Leo's Pizza (Restorante Italiano) of Jacksonville Illinois

Though the vibe of Leo's is an Italian restaurant, I've only ever had their pizza. And they serve a fine pie, with a full dining room and a line of to go orders to keep them busy all night. There's a good reason why this is one of the most beloved spots in my hometown. They serve pizzas both thin and stuffed. I'll rate their stuffed pie, with a RATIO of 4cr/4ch/3ce. Notice how the sauce was measured last. That's right, this is the kind of pizza with the sauce on top.

Their crust gets a 4 out of 5 from me. While it's chewy and delicious, it's also kind of dense and dry. Their sauce gets a 5 out of 5. It's deliciously sweet, complimenting the dough in every way. If only this stuffed pie was served with an entire lake of sauce.

For style, I'll give Leo's a 5 out of 5. It's a family run joint, with pictures of the family everywhere, often alongside hollywood celebrities. It also has a veranda for those who party extra hard. It's comfortably chaotic, feeling like home to every enjoyer.

Lastly, I give Leo's a 4 out of 5 for overall quality. I think the cheese could have more stretch to it. Maybe it was served kind of cold. At the pace they try to get these pizzas out, it's no surprise to find a slight focus on Quantity over Quantity. With a final score of 90%, I do hope you check out Leo's if you're ever passing through

Guzzardo's Italian Villa of Lincoln Illinois

By the name, you might have figured that Guzzardo's is more of a full on Italian restaurant than a pizza shop. And you'd be right. Pizzas are picked up at the back door, while diners have the glamorous experience of an italian restaurant with huge portions. Our pizza order was screwed up, somewhat. Instead of a cheese pizza with half pepperoni and sausage, they put toppings on the whole thing. Oh well. It had a RATIO of 3cr/1ce/4ch.

I'll give their crust a 3 out of 5. It was quite crusty, bubbling somewhat at the bottom where the dough soaked up a floury coating. It could have used more of a knead, but I found it enjoyable. And there was an adequate presence of goo where the dough met the sauce and cheese.

It's possible that most of the sauce absorbed itself into the dough, as there didn't seem to be much of it on the pizza. Lucky for me, our side of red sauce was huge. I should have taken a picture of it. The sauce gets a 4 out of 5. It was rich, long-roasted, with an abundance of oregano and marjoram.

For style, I'll give Guzzardo's a 4 out of 5. I do like how they gave us such a huge side of red sauce. Also, I like the idea of getting pizza at an italian restaurant, with a genuine italian feel. The pie hits that sweet spot between rustic and sloppy, wonderfully decadent. I imagine none of their pizzas are exactly the same, whether made for love or made for the cooks to get the ticket out of their faces. Who knows? That being said, I'll give this pie a score of 4 out of 5 for overall quality, with a final score of 75%.

Rosati's Pizza of Findlay Illinois

There's a gas station on the road to lake Shelbyille that sells live bait and every kind of liquor, and houses a pizza joint. Rosati's offers a full dine-in experience as well as snacks by the gas station's cash register. While I dont go out of my way to try gas station pizzas, and I didn't try anthing from the actual restaurant, I felt this slice was worth noting. Rosati's offers authentic Chicago pizza, and I'm not sure if they have deep dish on their menu. But I know deep dish isn't the only thing going on in Cook County.

Rosati's cheese slice has a ratio of 3cr3ce3ch. Their crust gets a 3 out of 5. It's a little bit over kneaded, under proofed, and under cooked. But it wasn't cumbersome. In fact, it was quite enjoyable, with a better flavor than Papa John's even though the texture wasn't all there.

Their sauce gets a 5 out of 5. It's rich and somewhat chunky, tasting much like what you'd get from Gino's East or Giordano's. I could easily eat it like soup. For Style, I guess I could give Rosati's gas station pizza a 5 out of 5. At $3 a slice, I was very pleased at what was one of the best gas sation slices I've ever had. It's not Chicago Deep Dish, but the taste is there and its gas station seems like a great place to stop before or after any kind of party.

For overall quality, I'll still give Rosati's a 3 out of 5. It's still a gas station pizza and if they don't put the time into properly proofing and cooking their pre-prepared slices, I don't expect they'd do much better when you get a frresh pie to order. With a final score of 80%, I'd hope to stop again next time I'm going through BF Illinois on the direct route to Springfield from Bloomington Indiana.

Stuffed-Aria Pizza of Lincoln Illinois

So I'm quite lucky to have parents who are aware of my blog and down to help me try every pizza in their town. Their first choice, Guzzardo's Italian Villa, wasn't answering their phone, so we went with Stuffed-Aria, a joint I had the good fortune of trying in 2017.

While Stuffed-Aria has normal pizza, they specialize in what is known as "Stuffed" pizza, which looks like deep dish, but it's a different thing. Stuffed pizza typically has a layer of crust, then cheese, then a thin layer of crust, then sauce, while Deep Dish is more like a pie, with a soft layer of crust, a thick layer of gooey cheese, and a lake of chunky sauce. The stuffed variety here is more like two pan pizzas stacked on top of each other. The ratio is 5cr/5ch/4ce.

I'll rate their crust a 2 out of 5. It tastes and feels more like a soft pretzel dough than a pizza dough, making a larger slice weigh more than a full pound. Their sauce gets a 3 out of 5. It was good, and I appreciate its quantity, but there was nothing special about it.

