The Silo In Lake Bluff

We had a tragedy in our family a few months ago.  The local Jake’s Pizza went out of business, one day they were there, the next day they were not.  This presented us with a dilemma. I am a pizza addict.  I love the combination of bread, cheese, meat and some sort of artery clogging high fat meat all held together by a tomato sauce that whispers tomato at you and perfectly complements the rest of the ingredients.  Jakes pizza always provided a good experience for an addict like me.  When they left we had a choice of Gino’s East and another mom and pop pizza joint in a strip mall near our home.  Of course we have a local Dominos and a Papa John’s but at best I consider both of them purveyors of Imitation Pizza Style Food Substitute.  So now you know the history of why we went to the famous Silo in Lake Bluff Illinois.

Silo has been around as long as I have lived in Lake County and is famous for its food and they have even won the Chili Cook Off at Taste of Chicago three times in a row and that is a marvelous accomplishment.  The décor is okay, it is a bit tired but the quality of the food absolves this place from any real criticism of the surroundings.  In the center of the restaurant in a step down dining area above your head you can watch two model trains complete circuits of a round track.  The box cars bear advertising for local businesses and fits in with the model trains that adorn shelves on the wall. 

On our first trip there we ordered thin crust pizza, half sausage and mushroom (for me) and half cheese and mushroom (for my lovely wife.)  The pizza arrived in short order and was piping hot. On my half of the pizza there was ample cheese, sausage, and mushrooms and the crust was light and crispy.  On the other side of the table my wife also found her pizza to be supplied with just the correct amounts of cheese and mushrooms.  The tomato sauce was not overdone, there was just enough to let you know that the sauce was there.  In other words the pizza was good.

On our second visit we ordered a deep dish pizza with instructions to construct it in a similar manner to the thin crust pizza.  The pizza took eighteen minutes to arrive which is reasonable and it was again piping hot.  I have to confess, I am not a great fan of deep dish pizza.  In this case I have to say we were served a good pizza but I thought that there was just a bit too much tomato sauce slathered on the top. All in all it was good and I certainly wouldn’t spit it out but I really like thin crust better.  If you like deep dish then by all means go for it!  It is probably the best deep dish available on the North Shore.

Service was slightly better than average and our waiter was pleasant but on our second visit the waiter seemed to disappear after bringing out the pizza and we were not offered a refill of our soft drinks as he returned only to present us with the check.

To summarize, The Silo is a great place to eat.  The other items on the menu we have experienced are good, combining reasonable portions and right on target seasoning.  Visit them, you will enjoy the food.