Pro Shop Pizza Co. — Restaurant in Jefferson Township

Pro Shop Pizza Co. is the restaurant I thought only existed in my wildest dreams. I was shocked when my wife told me about the mindful ingredients and cooking practices described on their website and social media accounts. "Seed-oil free, no synthetic preservatives or unnecessary additives, regenerative, sustainable, and pasture-raised ingredients, wooden cutting boards, stainless steel cookware, beef tallow for frying, reverse osmosis water, no silicone utensils used with hot food" WHAT?!?!?

All my friends know me as "the guy" who never wants to go out to eat. I don't trust restaurants to not cut corners/costs with inferior ingredients, and use unhealthy preparation methods and materials. I had to pull the Pro Shop site up on my phone and see it with my own eyes.

"Holy crap! What time do they open?" (it was late Sunday morning).

"4 p.m."

"Let's go there for dinner TONIGHT!"

I think she was shocked to hear these words. Food date nights have been impossible since I became a health nut. We spent the next 20 minutes looking at all of their social media pictures and planning our order. The excitement continued to build throughout the day at the thought of going out to a restaurant to eat pizza, burger, fries, and chips, and not having to compromise any of my high standards.

We happily made the 40 minute drive, arriving around 7:45. We were greeted by the bartender and quickly seated. My wife ordered a ginger soda and we rifled off the order we had been waiting all day to place; French onion dip and chips, wings with an extra order of ranch, the Playmaker burger, and a large Unnecessary Roughness pizza.

The french onion dip and chips came out a few minutes later. The beef tallow chips were absolutely incredible; my first time experiencing the perfect match that is tallow and taters . I had never dared to attempt the tedious process of making my own at home, despite always wanting to try. They compliment the sweet and creamy dip perfectly. We couldn't shove these things into our mouths fast enough.

Fortunately, the wings arrived right on the heels of us finishing up the dip. I'll start by saying they are brined. If you have never experienced how tender and juicy brining makes the chicken, be prepared to never go back once you do. Again, the tallow provided a marvelously crispy texture that was heavenly when dipped in their house-made ranch.

The Playmaker burger was next up. The first thing I noticed was the generous size, followed by the wonderful aroma of the brioche bun. The Fontina cheese was so creamy, and the huge 8 o.z. patty was perfectly juicy. The fries were just as the chips before them, crispy and full of rich tallow deliciousness. I can't believe tallow frying was once the standard, but it's now something only a small percentage of fast food patrons can experience. Ok, that's 3 for 3.

Out came our final entree, the Unnecessary Roughness pizza, which the server bragged was their best seller. Crumbled Italian sausage, pepperoni, homemade hot giardiniera, with habanero hot honey drizzled on top. It did not disappoint; cooked to absolute perfection. The well-done crispy slow-fermented sourdough crust is phenomenal. Being a life-long Chicago area resident, I've eaten my fair share of delicious pizzas, but this crust is in a class by its self. We intentionally ordered a large so we could bring some home for our teenager. I really wanted to try it cold the next day, but he scarfed it all down before I had the chance.

Let me close by saying Pro Shop Pizza Co. should be the standard, not the exception. They have found loyal customers in myself and my family, and I am excited to continue supporting their mission. I know that not everyone has such standards for their food, but I encourage you to give them a try whether you're accustomed to the clean eating lifestyle or not. I think you will be amazed at how good you will feel after eating the likes pizza, burgers, wings, chips, and fries. Say goodbye to the heavy lethargic food comas you've come to expect.

I can't...

I really wanted to give this place a fair chance. It replaced my absolute favorite pizzeria, and I went in with hopes that maybe they would be even half as good as Bije’s used to be. No.

My boyfriend and I ordered a medium sausage, onion and green pepper pizza and a side of fries.

The waitress talked about how amazing the fries were because they are fried in beef tallow. They were soggy and the tallow didn’t add any sort of flavor, which is odd because usually tallow fries are amazing.

The pizza was sub-par at best. The crust edges were decent, and the green pepper was nice and fresh. Occasionally there would be a whisper of fennel taste. But overall there was no flavor. It was an over priced frozen pizza.

The waitress was weird. That’s the only way I can explain it. She was friendly, but got inches from our faces to talk to us. She made my boyfriend really uncomfortable by whispering in his ear when he thanked her for something. The place was so empty and there were so many noticeable cameras that it felt creepy: like we were eating under a microscope.

I had been looking forward to this place opened for quite some time. But alas, I will...

I usually don’t leave bad reviews and always give places a second chance but here’s the honest review. Went with my lady, been coming here since it was Bijes and that was exactly perfect. Cheap food that made good. With the atmosphere of you’re local small town bar. But coming here made me rethink what they’re trying to do. There was a „party of 5” that had their kids running around. Not the restaurants fault. But no one else was there and it seemed like they had their food. So we ordered appetizers that tasted very good, but read the little sign basically saying they will be more expensive than most places since they use „fresh ingredients” but it took them an hour to bring us bread w tomato’s and cheese. No biggie they said they were busy with the „party”. But no one else was there. We then ordered pizza and waited 2 hours for a small pizza that was wayyyy too drippy in grease. And it ended up almost being 100$ for a drink, small, pizza and 1 appetizer. It’s a great local place to just stop at. But not worth paying 100$ for poor quality food. And for them put a sign up that basically says get ready you’re going to overpay. Makes it...