Tuesday, July 27, 2010
When the Going gets Tough
Like clockwork, Mother Nature rocked the Chicagoland area with heavy storms and severe flooding this past weekend. Along with water, we were given rude awakening to the fact that nature is completely out of our control. We have control over many aspects of our lives; the vehicles we drive, the food we eat, the activities we participate in, the friends we have. The only things that really remain out of our league are time and weather. We can't control how many minutes are in the day but we can decide what to do with the time we're given. We cannot stop the sky from raining, but we can seek shelter and ride it out. Driving down the road the other day was a very humbling experience. Families that worked relentlessly to create a home that would be comfortable saw their hard work dragged out to the curb, soaking wet. It really makes you stop and think about what we treasure and what holds value for us. Things will always be things - they can hold memories and remind us of a certain time in our life, but at the end of the day, they are still just things. What matters are the people in our lives that end up working by our side to help clean up and organize what nature tried to destroy. There was a lot of sweat and a lot of tears this weekend as those affected by the storms tried to pick up the pieces and put their houses back together and regain control. It's like they say, "when the going gets tough, the tough get going."
Posted By Lou Malnati's At 9:23 AM •
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Hometown Tour Guide
Summer is a time to get away from your roots and explore a little, right? If you live in or have ever relocated to Chicago and have friends across the US, they always seem to make Chicago their summer destination - and your home. When that happens, you're scrambling around trying to plan some stuff for you to do together that won't break the bank. To get you going and to help you give your guests a memorable taste of Chicago (aside from treating them to some Lou Malnati's deep-dish pizza), check out these city landmarks and events... best of all? They're free!

  • Movies in the Park: Presented by the Chicago Park District, there are free movies almost every night throughout the summer. Not only does it introduce you to a new part of the city, but you'll also be able to spend some quality time with whoever comes with you.
  • Chicago SummerDance Festival: Located in Grant Park, this festival is definitely worth it! Thursday-Saturday every week throughout the summer, this festival will fill your soul with music that makes you want to dance! They also provide some instruction so you're not left out if you don't know the moves.
  • Art Institute Chicago: Free on Thursday evenings, 5-8pm
  • Chicago Children's Museum at Navy Pier: Free to everyone every Thursday evening, 5-8pm; free for kids 15 and under the first Sunday of every month
  • Chicago History Museum: Every Monday, 9:30am-4:30pm
  • Museum of Contemporary Art: Tuesdays, 10am-8pm
  • The Field Museum: Every second Monday of the month. Summer days remaining are: August 9th and 24th.
  • Lincoln Park Zoo: Free and open to the public everyday!
  • Museum of Science and Industry: Remaining summer free day is August 30
  • National Museum of Mexican Art: Free Tuesday-Sunday (closed Mondays)!
  • Chicago Air & Water Show: August 14-15, featuring US Navy Blue Angels, US Army Parachute Team Golden Knights, US Navy Parachute Team Leap Frogs, and much much more!  This show is bound to rock the lakefront!

There's nothing better than getting together with friends and family and sharing a new experience. We love when fans and customers share their stories with us - whether it's when they introduced their loved one to our pizza or a great experience at one of our restaurants... we love it. Without devoted fans like that, Lou Malnati's wouldn't be where it is today!
Posted By Lou Malnati's At 9:53 AM •
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Start Your Engines!
Have you ever stopped to think just how many sports involve racing of some sort?  Racing, as defined by Wikipedia, "is a competition of speed, against an objective criterion, usually a clock or to a specific point.  The competitors in a race try to complete a given task in the shortest amount of time."  Racing in Chicago is ubiquitous.  Year round, there are 5k runs, half marathons, NASCAR, IndyCar, boat races, bike races... all types!  While NASCAR was in the Chicagoland earlier this month, Kids Wish Network granted a boy his wish of meeting NASCAR driver, Tony Stewart.  With the help of his wish coordinator, Tyler also got a taste of some good ol' Chicago deep-dish pizza from Lou Malnati's.

Tyler and Tony Stewart.jpg
Picture courtesy of Bleacher Report

In June, the National Hot Rod Association made its way to Chicago for a weekend full of speed.  Along the way, Toyota Racing Top Fuel drivers Morgan Lucas and Antron Brown visited Lou Malnati's to get a first-hand look at how we create our delicious deep-dish and to taste-test it themselves.



Don't get us wrong, we love football, baseball, basketball, hockey - but there's something about racing that gets your blood pumping and makes you anxious about who will cross the finish line first.
Posted By Lou Malnati's At 9:50 AM •
Friday, July 16, 2010
Our Kind of Town
We get a lot of questions about opening up locations in different states and even overseas.  Flattered as we are, we like to stick close to our Chicago roots because, well, Chicago is pretty darn amazing.  New York may be the city that never sleeps, but Chicago is the city that never stops evolving.  There are so many things to love and so many places to explore within and around the city limits that we can’t imagine being anywhere else.  Don’t get us wrong, we love our outta-town fans and strive to offer them the same great deep-dish through our mail-order catalog as they get here because, frankly, we understand that it was love at first bite. However, Chicago is our kinda town.  From the street festivals to the concerts to the beaches… we have it all.  Not only do we get to experience sizzling summers but we also get pushed around by Old Man Winter and we like it that way.

