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Barnaby's Family Inn - Pizza

Barnaby's Family Inn - Pizza
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  • Barnaby's Family Inn - Pizza

    Post #1 - November 14th, 2005, 8:35 pm
    Post #1 - November 14th, 2005, 8:35 pm Post #1 - November 14th, 2005, 8:35 pm
    Does anyone have a list of where all the Barnaby's Pizzas are located in Chicagoland?
  • Post #2 - November 14th, 2005, 8:49 pm
    Post #2 - November 14th, 2005, 8:49 pm Post #2 - November 14th, 2005, 8:49 pm
    Yahoo Yellow pages lists:

    Barnaby's Family Inn Of Niles
    Address: 7950 N Caldwell Ave, Niles, IL 60714
    Phone: (847) 967-8600

    Barnaby's
    Address: 636 E Touhy Ave, Des Plaines, IL 60018
    Phone: (847) 297-8866

    Barnaby's Of Northbrook
    Address: 960 Skokie Blvd, Northbrook, IL 60062
    Phone: (847) 498-3900

    Barnaby's Family Inn
    Address: 134 W Golf Rd, Schaumburg, IL 60195
    Phone: (847) 882-3220

    Barnaby's Family Inn
    Address: 933 W Rand Rd, Arlington Heights, IL 60004
    Phone: (847) 394-5270
    Bill-Plainfield
  • Post #3 - November 14th, 2005, 8:52 pm
    Post #3 - November 14th, 2005, 8:52 pm Post #3 - November 14th, 2005, 8:52 pm
    Thanks
  • Post #4 - November 14th, 2005, 11:07 pm
    Post #4 - November 14th, 2005, 11:07 pm Post #4 - November 14th, 2005, 11:07 pm
    Be afraid, be very afraid.
    Or at least I was always afraid of that 'za in the '80s.
    A the only place that was open past 9PM when I was in high school, we would hang out at the one on Skokie Blvd, eat pizza that we considered truly awful while ridiculing ourselves for eating it.

    Humor included pizza served so piping hot that it would melt the plastic forks and knives. We were juvenile, what can I say. The same era included conspicuous consumption of gasoline to maximize coverate of McDonalds Monopoly cards in a given evening.
    What is patriotism, but the love of good things we ate in our childhood?
    -- Lin Yutang
  • Post #5 - November 14th, 2005, 11:23 pm
    Post #5 - November 14th, 2005, 11:23 pm Post #5 - November 14th, 2005, 11:23 pm
    JoelF wrote:Be afraid, be very afraid.
    Or at least I was always afraid of that 'za in the '80s.
    A the only place that was open past 9PM when I was in high school, we would hang out at the one on Skokie Blvd, eat pizza that we considered truly awful while ridiculing ourselves for eating it.

    Humor included pizza served so piping hot that it would melt the plastic forks and knives. We were juvenile, what can I say. The same era included conspicuous consumption of gasoline to maximize coverate of McDonalds Monopoly cards in a given evening.


    I too hung out at the one on Skokie Blvd. in Northbrook while a student at Glenbrook North High School. But for some reason, even as my taste buds dramatically evolved, I have never gotten over my love (or strong like) of Barnaby's. Yes, the pizza is so hot that if you dare to eat it within 10 minutes after it is served, you will undoubtedly burn the roof of your mouth. And the cheese, sauce and toppings are certainly uninspiring. But it's that damn crust I cannot get over -- strange, yet so perfectly thin and crispy. I don't blame anyone for telling me that I'm crazy, but I love Barnaby's pizza!

    But perhaps the most bizarre part of the Barnaby's experience: go during a sunny day. You walk into the restaurant (and what's with the bizarre pseudo-stained glass???) and it's so dark you can hardly tell where you're walking. Then, you need sunglasses to exit because it's so difficult to see when you go back outside. Yes, very strange but I must say that I've been much happier since I discovered the Barnaby's on Touhy Ave., not that far from my office. And although I am perhaps slightly embarrassed to admit it, I love Barnabys! :lol:
  • Post #6 - November 14th, 2005, 11:51 pm
    Post #6 - November 14th, 2005, 11:51 pm Post #6 - November 14th, 2005, 11:51 pm
    another barnaby's lover here. and i'm not at all ashamed!

    i'm crazy for the barnaby's on caldwell in niles. i've been to all of them and the pizza at caldwell is far superior. you are right that it's all about the crust.

    i'm am such a barnaby's fanatic that my wife (who i have to pester and cajole to get her to go there with me when i get a hankering) bought me a barnaby's tee-shirt and gift certificates one year for my birthday. seriously. yes, i'm a freak.

