LTH North Lunch Group - Wells Brothers - 1/14 - Noon

Securing my position as Esteemed Coordinator into 2017, I'm taking the initiative and setting up a Saturday Special Edition of the LTH North Lunch Group for January. We had a blast at Wells Brothers at the GNR lunch back in '15. It's time for another visit. Please join us on the 14th. As always, bring a friend.

Wells Brothers Restaurant
2148 Mead St.
Racine, Wisconsin 53403
262-632-4408
http://www.wellsbrosracine.com/index.php

Dave148 - Esteemed Coordinator (still) LTH North Lunch Group
Merle
zoid
jnm123 (newby)
Cathy2
Katie
JennyIL
Mom
jeffs
Rene G
EddieK (who knew?)
Ray

Looking forward to it!

Never been to Wells. I's in.

I am in, too.

Will we skip December?

Cathy2 wrote:I am in, too.

Will we skip December?

12/21, Los Mogotes De Michoacan

=R=

A bit of pizza nostalgia...

Everything about Wells Bros. looks like something I'd enjoy. Their pizza looks strikingly similar to what our family used to order when I was a kid growing up in Skokie--thin, crunchy, plenty of sausage, maybe a tad greasy, but in a good way.

Ordering a pizza on a Friday night was a big thing at our house because with four boys within 5 years of each other we rarely dined out--if so, it was for Burger King 'Whalers' during Lent. But, we'd order pizza either from Biasetti's on Touhy, or Pinocchio on Main in Skokie. Both were awesome.

Never had Uno's or Due's downtown, although my dad used to take out-of-town clients there and talked about it--that's about as close as I came. It wasn't until the original Lou Malnati's in Lincolnwood opened in (I want to say) 1972 that I tried deep-dish--and I remember walking there because I was too young to drive.

This should be good!

Count me in too, please.

jnm123 wrote:A bit of pizza nostalgia...

Everything about Wells Bros. looks like something I'd enjoy. Their pizza looks strikingly similar to what our family used to order when I was a kid growing up in Skokie--thin, crunchy, plenty of sausage, maybe a tad greasy, but in a good way.

Ordering a pizza on a Friday night was a big thing at our house because with four boys within 5 years of each other we rarely dined out--if so, it was for Burger King 'Whalers' during Lent. But, we'd order pizza either from Biasetti's on Touhy, or Pinocchio on Main in Skokie. Both were awesome.

Never had Uno's or Due's downtown, although my dad used to take out-of-town clients there and talked about it--that's about as close as I came. It wasn't until the original Lou Malnati's in Lincolnwood opened in (I want to say) 1972 that I tried deep-dish--and I remember walking there because I was too young to drive.

This should be good!

It will be great and you'll love it. Wells Brothers is one of the best thin crust pizzas anywhere. It does have an old school vibe to it with a bar loaded with regulars. I always get a sausage pizza well done. I will definitely consider going to this one, but can't commit at this time.

Your memory is pretty good. Malnati's opened St. Patrick's Day 1971. I grew up in Skokie until 7 years old, but I had much older siblings (if you went to Niles North in 70's you might know one of them), but the main pizza we ordered in was Eastern Style on Dempster. We did get Barnaby's if we went out and my Dad always spoke of Marie's, but never took me there until I was older.

That's another place I need to try--Marie's. There are threads pertaining to this kind of thing, but the fact remains that there only used to be one style of pizza--thin, done like Wells Bros. or Marie's or the ones I mentioned.

I was at Niles East in the '70's--they closed 5 years after I left, but I took summer school up at North, at the height of my doughnut-stealing-by-diversionary-tactics in the hallway of that school during the breaks.

I plan on coming. Jenny

Dave148 wrote:...setting up a Saturday Special Edition of the LTH North Lunch Group....

not able to make it this Saturday but really hoping there will be other Saturday or weekend/weeknight events.

Due to family issues, I am definite maybe for Saturday. Will let you know.

Hi,

I am very likely coming with my Mom. She is notorious for declining at the last moment, so there is a chance she will not.

Regards,
Cathy2

There's a reservation under Dave. See y'all tomorrow!

Is there room for one more?

And yet another?

There's room for both of you and our reservation has been updated.

I'll be there

Back to a 'go', see youse up there!

Make room for two more. I'll be there plus 1. My friend Ray will ride with me.

Let's all remember to be careful. This is the time of year many of the natives adorn their bodies in the colors of mustard and relish. They can be very unpredictable.

I will call Wells Brothers after 11 to update our reservation....again.

FYI - No Mom this time.

Cathy2

I am sorry that I am no longer going to be able to come. I slipped on the ice on Thursday and my back still hurts too much to drive up there and back.

JennyIL

JennyIL wrote:I am sorry that I am no longer going to be able to come. I slipped on the ice on Thursday and my back still hurts too much to drive up there and back.

JennyIL

Sorry that you can't make it.

In the winter of this group's discontent, this would-a, should-a been the day. The day, whilst out of state, that the overthrow was completed. He could-a been dumped into Lake Michigan with the rest of the off-grade cheese curds.

