Pompei

Location: 1531 W. Taylor St., Chicago, IL 60607

A Quick Word:
Located in Little Italy, Pompei has been around for several years.  This place is great for college students on a budget with pizza slices costing around $3.  However, rather than the typical deep dish pizza you are used to finding in Chicago, they feature Sicilian style pizza that is prepared in pans and topped with various ingredients.  When comparing this pizza to the one in Italy, Pompei's falls short in many ways.  Not only is the pizza not as fresh as everyone thinks, but the toppings just don't work well.    The restaurant itself is huge, with creative decorations and murals and a well attentive staff.  I think the staff is the only reason keeping my rating higher than 1.  For the big miss on the pizza, I rated Pompei at just 1.5 miles.

What I ate:

Fresh Tomato & Basil Pizza

Pompei serves a Sicilian style pizza which is completely different from the deep dish pizza Chicago is known for.  I personally enjoy this "pan-style" pizza, but something is just not right at Pompei.  The pizza I chose was topped with fresh tomato and basil.  First of all, I wasn't too happy with the crust.  It was more soggy than crispy.  The tomato and basil were definitely topped after the pizza was cooked because they weren't as wilted as I was expecting.  They also put this awful parmesan cheese on top of the pizza which just added a not so great sharp taste.  And finally, I have shown up several times before they closed mainly because they are one of the last restaurants to close on Taylor.  Before they close, I see them corralling all the straggler slices of pizza and combining them on one pan.  I returned the next morning, and saw the same tray of pizza slices at the front of the pizza display.  I ordered my same slice and guess where it came from... yes, that collection of slices.  It isn't worth the cheap price.

The DOs/DON'Ts:
DO:
- There is free parking in the back and also 15 minutes "flashing light" parking in the front.
- After ordering at the front of the counter, walk down, pay at the cash register, and then grab your number and take a seat.  They will bring your food to the table.  They will also clean up after you are done.

DON'T:
- Pizza, in the first hours of business, is not advisable.

How far would I walk for this food?