    what can i say? for me, thin-crust pizza is all about the crust, and barnaby's is by far the best crust ever!
  • Post #7 - November 15th, 2005, 12:08 am
    Post #7 - November 15th, 2005, 12:08 am Post #7 - November 15th, 2005, 12:08 am
    I was raised on the Barnaby's pizza on Touhy Ave. just west of California in Chicago. It has since closed. Some of the readers may not know that Barnaby's was once a chain and at some point individual restaurants were sold, and to the best of my knowledge are all now individually owned. The two existing locations I have been to are the one in Arlington Heights and the one in Northbrook. The NB location is significantly superior in many respects -- especially better pizza and better crust. I think the crust has a little cornmeal in it. For some reason when the units separated they either had or developed separate recipes for the pizza crust.
  • Post #8 - November 15th, 2005, 9:45 am
    Post #8 - November 15th, 2005, 9:45 am Post #8 - November 15th, 2005, 9:45 am
    OK, I live right by the one in Niles but I've never been in there! I'll have to try it because my hubby and I are always on the hunt for good thin crust!
    :lol:
    The clown is down!
  • Post #9 - November 15th, 2005, 11:01 am
    Post #9 - November 15th, 2005, 11:01 am Post #9 - November 15th, 2005, 11:01 am
    When I was very young (4-5 years old) my mom used to take me to the Barnaby's around 500 W Diversey. Now, like a Capistrano swallow, I crave Barnaby's about once a year. I stop in the Northbrook location and get the pizza (which I still think is OK by grown-up standards) or the spaghetti and meat sauce if I'm really trying to recapture my lost youth. I also love that you can get black cherry soda by the pitcher. (Pretty sure they have Green River too).
  • Post #10 - November 20th, 2005, 11:04 am
    Post #10 - November 20th, 2005, 11:04 am Post #10 - November 20th, 2005, 11:04 am
    I grew up near a Barnaby's in Indiana. I worked their briefly in college making sandwiches, and kid my wife about building a one booth barnaby's in the basement.

    The best part of the Barnaby's is the terminology - I call this order notification dialect, or OND, which vary's from Barnaby's to Barnaby's. Listen when a Pizza order is called. In the old day's, we used to say "Pizza order for table 23" or "Sandwich order for table 19" and that was it. Then, in about 1986, someone said "Fries for Joe", and it was downhill from there.

    I found this site searching for the crust recipe, which I'm sad to say I never bothered to write down. I think most of it is fairly standard, with the exception of this - they make the crust in the morning, roll it very flat, and leave it out all day. It doesn't rise, but just sits there. And yes, corn meal is sprinkled liberly on the bottom to prevent sticking.
  • Post #11 - November 20th, 2005, 12:16 pm
    Post #11 - November 20th, 2005, 12:16 pm Post #11 - November 20th, 2005, 12:16 pm
    Having been a loyal patron of the Northbrook Barnabys for thirty years, I hold their thin crust pizza as a benchmark to all others. I've yet to have any thin that can compete with them. Now that they offer a half baked, I can even avoid the Friday and Saturday tiny tot mad house there and enjoy the worlds best thin crust at home.
    By the way, outside of a decent beer selection they have Filberts Root Beer and Black Cherry soda on tap.
  • Post #12 - November 25th, 2005, 8:28 pm
    Post #12 - November 25th, 2005, 8:28 pm Post #12 - November 25th, 2005, 8:28 pm
    Let's hear it for this underrated, unappreciated chain! It's really pretty good, and truly a great value. The dining experience and atmosphere is unique, that's for certain, but it's really very good pizza. Another vote for the Northbrook location.

    I know I for one would miss the place if it were gone!
  • Post #13 - November 25th, 2005, 9:46 pm
    Post #13 - November 25th, 2005, 9:46 pm Post #13 - November 25th, 2005, 9:46 pm
    Just a reminder -- Barnaby's is no longer a chain.

    Jesper
  • Post #14 - December 1st, 2005, 9:21 am
    Post #14 - December 1st, 2005, 9:21 am Post #14 - December 1st, 2005, 9:21 am
    I grew up eating at the West Rogers Park location on Touhy. I was crushed when it closed; however, I am thrilled to see that there are still five Barnaby's in operation.

