La Madia
59 West Grand Avenue
Chicago, IL 60654
www.dinelamadia.com
Most of the pizza club stopped in at La Madia in the River North neighborhood last Wednesday evening (we were missing a few due to business travel and obligations). This “Contemporary Pizzeria”-- as described on its website-- fits right into this neighborhood packed with trendy restaurants. The pizza here is thin crust with very clever topping combinations; I’ll tell you about a few in a bit. La Madia doesn’t look like your traditional pizzeria; it’s very modern decor, extensive wine list and posh clientele set it apart from anything I’ve ever seen. We sat up near the front of the restaurant-, in view of the sole television in the entire place-- this was due to the NHL finals, GO HAWKS!-- however, the tables in back are near the kitchen and you can sit back there and watch them make the pizza if you wish. To add to the unique features of this place, La Madia also offers cooking classes and wine classes. Definitely an interesting place -- I’m glad we included it on our list; Noelle is definitely “coming back!”
For starters, our service was very good. They took our name and promised to seat us right away as soon as everyone arrived. Then when we decided we needed to be near the TV for the Hawks game: no problem. We waited 5 more minutes and were seated with a perfect view of the television. It was a contemporary spot, so definitely not your typical pizzeria. Kyle summed it up with: “This is the kind of pizza I want when I’m going out after work or on a date (perfect for tonight). If looking for pizza and a beer, look elsewhere.” To clarify, Kyle was not on a date, he was out after work -- but I bet you’ll be seeing him sometime soon with his main squeeze enjoying La Madia!
Service: 3.90/5
Atmosphere: 3.80/5
Value: 3.40/5
Here’s what we ordered:
House-Made fennel sausage, sweet onions, tomato sauce with mozzarella cheese
Coach Farm goat cheese, melted leeks, garlic & pancetta
Abalone Mushrooms and smoked mozzarella, finished with truffle oil
Cracked organic egg, San Daniele prosciutto, Caciocavallo cheese & black pepper
As you can see, this is not the expected pepperoni and sausage type of place; however, they do offer a margherita pizza as well one with “triple pepperoni,” and the sausage pizza that we ordered was pretty close to traditional as well -- so if you’re picky, but dying to try La Madia, you’ll certainly be able to find something that you like. Fortunately for those that were able to make it to La Madia, our picky eaters were missing so we were able to go a little further outside of the box and try some different menu items. Each pizza definitely is what it says it is, meaning if there is an ingredient you’re not sure you like, don’t order the pizza-- you will taste it. Personally, the goat cheese pizza with pancetta took the cake for me (and Kyle too). Elizabeth said, “the mushroom pizza with truffle oil grows on you; the only pizza I would describe as ‘woodsy,’ in a good way.” And, finally, “ever had a craving for breakfast for dinner? Try the egg and prosciutto pizza -- hit the spot!” I’m with Dan, we’ve all eaten breakfast for dinner at one point or another, and this was it to a “t”!
Here are the scores for La Madia:
Crust: 4.10
Sauce: 2.80
Toppings: 4.20
Cheese: 3.30
Overall Quality: 3.70
Overall Taste: 3.80
Average Score: 3.67/5
Coming in right behind Bricks in 6th place, La Madia had a pretty good showing. We’ve definitely been visiting a lot of the top places late in the challenge. Just to comment on some of the scores to add more to the pizza experience at La Madia: Sauce was rated rather low due to the lack of sauce. Some pizzas had no sauce as all, while those that did, did not have enough for many of our tastes. The crust, on the other hand, was excellent (4.10/5) -- thin and crispy.
One stop left for the Chicago Pizza Challenge and we’ll give you our top 10 rankings! Stay tuned ...
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