For style, Stuffed-Aria gets a 4. An establishment for take-out and delivery, there are no frills about it, delivering maximum fullness at a minimal price, with a unique version of pizza. And for overall quality, I guess they get a four. Aside from the excessive heft of the pie, I couldn't find anything wrong with it. So Stuffed-Aria ends with a 65%.

Frank's Pizza of Silvis Illinois

I chose this joint because it's also a small chain, figuring it would also be quad-cities style. But it wasn't. At best, it was normal pizza. The interior of the joint is great, with a factory level kitchen, and the decor of a 70s cafeteria. There's also a liquor bar, which isn't that weird for Illinois, where you can sell liquor pretty much anywhere. But its presence suggests this place used to be a real urban hangout.

My diet coke was served to me in a can, with a cup of ice. A non-disposable plastic plate was also brought to me before I'd even ordered. Despite my intention to order a cheese pizza, I wanted to try pretty much everything on the menu. Who doesn't love mini corn dogs or the mere fantasy of a tenderloin marinara? You can also order a quart of salad dressing. It's on the menu, so it must be an incredible salad dressing. I wanted it. I could eat here every day, if only the pizza, which they're named for, had lived up to its honor.

Back to a more neutral ground, The ratio of this pizza is 2cr/2ce/3ch. Now for the dirty. Their crust gets a 2 out of 5. Excess dust at the bottom amplified my thirst, which I couldn't adequately slake with a nursed can of soda. Both crusty and soggy, the center of the pie was unable to hold itself together. The sauce also gets a 2 out of 5. It was too watery. The flavor was fine, but there wasn't much of it. I think if plain, canned tomato sauce is going to be the base of your pizza sauce, then it needs to be cooked down. But still, it suffers from a lack of pulp. The flavor of the sauce was fine, but there was not enough to it.

For style, I'll give Franks a 4. Despite my disinterest in their pizza, everything else that came out of the kitchen was looking awesome. And if I'd known their deal with the diet coke, I'd have ordered an iced tea. No problem. Frank's is still my kind of zero-frills kind of joint. But onto overall quality, Franks gets a 2 out of 5, giving us a total of 50%.

Saint Giuseppe's Heavenly Pizza of Moline, IL

For some time I've wanted to fully discover, for myself, the true meaning of quad-cities style pizza. By quad-cities, I mean the area where I was born, the area where Moline, Davenport, Bettendorf, and Rock Island come together. Founded in 1997, Saint Giuseppe's isn't the original quad-cities pizza chain, but it had good ratings. Per usual, I got a regular cheese pizza with a side of red sauce. The ratio for the pie was 2cr/2ce/3ch.

I'll rate their crust a 3 out of 5. It's crispy, puffy, and chewy, tasting and feeling more like homemade bread than pizza crust, which is more than I can say about the cardboard you often find in new, mysterious joints. Their sauce also gets a 3 out of 5. It's pretty spicy for a pizza sauce, which I heard is characteristic of quad-cities pizza. There were no discernable flavors beyond red pepper and tomato in this otherwise good, thick sauce.

For style, Giuseppe's gets a 4 of 5. I like when a pie is cut into strips. It makes it easier to dip. And despite the crust being bready and the sauce being spicy, this pizza doesn't really stand-out when you don't look at it closely. The joint itself looked like it was once a cozy family joint, left in a state of disarray for pandemic-style seating. Each way I turned my head, I felt like I was facing yet another light bulb. Nice-looking guitars were hung on the wall, going to waste as decorations.

They get a 4 out of 5 for quality. There was nothing wrong with my pizza, and nothing amazing. It was good. If it were cheaper and in my town, I'd get it when I want to mix things up. Overall, Saint Giuseppe's Heavenly Pizza gets a 70%.

Sorrento's Pizza of Lincoln Illinois

For the second time now, I've had Sorrento's Pizza on my mom's birthday. It's her favorite pizza, and it's pretty good. Despite the hype, I think I can still give Sorrento's an objective analysis. There's no need to criticize my mom's taste in pizza and ask 'why do you like this?' The answer to 'why' is always 'because pizza's awesome.' The ratios for Sorrento's Pizza is 2cr/2ce/2ch. With a mass of two, their crust is extremely dense. It tastes good, and has a nice chew, but it's a lot to fill your stomach with. If the sauce were not so thin, the crust would probably be too dry to eat. Cut party style, I don't think a regular slice of this pizza would be very flexible or satisfying. This being said, I'll give Sorrento's crust a 2 out of 5. I got a side of their pizza sauce, and it was as I said, very thin. The pizza itself must have had some extra herbs added to it, because the side of sauce wasn't much more than canned tomato sauce. Therefore, their sauce gets a 2 out of 5. For style, I'll give Sorrento's a 3 out of 5. I've eaten inside the restaurant one time, and found it to be a pleasant experience. They have the brick walls and italian-style decor of a regular small town pizza shop. The pizza itself is kind of bland, but still very pleasant, probably best with toppings. For overall quality, I'll also give Sorrento's a 3 out of 5. When dissected, none of its parts are especially great, but when put together, they make a very enjoyable pizza.

I almost knew at first bite, Sorrento's gets a score of 50%, and I expect to enjoy it again on one of my mom's later birthdays.