Right now, Chicago is playing host to Transformers 3.  The directors have turned our Magnificent Mile into its own playground complete with signs that warn pedestrians of “filming involving gunfire and explosions ahead – do not be alarmed”.  They might also want to mention not to be alarmed by Optimus Prime roaring around the Sears Tower (sorry Willis, if you’ve grown up here, it’s hard to call it Willis Tower).  T3 is said to make Chicago its home for the next four weeks and then pack it up and head on to DC.
Transformers 3 - Bumblebee.jpg  Transformers 3 - Shia LaBeouf.jpg
Photo's courtesy of ChicagoTribune.com

Along with being entertained by Autobots and Decepticons running after each other, there are also some fun festivals that are being offered to Chicagoans this weekend.  There are movies in parks scattered throughout Chicago neighborhoods, the Windy City Ribfest in Uptown, the Edgewater Arts Festival, the Taste of River North, Chicago SummerDance Festival… there’s lots to do and tons to see!  Get out there and enjoy your weekend!!  You know where to stop when you get hungry ;-).
Posted By Lou Malnati's At 12:51 PM •
Monday, July 12, 2010
Giada Loves Lou's!
Lou Malnati's Executive Chef, Jim Freeland, caught up with Food Network chef Giada De Laurentiis at this year's Taste of Chicago.  The "Everyday Italian" star said she really enjoyed our deep dish pizza at the Taste this year and we couldn't be happier!  Giada has an impressive background of culinary training and a unique personable charm that we absolutely love.  What can we say - she's got great taste!
Giada 013.JPG  Giada 014.JPG
Posted By Lou Malnati's At 11:51 AM •
Thursday, July 08, 2010
Dog Days of Summer!
What do the Taste of Chicago, Eric Clapton, and Porsches all have in common? Lou Malnati’s! Summer is in full swing and Lou’s has been all over the event map. From catering to musicians at Eric Clapton’s Crossroads Guitar Festival to welcoming the Porsche Club of America to Chicago for their annual Parade, we’ve been having a blast!

Lou Malnati’s was on the scene at Toyota Park, Saturday, June 26, for the Crossroads Guitar Festival serving our delicious deep dish pizza to Eric Clapton, BB King, Buddy Guy, John Mayer, Sheryl Crow, Vince Gill, ZZ Top and other legendary guitarists, musical artists, and their families. Lou Malnati’s first catered to the Crossroads musicians in 2008 and, after liking the food so much the first time around, Eric Clapton asked us to come back a second time. An opening BBQ was in order for the rehearsal session followed by a mini Taste of Chicago spread on the day of the Festival. All deep dish pizzas were made fresh on site – would you expect anything less from us?

In addition to serving Eric Clapton and his musical guests, we also served VIP guests in the American Express tent with the help of Chef Grant McPhearson, Head Chef at Sandy Lanes Hotel in Barbados. Working together, the Lou’s team and Chef McPhearson provided all VIP guests with unique mouth-watering cuisine and, of course, fresh deep dish pizzas right out of the oven!

Before wrapping everything up at the end of the day, Mr. Clapton requested we cook up one final batch of pizzas for him to take on the road. How could we turn him down?! He was as excited to have us at the festival as we were about participating!

From June 25 to July 4, Lou Malnati’s set up shop at the Taste of Chicago in booth #32. Each pizza sliced and served was handmade on-site and cooked in one of the 24 pizza ovens we had set up. Alongside our traditional deep dish pizza, we also served our delicious bruschetta and Malnati salad. After serving up over 60,000 slices of cheese and sausage pizza, we felt we were ready to take on the Porsche Club of America’s Annual Porsche Parade welcoming party.

The Porsche Club of America’s Annual Porsche Parade was held in St. Charles this year and Lou Malnati’s was on hand to provide some Chicago-style tastes. Held at the DuPage Airport alongside vintage Porsches and antique aircrafts, we offered a mini Taste of Chicago menu for the Club members to give them a special Chicago welcoming. Nothing says Chicago like deep dish pizza from Lou Malnati’s! Parade is the Porsche Club’s annual national convention and their biggest event of the year. In line with this year’s theme, Cars, Planes and Kids, proceeds from the silent and live auctions benefited the Hope Children’s Hospital, a large cardiac children’s center right here in the Midwest.

Our summer doesn’t stop here though. Lou’s is headed to Lollapalooza the first weekend in August! Oh, how we love the dog-days of summer!
Posted By Lou Malnati's At 2:29 PM •

 
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