    The crimped crispy cormeal crust is one of a kind.
  • Post #15 - December 1st, 2005, 10:57 am
    Post #15 - December 1st, 2005, 10:57 am Post #15 - December 1st, 2005, 10:57 am
    Barnaby's is my favorite thin crust pizza, too! As a kid, I remember going to the one on Skokie Blvd. Wish there was one more convenient to Lincoln Park. There used to be one around 500 W Diversey? That's about a block from me, so I'd probably eat there every day if it was still there... Did recently drag my girlfriend out to the one in Niles to introduce her to it.
  • Post #16 - December 1st, 2005, 11:03 am
    Post #16 - December 1st, 2005, 11:03 am Post #16 - December 1st, 2005, 11:03 am
    Yes, it was on the corner of Diversey & Cambridge. They turned it into a bank about 30 years ago.
  • Post #17 - December 1st, 2005, 1:40 pm
    Post #17 - December 1st, 2005, 1:40 pm Post #17 - December 1st, 2005, 1:40 pm
    I love Barnaby's and have been a regular customer at the Northbrook store for, well, about 30 years. Summers during high school, I used to work at Ravinia and the Northbrook Barnaby's was one of the few places near the park that was actually open after we got off work. Even these days, we order lunch from that Barnaby's about 2x per month and everyone in the office loves it. I've passed down my admiration of Barnaby's to my son who also considers it his favorite. I miss the days when the "Your Pizza is Ready" lights were mounted on each table and would flash when the time was right. I'm sure my son would have loved that part of the show as well.

    But, not only is their pizza delicious, it is a truly unique product. I think that's the main reason why the place has such a draw. When the mood hits, there is nowhere else but Barnaby's which will satisfy. The "corn meal-assisted" crust is probably my favorite pizza crust of all-time. I also think their burgers, especially the 1/2 Black Angus burger, are outstanding.

    The place does incredible business, too. I was there a few weeks ago on a Friday evening and for most of our 90 minutes there (5:30-7:00), the line spanned from the registers, all the way through the dining room, to the entrance. The were a few moments when it shortened up a bit we were sitting halfway between the register and the entrance and there were folks standing next to us (waiting in line) during our entire stay.

    =R=
    Same planet, different world
  • Post #18 - March 28th, 2006, 11:51 pm
    Post #18 - March 28th, 2006, 11:51 pm Post #18 - March 28th, 2006, 11:51 pm
    HI,

    This evening I attended a meeting where pizza from Barnaby's was served. When I saw the box, I guess I exclaimed, "Barnaby's" with a bit too excited a voice causing everyone to laugh at my enthusiasm overdrive. I was really thrilled because I wanted to experience first hand the unique crust many have commented on. Unfortunately I didn't have my camera with me, though the hostess was gracious enough to allow me to take a piece home. For those as curious as I was about the crust I can offer these images:

    Image

    Image

    This thin crust pizza has a very nice firm texture and a bit more weight to it for a thin slice. Interestingly the hostess' son made a similar comment as Suburban Ronnie regarding corn meal's use in the crust.

    Regards,
    Cathy2

    "You'll be remembered long after you're dead if you make good gravy, mashed potatoes and biscuits." -- Nathalie Dupree
    Facebook, Twitter, Greater Midwest Foodways,
  • Post #19 - March 31st, 2006, 8:15 pm
    Post #19 - March 31st, 2006, 8:15 pm Post #19 - March 31st, 2006, 8:15 pm
    _____There's nothing wrong with Barnaby's people, just breathe. ;-) I have spent many an after park district soccer league party here over the years growin' up in A.H. However as an adult, I'm a bit indifferent...
    _____The ordering format and service is unique as is the pizza. My youngest brother and I stopped by the Arlington Heights location two years ago to relive these memories. After the meal, while fairly satisfied, our more experienced palettes decided that we could give up on Barnaby's and leave it to the kiddies (many of 'em there).

    Z

    Why not just have Chicago Street's Western pizza (a.k.a. the Heart-Attack Pizza).
  • Post #20 - March 31st, 2006, 9:55 pm
    Post #20 - March 31st, 2006, 9:55 pm Post #20 - March 31st, 2006, 9:55 pm
    Zin,

    Since the Barnaby's restaurants are now individually owned they no longer have a common pizza recipe. I've been to both the Arlington Heights location and the Northbrook location and I believe the pizza at the Northbrook spot has a better crust and better toppings. I don't believe A.H. uses corn meal in their crust which is a big plus for me in Northbrook.

    Jesper
  • Post #21 - April 4th, 2006, 1:58 pm
    Post #21 - April 4th, 2006, 1:58 pm Post #21 - April 4th, 2006, 1:58 pm
    Jesper wrote:Since the Barnaby's restaurants are now individually owned they no longer have a common pizza recipe.


    _____So noted, thanks Jesper! I learned something today (or I should have if I read the whole post?). I say that with no sarcasm, promise. Being a teacher whose motto is "learn something new today" when kids come in, I truly appreciate that. :D

    Jesper wrote:I don't believe A.H. uses corn meal in their crust which is a big plus for me in Northbrook.


