Two times la madia: a contemporary pizzeria

Boy, oh boy, it’s been a busy few weeks. I haven’t been posting as much as I’d like, but I have been enjoying some delicious eats!

One of my new favorite restaurants is La Madia, a contemporary pizzeria located in the River North neighborhood of Chicago. La Madia makes thin crust, wood-fired pizzas – the kind that come out with crispy black edges and perfectly melded ingredients. Mmmmm….I wish I had some right now!

The funny thing is that I’ve been to La Madia twice within the past month! The first time my boyfriend and I strolled over during an afternoon of shopping on Michigan Avenue. We weren’t too hungry, so we split a fennel sausage pizza and some gelato. That pizza was damn good! The sausage was house-made, and crumbled nicely over the thin crust.

The pie (can you call it a pie when it’s that thin?) also had shaved onions, which offered a perfect compliment to the sausage. Though they’re thin, the pizzas are quite generous in size. The single pizza was enough for the two of us for a late lunch – and at $13, this beats any lunch you can find in the Loop!

You can tell my boyfriend, Josh, was into the pizza – look at those wide eyes! Well, I was into it too, and I was into the atmosphere, and the fact that they had an amazing Restaurant Week Lunch Menu (mental note!). So I decided to come back with some coworkers the following week to try out the deal.

The Chicago Restaurant Week lunch menu let us choose a starter, a pizza, a glass of wine, and a desert. This was all for $22. Amazing! My coworkers Cali and Beth joined me in the restaurant week adventure and we each ordered our courses and enjoyed a glass of white wine. Feeling adventurous, I ordered the beet salad….hmm….not the best idea now that I think about it. I’ve never had beets before, and their sweetness was a bit overwhelming for me. The greens, dressing and cheese on the salad where quite delicious though!

I didn’t hear any complaints from my dining friends, though. Beth got the frisee salad, which had beautiful colors of bright green and dark red, punctuated with enormous shreds of Parmesan cheese. Look at that cheese!

Cali’s mixed greens also looked beautiful. We were all thinking that the food portions would be smaller than normal to accommodate for the 3 course menu. We were wrong! Everything was full sized, and delicious. Did I mention delicious?

Then came the pizzas!

Now Beth was feeling adventurous, as she had ordered the Taleggio and roasted grape pizza! How crazy does that look?! Awesome. We all tried a bite, and it was a yummy combination of tangy cheese paired with mouthfuls that tasted like warm grape jelly. Very different, very good.

Cali got this delicious winner. Artichokes smothered in Parmesan cheese. Yum. Again, look at that cheese!!! This one was super garlicky, which was a yummy pairing for the chewy, crispy crust. Definitely a great choice if you’re ordering a bunch of different pizzas to share among friends.

However, if you aren’t in the mood to share….order the triple pepperoni…

Yes, check out that pepperoni pizza. Look at the slightly burned bits. See the fresh herbs scattered across the top. View the sheen of that white truffle oil. Dude. Then make an effort to spoon on some grated Parmesan and shake on some red pepper flakes. Pause for a moment and contemplate how gorgeous this sucker is, and then take a bite. And then take another bite, and another, and another. Whoops! Where’d the pizza go? It’s that good. Unfortunately, I was trying to be on a “diet” this day (don’t judge me!) and I only ate half of this beauty. The other half made its way home to my boyfriend, Josh, and he said it was immensely delicious even cold!

La Madia not only has great food, but the atmosphere is fantastic. It’s super low-key and there are many types of seating, which I think is great. There’s a little lounge area in the front with a fireplace and a bar. There’s also a “wine cellar” room that has a secluded feeling – good for an intimate birthday gathering. You can also sit at the back bar and watch while they make the pizzas – fun! (and great if you’re a ‘table for one’). And apparently there is a back patio space open in warmer weather which I will definitely be checking out.

Did I mention that they hold monthly classes and Chef’s table dinners? Well, they do. Check it out – the March class was for making pasta – sad that I was too late to sign up for that one!

You should definitely check out La Madia for lunch or dinner. I hear their pastas are also amazing (made in-house). They also have great ratings on Yelp.