After Joe Aurelio Jr. got a loan for $2,500 to buy a struggling four-seat pizzeria in Homewood, Illinois, in 1959, business was initially slow at Aurelio’s Pizza (aureliospizza.com). He kept afloat through sales of his beef sandwiches—only six or seven pizzas were usually sold in an evening—but made some adjustments to … More

ldquo;I’ve always been independent,” laughs Burt Katz, owner of Burt’s Place in suburban Chicago. “I’m like a salmon—I swim upstream.” And any customer who has been to Burt’s Place, an offbeat pizzeria in Morton Grove, Illinois, knows the man’s not lying. Everything about the place speaks to the owner’s personality, from its unusual location at the end of … More

In all great cities, there are places between work and home where good food, friends and a glass of wine or two can revive the spirit. For a growing number of Chicagoans, that place is Spacca Napoli (spaccanapolipizzeria.com), a Neapolitan-style pizzeria at the corner of West Sunnyside and North Ravenswood Avenues, owned and operated by Jonathan Goldsmith, … More

​Zagat once claimed of Totonno Pizzeria Napolitana (totonnos.com), “Only God makes better pizza.” And this legendary pizzeria has certainly received its share of cult-like worship since its beginnings in 1924, when Anthony “Totonno” Pero opened his own pizzeria in Brooklyn’s Coney Island (he had trained for years as a pizzaiolo at the legendary Lombardi’s … More

Elvis. Miley Cyrus. The Beatles. These are just some of the musicians whose memorabilia you will encounter when dining at Rockstar Pizza (rockstarpizza.net) in Brownsburg, Indiana. Founder Ron Mathews has offered a variety of gourmet pies and subs, as well as a rock star-friendly environment for music lovers, since 2007.  Rockstar is housed in an early 20th century brick … More