    _____I would have to concur with you about that. Not the biggest cornmeal crust fan. Doesn't Home Run Inn Pizza use it...? Maybe their pizza is just heavy stuff.
  • Post #22 - October 6th, 2006, 7:06 pm
    Post #22 - October 6th, 2006, 7:06 pm Post #22 - October 6th, 2006, 7:06 pm
    YUK! :shock:

    OK I live in Niles and we decided to check it out. It was downright creepy. There were about 10 tables filled and so seating was not a problem. There was this "biker"-looking dude at the register who acted like he was doing me a favor by taking my order. I ordered a large cheese and sausage, an order of onion rings and a pitcher of pop. The guy asks me if I wanted to pay with cash or charge, so I say charge. Then he asks me if I wanted to pay for the pop too. I'm like "uh yeah". So he gives me two tickets and tells me to get my pop at the bar. So I shuffle 10 steps to the left and I'm at the bar. So I stand there for about 5 minutes and there comes the same guy to get my drink! So he hands me the pitcher and rings up 4.25 on the register. So, confused as I was, I thought maybe he didn't charge me. So I say, "I guess I'll pay for the pop with cash." He looks at me and says, "you already paid for it!" So I say, "well why the heck were you ringing it up again?" No answer.

    So I head back to our table where Hubby and Toddler are waiting for me. Then they call for the oinion rings so Hubby goes to get them.
    The coating was pretty good but the onions inside were raw! That was soooo nasty. I wound up pulling out the onion and just eating the breading.



    So now they call our # and Hubby goes up to fetch it. I put a slice on the huge, spacious, high- quality paper plates that they give and I started trying to cut it for Toddler, but the high quality knife was just twisting instead. So I had to rip it up for her.

    The grease had soaked through the plate rendering it useless. Hubby and I decide to just eat over the pan. I could see grease dripping off of the pizza. There was no flavor to it. It was like eating pizza with a cold. The bottom of the crust had a nice consistency, but the flavor was not good. It tasted like stale beer.

    We definately won't be back. Everyone who loves this place must only love the nostalgia from their youth because as someone who has never been, it was nasty. It was also pricey. I think a Jewel Thin-n-crispy is a better product.
    The clown is down!
  • Post #23 - October 7th, 2006, 12:46 am
    Post #23 - October 7th, 2006, 12:46 am Post #23 - October 7th, 2006, 12:46 am
    If what is said about there not being common recipes is true then I can't vouch for the Niles location, but, in a nod somewhat to nostalgia, I made my first trip to a Barnaby's (Shaumburg) in 20+ years last December with my family (a group of 12 ages 2-75). I found the place not only strongly reminiscent of my childhood memories, but the pizza itself was good...I'll go as far to say very good, to the point where I would put it up with some of the premiere thin crust places in the metro area (HRI, V&N, Aurelio's, Rosati's, etc). The place was packed and the kids all enjoyed wtching the pizzas being made through the glass windows.

    Good pizza, great for kids/families, and very retro for us aging baby boomers.
    Bob in RSM, CA...yes, I know, it's a long way from Chicago
  • Post #24 - October 7th, 2006, 9:03 am
    Post #24 - October 7th, 2006, 9:03 am Post #24 - October 7th, 2006, 9:03 am
    Jesper wrote:I was raised on the Barnaby's pizza on Touhy Ave. just west of California in Chicago. It has since closed. Some of the readers may not know that Barnaby's was once a chain and at some point individual restaurants were sold, and to the best of my knowledge are all now individually owned. The two existing locations I have been to are the one in Arlington Heights and the one in Northbrook. The NB location is significantly superior in many respects -- especially better pizza and better crust. I think the crust has a little cornmeal in it. For some reason when the units separated they either had or developed separate recipes for the pizza crust.


    If Jesper's account is correct, then you cannot paint all Barnaby's with the same brush. I happen to be located near the Northbrook location, where I found the pizza quite acceptable.

    JeanneBean wrote:So he hands me the pitcher and rings up 4.25 on the register. So, confused as I was, I thought maybe he didn't charge me. So I say, "I guess I'll pay for the pop with cash." He looks at me and says, "you already paid for it!" So I say, "well why the heck were you ringing it up again?" No answer


    If you think about it, Barnaby's runs a self-service restaurant in a normal restaurant accounting style. Most restaurants treat the bar bill (written on the check's rear) and food bill as separate accounting events. While this is a norm in many restaurants, it is invisible to the patron because the waitress does the running and totals the bill. For self serve, it is a bit cumbersome, though take into account Barnaby's also sells liquor which requires staff 21-years-old or older. Food sales could be conducted by anyone.

