Giordano's

Before I go any further, I want to say we had a stuffed pizza from Giordano's-Naperville. It was very good -- what we have come to expect.

But the service was different.  I had called in a pizza for pickup.  I suspected there might be a problem from the start.  It was clear that English was not the first language of the person who picked up the call and took my order.  Fortunately, the order was simple and I could state it 4 words - large, stuffed, special pizza.  When asked for a name, I provided my first name and spelled out the 4 letters slowly and carefully.

When we arrived 45 minutes later to pick up the pizza, they said they didn't have an order us.  After going round and round for 5 minutes or so, it turns out that they had it under a surname that only shared the first letter with the name I had spelled for them.  Wasted time, but we did get our pizza.

We got home and opened up the pizza box.  We had our stuffed pizza, but they had neglected to cut it into slices.  Really!!  Who doesn't cut a pizza?!  It wasn't like they were particularly busy.  Our order was before the rush of the evening dining.

This experience won't stop us from getting a pizza at the Naperville Giordano's again.  All things considered, the service mistakes were small.  Nevertheless, they indicate that the management of this restaurant is losing the handle on the quality of their service and it is affecting their customers.

This was our go-to pizza place until we moved out-of-state.  We LOVE their deep-dish.  Thin crust, in my opinion, is better than Lou's. Don't get me wrong, we love Lou Malnati's, too, but Giordano's thin is better.  Both G and D are awesome in their own way, but we love all the cheese on Giordano's, the pepperoni and the sauce.  Parking in this location is tough!  We would go pick up our pies.  One of us would drop the other off in front to run in and get them, drive around the block a few times and pick them up.  Be prepared for your stuffed pizza to take 45 minutes to cook.  We have eaten inside the restaurant.  It's very nice.  Good service.  Remember to look for coupons just to help bring the cost down.

Since moving from Naperville to MN, it's really now just hitting me how much I loved this pizza.  Chain pizza places just can't stand up to the ingredients, freshness and made-to-order. Oh my, I could just cry.  I miss it THAT much.  It IS expensive, but you'll be hard pressed to find better-unless you're in New York.  When I die, I want Giordano's served after the funeral.  I kid you not.

Arrived at noon on Saturday, and we were the first customers.  That should of been the first sign to get out, and go somewhere else.  Order sodas, $3 each, and they were flat.  Pizza was high in MSG or something because I was crazy thirsty afterwards.  Finally, they refused to honor the coupon.  By the way, I spent $70 there, two large pizzas and sodas.  Yikes!!  Will not go back, again.