But, alas, this pick of Wells Bros. was the stuff of kings.



A lively crowd, including EddieK's boyhood pal Ray, dispensed with any thoughts of a coup d'etat and hunkered down with a wonderful 1970's-style antipasto, at Rene's request, in the requisite family-style opaque plastic bowl.

And then there was the pizza, baked well-done as suggested. I've waxed nostalgic upthread about an old 1960's favorite in Lincolnwood, Biasetti's, that featured sprinkles of cornmeal on the bottom of the crust. This pizza had it. Its crust was cracker-thin but importantly didn't break like a cracker--it had some give, a major key to its enjoyment. The sauce was slightly sweet, the sausage was just fennel-y enough, the green pepper randomly cut, bright green and very crisp. A magnificent pie, washed down with a fresh Spotted Cow on tap from New Glarus Brewery.

The neighborhood looks fine--a little dilapidated, but not foreboding enough to scare anybody away. I'll be back soon, with future converts.

And Dave, enjoy your month of reprieve...

Echoing Jay's comments, it was a great lunch today. Great food and non-food related conversation over the two hour plus gathering. I hope Cathy's doggie bag survived the trip home.

Sadly, it was reiterated that my title remains on a month-to-month basis. I will trudge along.

HI,

The doggie bag of a few leftover anchovies made it home. Soon they will be added to a salad or cooked in a sauce.

There were three pizzas ordered:
- Sausage only
- Sausage and green pepper
- Sausage, pepperoni and and green pepper

The sausage-only remained crispy to the end. Those with the green pepper had a softer crust, which may be related to the green pepper's presence.

If you wish for the crisp texture, you may want to keep peppers (and other vegetables) off your pizza.

Considering I suggested having the monthly pizza special of Italian Beef, I am glad nobody else agreed. It would probably end up a softer crust than crispy.

It was a terrific lunch! Nobody had any demands on their time to leave, so we lingered!

Thanks, Dave148 for this great destination dining!

Regards,
CAthy2

Great road trip yesterday, to a fantastic place called "Wisconsin"!

For one day at least, the winter of our discontent was made glorious summer.

Pizza at Wells Brothers (est. 1921), a stop at Woodman's (the cheese aisle alone ), and souvenir New Glarus Spotted Cow.

I was surprised how busy Wells Brothers was for lunch on Saturday. Apparently it's the place to be! Nonetheless, the service was quick (I couldn't help wondering how much cubic footage of pizza oven they had back there), efficient, and patient with us. Thanks to our Esteemed Coordinator for making the arrangements.

I thought all three pizzas were great, but I mostly ate the one with all three toppings. Vegetable pizza toppings can make the pizza too watery, but the kitchen kept the green pepper chopped small and dry. I also would not have bothered to ordered the crust well done, but I'm glad someone did; it was perfect. I would gladly make the drive to share pizza at Wells Brothers again.

Thanks to ReneG for recommending the antipasto salad -- another thing I wouldn't have thought of ---which we polished off enthusiastically.

Thanks also to Ray for sharing his anchovies and his tiramisu --- not together, of course. I liked the tiramisu, never having had tiramisu before and thus having nothing to compare it to, but Eddie says I have to try it at Maggiano's to know what tiramisu is supposed to be like, so okay, challange accepted! Meet me there!

I also enjoyed a weekend lunch get-together for a change, which allowed more relaxed time for us all to talk --- about everything from Hodgson Mill in Effingham to bookstores in Hyde Park to the Gailtacht to how to relax and enjoy a trip to Rome and talk with the locals.

I looked all over for some indication that Wells Brothers is an LTH GNR but didn't find any. The walls are covered with framed pictures and awards, so I might have missed it. I didn't want to tip our hand by bringing it up with the management.

Looking forward to the next LTH North lunch group meeting, to gather together to research the best food in Lake County and --- as the Irish would say --- talk a little treason.

Katie wrote:I looked all over for some indication that Wells Brothers is an LTH GNR but didn't find any. The walls are covered with framed pictures and awards, so I might have missed it. I didn't want to tip our hand by bringing it up with the management.

Just to follow up, I tried posting an inquiry about this on Wells Brothers' Facebook page, but that was a wierd thing I'd never encountered before. Only the company's posts appear on the FB page; the posts of visitors, such as mine, are shunted off to the side --- where, I presume, they don't get seen unless someone goes looking for them.

Katie wrote:Thanks to ReneG for recommending the antipasto salad -- another thing I wouldn't have thought of ---which we polished off enthusiastically.

Here are a couple of file pictures showing said antipasto salad from 2015. Hopefully they still look the same (I'm sure they do. Nothing changes at Wells Bros):

Katie wrote:I looked all over for some indication that Wells Brothers is an LTH GNR but didn't find any. The walls are covered with framed pictures and awards, so I might have missed it. I didn't want to tip our hand by bringing it up with the management.

Wells Bros. Accepting Their GNR Certificate