(Authors note: After fishing today I thought I'd take a chance and visit the Barnaby's across from United Airlines HQ. Here's an encore blog about that). 

My childhood memories of something happening every week might have actually happened more than two weeks consecutively. With that said, every Friday night my family would make the trip to Barnaby’s at around 6:30ish. We’d get our pitcher of root beer and order our cheese and sausage pizza. Sometimes, as the rest of the family would retire to a wooden booth against a crooked brick wall, I’d linger by the pizza-maker’s window. I’d watch him toss and shape the dough and spread on the toppings, hoping that I just witnessed the beginning of our pizza. I don’t remember Mr. Pizza Maker ever wearing the latex gloves while handling the delicacy and that was okay with me.

 Just as we polished off three quarters of our pitcher and dad chugged the last bit of his beer mug, the deepest voice I had ever heard (up until then) would call off the number stamped on our piece of plastic and say, “you pizza order’s ready”. I always assumed he was a moonlighting radio dj, but I never confirmed that. Dad would pick up the pie and I’d tried to grab one of the littlest triangle pieces followed by a square. I have never since experienced any pizza that tasted quite like Barnaby’s. Maybe it’s the fact that one looses taste buds with age or perhaps nobody has tried to replicate this taste.

 There are still three Barnaby’s operating in the ‘burbs ofChicago. You can see the Des Planes location if you’re on I-90 and peak towards United Airline’s headquarters. Barnaby’s of Schaumberg is onGolf Roadand has the best website. I’ve always wanted to road trip there just to order a pie, but I’m worried about the experience not living up to my filtered childhood memory.