    For the normal consumer it's an off-beat system, though I would be up in arms only if I had been requested to pay for my pop twice.

    Regards,
    Cathy2

    "You'll be remembered long after you're dead if you make good gravy, mashed potatoes and biscuits." -- Nathalie Dupree
    Facebook, Twitter, Greater Midwest Foodways,
  • Post #25 - October 7th, 2006, 12:00 pm
    Post #25 - October 7th, 2006, 12:00 pm Post #25 - October 7th, 2006, 12:00 pm
    Cathy,

    I wasn't up in arms, it was more bizarro to me that's all.
    The clown is down!
  • Post #26 - January 31st, 2007, 9:20 am
    Post #26 - January 31st, 2007, 9:20 am Post #26 - January 31st, 2007, 9:20 am
    the des plaines location I think is the most original looking and tasting of all of the Barnaby's left. It has a website...www.barnabys1.com. I like the pizza better than Schaumburg's and Northbrook's. I think you get a bigger portion of some of the sandwiches too, like italian beef.
    chocolatechips
  • Post #27 - January 31st, 2007, 4:56 pm
    Post #27 - January 31st, 2007, 4:56 pm Post #27 - January 31st, 2007, 4:56 pm
    Seeing this thread reminded me of a pizza outing with Cathy2 that I never got around to posting about. It was my first visit to Barnaby's since an ill-timed attempt many years ago when pregnant with my daughter. On that occasion, I never made it past the front door due to my inability to tolerate the smell of garlic. No such difficulty this time, but I guess the intervening 19 years sealed that memory over. In fact, the pizza was just as I remembered with its crimped, crunchy, cornmeal-intensive crust. Toppings are of the heavy-handed school, but I am OK with that.

    This photo by Cathy2 gives you a good idea of what to expect.
    Image

    For those of you who remember a pizza parlor from Ferris Bueller's Day Off, this is the place. It's the scene where Ed Mooney, thinking he has caught up with Ferris, mistakenly comes up behind a girl playing a video game and gets drenched. According to a fan website, the interior was actually shot somewhere near L.A., but since this would be the hangout for Ferris' high school, it must be intended to be Barnaby's.
    Man : I can't understand how a poet like you can eat that stuff.
    T. S. Eliot: Ah, but you're not a poet.
  • Post #28 - January 31st, 2007, 8:54 pm
    Post #28 - January 31st, 2007, 8:54 pm Post #28 - January 31st, 2007, 8:54 pm
    JoelF wrote:The same era included conspicuous consumption of gasoline to maximize coverate of McDonalds Monopoly cards in a given evening.


    Man, I thought my friends and I were the only ones that did that!!
    Nice to know kids in FL and IL had such similar carefree adolescent pleasures.
  • Post #29 - February 1st, 2007, 6:44 am
    Post #29 - February 1st, 2007, 6:44 am Post #29 - February 1st, 2007, 6:44 am
    One is east of downtown SB on Jefferson Blvd. The other is in Mishawaka on the corner of Grape Rd and Edison. Be forewarned - credit cards are not accepted.
  • Post #30 - February 2nd, 2007, 11:44 am
    Post #30 - February 2nd, 2007, 11:44 am Post #30 - February 2nd, 2007, 11:44 am
    While I haven't had a Barnaby's pizza in a while (moved far away) I sure miss them. They weren't as good as some of the GREAT thin crust Chicago Pizzas that I remembered (e.g., Candlelight, Ed & Joe's, Vito & Nick's, Fox's, Home Run Inn, etc.), but they were very unique and very tasty indeed. I am sorry that JeanneBean and her family didn't enjoy it, but many others did enjoy their product and ordering procedure very, very much. She didn't like a "biker looking dud" taking your order or having to go to another counter for beverages or having to have paid for them elsewhere or having them to ring it up at their beverage counter (but not charging you again for them) or having to be called over the loudspeaker for the onion rings . . . or whatever else there was to complain about. That's their procedure and I (and apparently others) sure liked their system and product very much. I do recall their pizza on occasion being a little greasy, but I liked it that way. Claiming that their pizza was inferior to a Jewel Thin-n-crispy pizza, however, was a very uncalled for low blow. If you didn't like it, stay away from their doors and others will have the opportunity to enjoy a great pizza. I on a rare occasion when going to a football game still have the opportunity to go to the very popular Barnaby's pizza place in South Bend, IN where they are very popular with the Notre Dame fans. Check out their site at http://www.southbendbarnabys.com/. It's good to know there are still fans of this great pizza around.

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