Wooden Paddle

"I not sure what I was expecting eating here but whatever it was, it was surpassed. The toppings were very plentiful and tasty. I loved the crumbled sausage. The outer crust was perfect. A little crisp and sooo soft inside. The only thing I would get done differently is maybe a few more minutes in the oven to crisp up the bottom a bit. Had a gooey butter cake for dessert. Wow it was good. I’ll eat here again."

"The interesting thing about doing these reviews is that is that I’ll get way more review views on my Google Maps vs Yelp. My Yelp reviews just get pushed down more whereas my Google will stay towards the top. With that said, I’m sure my loyal followers/readers will find this particular information useful. Before going to Wooden Paddle, make sure you sign up for their Pie Society. They only ask you a few questions. No biggie. Once you get to the end, they’ll send you some offers to use while you’re in store. These offers are for free pizza, pasta, snack, or dessert. Yes you read that right. You can only use one per visit, one per table, and it’s dine-in only. Just a quick FYI, the executive chef Patrick Cassata was on Hell’s Kitchen. I believe it was season 10. Parking is tricky. However, if you go on a weeknight then you should be able to find some street parking as well as the free parking lot that’s like a block away. It’s like a 2-3 min walk. We didn’t need a reservation since we went on a Wed night close to 8 pm. The interior was trendy and stylish, even the bathrooms were colorful. Service was great. We ordered squash ricotta toast, duck around and find out pizza, smoke + ‘shrooms pizza, and ooey gooey butter cake. I would come back. I didn’t have any burnt pizzas, cold food items, etc. Overall my experience was 4.5 but I’ll round it to 5 on the scale. -squash ricotta toast 4 - the size was bigger than I thought, that’s a good thing. Toast was soft and crispy. The butternut squash I wanted it to have a more prominent taste than subtle. I definitely tasted the herbed ricotta. -duck around and find out pizza 5 - I love duck. I was surprised to see this on a pizza. It worked well. Duck was very tender and not dry. Along with the sauce, cheese, and caramelized onions, it was a fantastic combo. -smoke + ‘shrooms pizza 5 - you can’t miss the truffle smell. The cheese, thyme, mushrooms, and black truffle purée made the pizza super flavorsome and mouth watering. I would easily order this again. -ooey gooey butter cake 5 - very good dessert. It was my first time eating something like this. It wasn’t too sweet or too sour. It was a good harmony."

"Wonderful afternoon! The craft cocktails are incredible. The food was so decadent, I almost shed a tear! Service was so personable, and we felt right at home. You must try the mushroom pasta - the mushrooms are sourced right in Lemont!!! You can also get pizza dough to go and make your own!!! I will return!"

"Wooden Paddle is a very quaint and pleasant atmospheric place... Like home! The Chef is well if you watched a certain food show, you have seen him he is also I nice guy! The food is absolutely amazing!! If you ever need a caterer please go here and see Nicole, she is the best!!!"

"This place genuinely exceeded my expectations. Please give this place a try if you haven't yet! Support local business... encourage our few, courageous and local creative friends to continue building new concepts. The pizza crust is excellent with the perfect amount of chewiness with a crispy exterior. The toppings are creative but I did find some of the offerings to lean a bit too far towards the sweet side. The squash and ricotta toast was also nice. The squash was excellently prepared and very creamy. A minor note- I would have preferred the toast to be a little thinner and toasted a bit more to enhance the textural experience. Recognizing that the menu has recently been updated I am sure things are still getting dialed in. Service was also good, although it was obvious to me that the team was still getting used to the menu edits mentioned above. I'm happy to say that I'll keep this place on my short-list for date nights and small groups."