“Every good Chicago pizza eater knows that it’s tavern style for every night, and it’s deep dish for special occasions. But in my little neighborhood here in Naperville, I’m quickly finding that my personal favorite is New York style,” said Chris Grano, host of “Naper Bites.”
Grano headed to Little Pops Pizzeria, a New York-style pizza place, to chat with owners Mike and Vicki Nelson.
Bringing New York pizza to Naperville
Mike and Vicki met and married while living in New York, but eventually moved to Naperville to raise their three children. But the love of New York-style pizza never left.
“I’m a little biased on New York style, but that’s how we grew up,” said Mike.
Grano asked about the differences in pizza styles, and Mike joked, “about 800 miles.”
“The flavors in a lot of pizza, whether it’s Chicago, New York, Detroit, they all have their own. And if you can sit back as not only the consumer but as a chef and understand how they came to be, I think that really is very interesting,” continued Mike.
A taste of the menu
Little Pops Pizzeria first opened in southeast Naperville in 2014 and has since expanded to three locations, including a full-service restaurant in Lisle. That’s where Grano headed to check out some menu offerings.
Up first was the Pomodoro pizza with minced garlic, olive oil, mozzarella, basil, and pizza sauce dolloped on top.
“I love an olive oil-based pizza,” said Grano. “I think not enough people try it. If you’re sticking with, you know, traditional marinara style pizza sauce and you’ve never tried an olive oil base, this is probably the right one to start with because you still get the pizza sauce on top.”
Grano next tried linguine with shrimp and broccoli.
“I gotta tell you, Vickie has been holding out on me for years,” said Grano. “I’ve been friends with Mike and Vicky, and just now I learned that they make all their pasta by hand. Who does that?”
The tasting finished with a seven-layer carrot cake for dessert.
“To have frosting in every bite to me is the best part. All right. I’m going to dig in,” said Grano.
Little Pops Pizzeria has three locations:
- 1819 Wehrli Road, Naperville, IL
- 2799 Maple Avenue, Lisle, IL
- 3015 E. New York Street, Ste. A13, Aurora, IL
Naper Bites host: Chris Grano
Guests: Owners Mike and Vicki Nelson
Naper Bites is brought to you by Chris Grano Home Specialists