

The sauce: Wasn't a huge fan, but it didn't stop me from eating 10 slices. It was more tangy than I prefer.

The crust: It was really good when it first came out but after 10 minutes it started to soften a bit, which is probably why they serve the pizza on racks.

The cheese: Eh. After all the other ingredients which seemed to be of a higher quality, was disappointed in this low grade mozzarella.

Overall: Would have again, and definitely go for karaoke!