Walk into Old World Pizza and your first impression might be that it’s another takeout joint, a step above the chains but just barely. The impression is shattered as soon as you bite into Joseph and Phyllis Clemente’s deep-dish pan pizza or take a forkful of their rich, luscious lasagna.
The compact dining area and counter service make it clear that in this business, delivery and carryout rule. The mission of the 21-inch television, tuned to “Wheel of Fortune” when we visited, is to help you while away the time till dinner is ready to take home, not to provide tableside entertainment.
But because dining in is an option, we took the Old World challenge. The cheerful red-check tablecloths and silk flowers help compensate for the sounds of that annoying buzzer when the contestant asks for the wrong consonant. And the steady stream of takeout customers and delivery men offers prime people watching.
Everything from the paper menu is a la carte. Tossed salads ($1.50 small; $2.50 large) of fresh iceberg lettuce and tomatoes mix in perky bits of cucumber, broccoli and cauliflower. The salad dressings are those prepackaged pouches; we liked the low-fat vinaigrette less for its flavor than for its inoffensiveness. Other starters include a nice crispy, buttery garlic bread ($1.75), pizza bread ($2.05) and onion rings ($2).
The aforementioned deep-dish pan pizza ($9.25 for 10-inch sausage) makes a filling meal. The fresh-tasting, perfectly textured crust, baked on brick, gets a light flavor accent from cornmeal. A tangy and well-seasoned sauce, generously applied, covers an ample blanket of mozzarella and large disks of spicy Italian sausage. The pepperoni version, though, has too little meat, too thinly sliced.
The crispy thin-crust pizza ($6.35 for a 10-inch sausage) has an equally delicious crust, but because we really love the Old World crust, we recommend the deep-dish because it delivers so much more of a good thing.
Many pasta dishes appear on the menu. We love the lasagna ($5.50), which showcases soft, fresh handmade noodles that can barely contain the filling of spicy sausage and rich mozzarella and ricotta cheeses. A thick sauce envelops the pasta and boasts a nice balance of seasonings and robust tomato flavor.
The less successful manicotti ($5.50) lacked enough mozzarella or cream in its filling, which was dry; the thick and slightly hard pasta shells didn’t help the cause. However, the wonderful pasta sauce saved the day (and the dinner).
Old World’s sandwich menu offers some real bargains. The meatball sandwich ($2.99) contains a pair of huge, slightly spicy meatballs slathered in red sauce on a heated French roll.
The service is cheerful. If you’re at the table next to the counter, they lean over to tell you the food’s ready. If you’re not, someone carries the tray to your table. The waits aren’t inordinate, but this isn’t a fast-food operation; our pasta dishes took 15 to 20 minutes.
There’s no liquor license but customers can bring in a bottle if they’re so inclined. You can order soft drinks (69 cents in cans) or bottled juices and waters ($1.15).
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Old World Pizza
(Two forks)
7230 W. North Ave., Elmwood Park
708-456-3000
Hours: 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Tues.-Thurs.; 11 a.m.-11:30 p.m. Fri.;
11 a.m.-11 p.m. Sat.; 3:30 -10 p.m. Sun.-Mon.
Credit cards: D, M, V
Wheelchair accessible
Ratings: 4 forks: Top of the class
3 forks: Better than most
2 forks: Very good fare
1 fork: Middle of the road
Reviews are based on anonymous visits by Tribune staff members. The meals are paid for by the Tribune.
