Plainfield's Big Pauly's: This Is Special Pizza

PLAINFIELD, IL - Over the past few months, I've had a chance to critique a number of Joliet area restaurants. But until now, I hadn't produced any pizza restaurant reviews. Don't get me wrong: I love Cemeno's and the Aurelio's Pizza on West Jefferson Street. It's just not my preference to write restaurant reviews on places that are already local landmarks.

And that's why I ended up in Plainfield. I wanted to find a pizza restaurant I hadn't tried yet. So that's what brought me to Big Pauly's Wood Fired Pizza. It's in the Old Plainfield Plaza, which is now anchored by the Peter Rubi produce store.

Big Pauly's is owned and managed by Paul and Christine Horwath. Big Pauly's motto is "Family + Neighborhood + Tradition." An interesting local connection: Paul and I both graduated in the Plainfield High School Class of 1991, in the aftermath of the Plainfield Tornado of Aug. 28, 1990, but we hadn't met face to face in years until I dropped by last week without advanced notice.

The Horwaths opened the new Plainfield pizza restaurant on Nov. 24, 2017. They wanted Big Pauly's to be special, to be unique, to be different from other pizza parlors.

Their menu explains the origin of the Old World Brick Oven Pizza: "Hand-crafted and baked over 800 degrees, your pizza enters our wood-burning oven and gets gently kissed by a roaring fire. The faster bake time and even distribution of heat enhances the flavor of the ingredients ..."

And there's the dough.

"I use a different flour," Paul Horwath told Patch. "This one, you get a crunch but a chew too."

"I started playing around with wood fire about 15 years ago," he told Patch. "I love to be around the fire."

But why wood-fired pizza, Patch asked.

"It brings you back to how food was cooked a long, long time ago," he remarked. "It adds a bit of a smoky flavor but it's gently kissed."

Having grown up in Plainfield, Horwath decided in recent years that he wanted to operate his own pizza restaurant, and it made perfect sense to be centrally located in Plainfield.

Being on Route 59, he draws in customers from Shorewood, Minooka and the Joliet area. Big Pauly's offers dine-in and carryout and some catering.

"We've got a couple of doctors over by St. Joe's hospital that really love us," he said, referring to the catering business.

"We want to be known as the neighborhood pizza place," he told Patch. "We want people to feel like they're a part of the family. Most families, nowadays, don't spend enough time together."

It's also vital for Big Pauly's to be a big part of the community, Horwath said. His restaurant has sponsored several youth sports teams and also has partnered with Plainfield's Public Library to host a monthly bingo game for senior citizens at the restaurant on Thursdays.

There's also a Salvation Army giving tree displayed at the front of the restaurant.

Joliet Patch put Horwath on the spot: would he ever consider opening a second location, perhaps in Joliet?

"We would have to get this place spinning like a top," he said. "I think if we did expand, we would want to be at least six to ten miles away from here. Channahon would be good."

Other options, he said, may include the future Rock Run Crossing mega development that is planned near Interstate 80 and I-55.

But, Horwath said, "you can't grow too fast."

The great thing about Big Pauly's is that there's a huge menu selection, and there's also different pricing options. You can find several items on the lunch menu for $4.99.

The number of specialty pizzas is plentiful. Among them:

St. Rocco, The Butcher, Old World Margherita, Smokin' Pauly, Pizza Alla Vodka and Pizza Primo.

You can also build your own pizza.

During my visit to Big Pauly's, I ordered a side of garlic knots plus a small cheese and sausage pizza. And both were excellent. I highly recommend you add Big Pauly's to your list of local pizza dine-in destinations. The restaurant is at 15412 South Route 59. The phone number is 815-267-6155.

To check out everything on the menu, visit the website for Big Pauly's Wood-Fired Pizza.

All images via John Ferak/Joliet Patch Editor