A pizzeria with Midwestern pride
TITTL: All that cheese worth the higher price
| Wednesday, Apr 15 2009 03:20 PM
Last Updated Friday, Apr 17 2009 10:40 AM
Jimano's Pizzeria
9510 Hageman Road
587-6555; jimamos.com
Hours: 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Sunday-Thursday and 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Reservations not accepted.
Prices: Appetizers $2.30-$12.50, salads $4.99-$7.99, sandwiches $3.50-$8.25, pasta $7.50-$8, ribs $16.99-$19.99, 14" regular pizzas $16-$21, 14" specialty pizzas $20.20-$28. No child's plate.
Payment: MasterCard, VISA, American Express and Discover accepted. Does not accept personal checks or The Californian's Press Pass.
Dress: Casual
Amenities: Wheelchair accessible; beer and wine served; some vegetarian options.
Food: HHH
Atmosphere: HH
Service: HHH
Value: HH
Next Week: Que Pasa Mexican Cafe
Images
Henry A. Barrios / The Californian Cheesecake Factory desserts are feature at Jimano's Pizzeria.
Henry A. Barrios / The Californian Jimano's Pizzeria owner, Jim Reed, brings out the deep-dish stuffed pizza that is popular with his clients.
Henry A. Barrios / The Californian Jimano's Pizzeria owner, Jim Reed, brings a deep-dish stuffed pizza for Skip Ogle, left, and Jim Henderson.
If, like me, you're from the Midwest, the so-called deep dish pizzas served out West are laughable.
If you've ever visited Chicago and gone to any of the established giants of the product downtown (Eduardo's, Gino's, Pizzeria Uno, Lou Malnati's), you realize that it's not really pizza at all, more like a cheese and tomato slab with the gut-filling talents of a good lasagna. If you're from California, the Bisquik-based crust may throw you off on first encounter, but be patient. You will find it to be a uniquely satisfying delight, even if you can't finish off as many slices as you could of its svelte cousin, the flat crust.
The closest I've found to such a thing locally has been the Sicilian pizza at Pizza Bob's in the northeast, which supposedly serves Detroit-style pizza. What BJ's offers seems to me just too cleaned up for California tastes. But now we have a small chain from Illinois, Jimano's Pizzeria, that has chosen the Rosedale area as the home for its very first California restaurant.
This is an authentic product.
There are many, many choices: thin, double dough, deep dish (1-inch crust) and stuffed, as well as a long list of specialty pizzas including two different vegetarian choices and an "Italian beef crowd pleaser" (made with three different peppers).
Jim Reed, co-owner with Dave Rodriquez and John Contreras, said he's been in the pizza business with different local companies for 25 years and chose Jimano's because of its emphasis on quality. The crust's flour is shipped in from Chicago and the cheese from Wisconsin.
On our first visit we ordered the 16-inch deep dish with sausage and black olives ($26.50), but they accidentally served us someone else's stuffed pepperoni pizza.
I was noting the foolishness of confusing pepperoni and sausage when the crew brought our correct pizza (which looks completely different).
I felt like a thief as the party whose pizza we had partially consumed had their children with them and everything. In any case the stuffed product didn't impress me -- the crust seemed only partially cooked -- but the deep dish was a total delight.
I made it through one piece.
If you love cheese, this is your pizza, though the not-too-garlicky tomato sauce and high-quality sausage also made it an exceptionally satisfying pizza.
This is a product that all Midwestern refugees can consume with nostalgic pride.
(One note on the price. I have read that some think these prices are too high. These are probably people who think a good value is a $6 to-go pizza with 16 pepperoni slices and a slight sprinkling of cheese. You get what you pay for. Cheese is by far the most expensive item on a pizza, and Jimano's loads it on.)
On a second visit we got to sample the ribs ($16.99 for a half rack, $19.99 for a full rack) and a specialty pizza, the chicken club ($20.85 for a 14-inch thin crust).
The ribs, served with steak fries and garlic bread that is really dull, are OK, but far from distinctive compared to the pizzas. The chicken club has a lot of charm: tomatoes, onions, lots of bits of real bacon, char-broiled chicken and plenty of cheese.
The menu includes four pastas, a few salads and an assortment of sandwiches that include homemade meatball, chicken parmiginia and Italian beef, which has melted cheese on top. I saw it at another table. I need to go back for that.
Other than the goofy situation with the misdirected pizza, the service was exceptionally friendly. The staff could be better informed about the menu. My questions about various items were met with shrugs or incorrect information. One word of warning: this is not a fast-food place. Reed said, "Good pizza takes longer," and warned that the stuffed pizza needs 35 minutes in the oven.
I imagine it'd take that long just to melt all that cheese.
