Pizza. How do you like it? Let me count the ways. There’s thin-crust, thick-crust, deep-dish or stuffed; Chicago-style, New York-style, California “gourmet”-style, and even St. Louis-style (they use a different type of cheese in St. Louie).
And what about that cheese? Do you like cow’s milk mozzarella or do you prefer “fresh” mozzarella made from water buffalo milk?
You can have your pizza with all sorts of different cheeses, with or without tomatoes, with a mind-numbing variety of toppings from anchovies to zucchini. No doubt about it, from its humble beginning as a local food item from a small region in Italy, the ubiquitous pizza has become one of the world’s most popular foods. Pizza is everywhere.
And almost nowhere. Sad to say, it’s hard to find a good pizza. For that I’m sending you to Stickney, and to Villa Nova Pizza.
I grew up on pizza. I also grew up in Stickney, that tiny community located a couple of miles to the south, next to Berwyn. Stickney is hardly noted for its restaurants, but when it comes to thin-crust pizza, there’s none better than the one they make at Villa Nova.
Those of you familiar with this column know the importance I place on quality, no matter what kind of food is served. But equally important is the ability to offer that same quality consistently. And that’s just what they do at Villa Nova. Al Tornabene opened Villa Nova in November of 1955, and it was, and still is, the talk of the town.
We just called it Al’s in those days, when Al made the pizza himself (according to a “secret” recipe) and the place had only five employees. I remember this well because the very first restaurant job I ever had was mopping the floors at Villa Nova, which I did, reluctantly, at 6 o’clock each morning for a short time during the summer of that year.
So how do you like your pizza? No need to count the ways. There were only three choices back then, but it was more than enough, and always good. A 12-inch cheese pizza was $1 and for $1.50 you could get it with sausage or anchovies. Additional toppings, such as mushrooms, onions and green peppers came later.
Tornabene retired in 1988 when he handed Villa Nova down to his daughter, Mary, and her husband, Sonny Adamczyk, who successfully run the business today. Five employees have grown to 50, and the menu has expanded to contain a number of pasta dishes and various other sandwiches. The array of pizza toppings has increased, too, to include the more trendy choices such as spinach and pineapple, but the mainstay is still their consistently good cheese or sausage pizza.
Unfortunately, Villa Nova doesn’t deliver this far north, but believe me when I tell you it’s well worth it to call ahead and pick one up, or better yet, have it in the retro ’50s dining room. This is pizza the way you remember it, no matter how you like to have it. As to the choices? It’s cheese or sausage. Time to stop counting.
Villa Nova is located at 6821 W. Pershing Rd. in Stickney, (708) 788-2944.