Erbelli’s Gourmet Pizza (Oshtemo Township)
The Southport Summer Classic figure skating competition at the Pleasant Prairie Rec Plex in Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin always takes place on Father’s Day weekend.
We typically leave on Wednesday and get back sometime Saturday evening. By the time we get home, I usually have a lot of stuff to do on Sunday so I just kind of ignore the whole Father’s Day thing.
J always asks where I want to go out to eat but we just spent a ton of money over the last several days out of town so I just say I don’t want to go anywhere unless there is some new restaurant I really want to go to…but that wasn’t the case this year.
I spent my Sunday mowing, cleaning up the yard, and grocery shopping. When I got home from the store, I’m pretty sure everyone was taking a nap. It was around 4:30 and I hadn’t eaten yet. Since it was Father’s Day, I just made the executive decision to order a pizza from one of my favorite pizza places that we almost never order from.
Erbelli’s Gourmet Pizza has two locations in the Kalamazoo area. One is on Portage Road in the southern part of the City of Portage. The other one is right down the street from us in Oshtemo Township on Stadium Drive just north of Sunset Road. The restaurant is in a small shopping center and it takes up several store fronts in the building. It’s easy to spot in the building because all the windows are covered by graphics which help set the mood inside the dining room.
The first time we had Erbelli’s pizza was in 201`1 right after we moved to Oshtemo Township. We did the lunch buffet that day which is still a thing but we also haven’t done since then. We’ve ordered carryout sporadically over the years. We love the pizza but it is one of the more expensive pizza shops in town. It’s become more of a special treat than an every week thing just because we can’t spend that much money every week.
I didn’t ask anyone else what they wanted before I ordered because I didn’t know where anyone else was. I ordered two pizzas. One of them was 14″ a thin crust half pepperoni and half cheese. The other was a 12″ Disco Q which is easily one of my favorite pizzas in all of Kalamazoo. I also added on an order of 3 Cheese Dippers. The cost was a little over $62 and I kept that cost down by ordering smaller pizzas than I normally would have.
The Erbelli’s on Stadium Drive has a dedicated pickup window right as you walk in. There’s kind of a large waiting room area/carry out area in the first room which is divided off from the main dining room. The pickup window is in the back. There was no one in front of me so I got there and just gave the guy my name. I had already paid online so he grabbed my pizzas and I was heading back home in just a few minutes.
We almost always choose just to do carry-out from Erbelli’s because it’s so close to home but there actually is a really nice, large dining room with a large bar right in the middle. I didn’t go in to the dining room on this trip because I had no reason to and forgot to make up a reason to grab a picture so here’s one from Google showing what the room looks like
I got home and the small of pizza attracted everyone to the kitchen. I popped open the bigger of the two boxes which was the half pepperoni and half cheese 14″. We always do the thin crust because most of my family prefers it that way. I also have to do half and half because B won’t eat pepperoni, J prefers just cheese, and L won’t eat just cheese. Erbelli’s thin crust isn’t super thin but it is much thinner than their regular crust. The 14″ was actually the perfect size. When I went back later to box up leftovers, there was only one slice of cheese left in the box.
I ordered the 12″ Disco Q. This has been my favorite from Erbelli’s from years but again, cost has prevented me from ordering it as often as I would like. The pizza starts with a Cajun crust that is topped with Q It Up spicy wood grilled chicken, bleu cheese crumbles, mozzarella cheese, sharp cheddar cheese, and Romano cheese. The base is supposed to be a bleu cheese spread but I always change it back to pizza sauce. I love bleu cheese but there is more than enough bleu cheese in the crumbles added to the top. This pizza is amazing. By far one of the best specialty pizzas in the area. The Cajun dusting on the crust gives it a little bit of heat but the star is obviously the grilled chicken and the bleu cheese. I got this only in a 12″ because I knew I’d be the only one eating and, again, it’s a little pricey, so I had just enough for one meal. My brain was telling me to leave a couple of slices for later but I just couldn’t do it.
The one thing I actually did get two meals out of was the 3 Cheese Dippers. I love this appetizer and, honestly, could eat it as a main pizza meal. This thing starts with two 10in garlic buttered pizza crusts. There is a ton of mozzarella cheese, cheddar cheese, and Parmesan cheese then stuffed between the two crusts. The bread comes with a large cup of marinara sauce to dip in. I can’t even begin to tell you how cheesy and delicious these things are. This always used to be a staple when we ordered Erbelli’s and I was craving them as much as I was craving the Disco Q. Everyone was pretty full on pizza so these at least made it to the next morning so I had a couple for breakfast.
I’ve mentioned price more than once in this blog but let me explain. When you order a $5 pizza from Little Caesars, you get a $5 pizza. Erbelli’s pizza is worth the price because it tastes like a gourmet pizza. They’re absolutely delicious and I don’t think we’ve ever had anything but a spectacular meal from Erbelli’s. The unfortunate thing is, I can’t always afford a $60 meal with no leftovers. Usually, if we spend that much at a carry-out pizza joint, we get at least two if not three meals out of leftovers.
I love Erbelli’s and will always say it’s one of the best in Kalamazoo. It’s a special treat for us though but damn, do I look forward to it every time we decide it’s going to be an Erbelli’s night.
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