East of Chicago — Restaurant in Warren

After a long day of traveling, we found ourselves on a stretch of interstate with few options. Scanning Google maps for any upcoming options, my son find East of Chicago 17 miles away. Reviews looked promising, but ya never know what you're gonna get in random small towns. Upon turning off the interstate, we were initially worried. We didn't see much of anything. A few miles down a lonely stretch, a darling little town suddenly came into view. As we pulled into the lot for East of Chicago, we admired the quaintness of a cozy small town, complete with beautiful murals on the sides of really old buildings.

We hit at an off time... no longer lunch, but not quite dinner either. So there was no buffet but we were ok with that. They were changing out server shifts, so we had to wait just a few minutes, but didn't mind since we showed up at 3 in the afternoon. We were the only ones in the place. It had nice atmosphere. Lots of local photos from over the years. This place was so clean. Including the restrooms which were cutely decorated and had updated working soap and paper towel dispensers. Absolutely Immaculate.

Our server was an absolute gem. I wish I had gotten her name. The ticket says Tia, but they didn't wear nametags so I'm not sure if that was her or not. She was very helpful with our decision on what to order. She knew the product well. She had a very upbeat personality and was very outgoing. She gave a perfect balance of conversation, checking on us, and leaving us alone for appropriate lengths of time to enjoy our food and have our own conversations. I could tell she was proud of the work she did and often connects with her customers. She even helped direct us to the local dollar store to buy a phone charger and wished us well in our travels. Such a friendly lady.

The food was beyond delicious! We started with the parmPops.... omg, easily the best "appetizer/side from a pizza place" we have ever had. Maybe even ANY type of restaurant! These little parm encrusted bowtie shaped bites of heaven were better than any other breadstick, cheese stick, etc we have ever had. Light and fluffy on the inside, with a delicate crispness to the outside. Excellent flavor. Paired perfectly with the marinara. The pizzas were incredible. Same light/fluffy/crisp as the parm bites. Beautifully topped. Excellent flavor on the cheese. Several innovative options on the menu. My kids opted for classic pepperoni on pan crust. I went with the taco pizza on pan, which far exceeded my expectations. Instead of pizza sauce, they used salsa, then added taco meat, then topped with cheese and baked. When baked, they added fresh lettuce, tomato, olives, shredded cheese, and sour cream. It was like a taco salad on top of a pizza! It was incredible!

Our only regret was that we live 4 hours away and won't be able to visit often. 10/10, would...

This location only gets 2 stars simply because there aren't many East of Chicago pizza joints left to visit! Anymore I watch them all shut down and that's to bad! They are the only ones with their unique subs and little appetizers plus MY ULTIMATE FAVORITE PIZZA... PEANUT BUTTER AND JELLY! You might think that sounds awful but imagine a TOASTED peanut butter and jelly sandwich! Simply perfection! And NO IT DOES NOT HAVE PIZZA SAUCE!!! It's simply crust peanut butter and jelly! It truly is worth trying you never know until you do! But back to this location, 9 out of 10 employees are rude, inconsiderate, pushy (bigger tip needing to be left), expecting, etc.... maybe because we live in a very very small town so they feel like this is the only way to make their money! I honestly don't know why but it's a major hindrance of my interaction/ association/ appearance of this particular store! I think this was the first time i've eaten there in over 3 years simply because of the staff! The judge you as you enter and if you look like money then you get treated properly but if you don't look like stock then you get rushed the whole time and look down upon and all of that is not okay with me! My money spends just like the well stocked customers so it shouldn't matter! The place is an even not good not great atmosphere... always seems dirty tho I do LOVE the vintage town signs and artifacts! Way to be original and unique and honestly that alone should draw you into this location once in your life! I found it very interesting and yet im not a lover of history so that should say allot! Also wait times for delivery, in dining, or buffet seem kind of extreme and kind of inappropriate but that's my opinion. Other than dirty (NEEDS A COMPLETE HEAD TO TOE DEEP CLEANING FYI) , rude inconsiderate employees, and timing I think everything else is either good or great!!!

What's everyone else's opinion on the East of Chicago PEANUT BUTTER and...

Placed my order at 3:40pm. Was told the driver wouldnt be in till 4pm and the order would be to me as soon as possible, which was fine. I called at 5:30pm to inquire as to where my order was at since it had not arrived yet. the person on the phone sounded disinterested and almost annoyed that i was calling. I inquired about my order and it was at this time that i was told i was missinformed and the driver didnt arrive until after 5pm. when i asked why i was not informed about this the person asked if i wanted to speak to a manager, to which i said yes. she did not put me on hold while getting the manager and i overheard her saying something to the affect of me "going off on her". I told the manager that all that did was make me more upset that i heard her say that. I repeated my original inquiry and asked what happened. The manager informed me again that i was missinformed by the person who had originally taken my order. when i aksed why i wasnt notified about this when the mistake was discovered so that i could make approriate changes to my plans i was not given an answer. After trying for a few more minutes to get more information about what had happened, i ended up just making sure my order was going to be hot when it arrived and hung up. the manager made no attempt at all before this to try to rectify the situation beyond simply stating that i was misinformed and it would be at my house shortly. all in all i waited over 2 hours for an order that was quoted to be at my house within 1 and the manager did nothing to make me feel like they were sorry for making me wait an extra hour for my meal. I got my food (thankfully it was hot), tipped the driver, and sent him on his way. its the only place that delivers in my area, so i will probably end up going back to them again, but it will most likely be a long while...