I've been enjoying Lou Malnati's pizza since the early 70's and hated not having one around the corner when we moved to the greater Phoenix area. A few other Chicago pizza joints have tried and totally failed when it came to recreating what us Chicagoans are used to enjoying.
After going to the opening last Saturday night, I was more than pleasantly surprised that they absolutely nailed it. They must of spent a ton of money on a water filtration system. I have to use bottled water when I make homemade pizza for the family because AZ water is so bad in most neighborhoods. Bad water effects so many things in a restaurant from the ice in your drink to the soups, pasta, rice, dough or anything else that needs it.
While I refused to waste space in my tummy with a soup, salad or appetizer, I did taste some of the pass around apps my friends ordered. All of them were very tasty and my favorite was the Cheddar Cubes.
The pizza with the butter crust is my favorite. Nobody was able to talk to me the first 5 minutes after the pizza arrived. I disappeared and went to heaven for a moment.
It was a pleasure seeing Marc Malnati there with his wife. His staff (mostly from Chicago) did a great job. Kudos to the executive who talked Marc into expanding outside of the Chicago area. All of us in the valley that love great deep dish pizza owe you a drink! Marc is a very hands on operator, similar to Dick Portillo. I know his biggest concern was not having one of his operations just down the street. I guess It's like sending your first born to college. You know it's the right thing to do, but it hurts inside that you can't be close to your baby.
Thank you Lou's. We're thrilled you came to the Valley of the Sun.