Alfano's Pizza 2700 11th Street, Rock Island, IL 61201

"This is the best pizza in the Quad Cities! Alfanos stuffed pie is better than anything I've tried in Chicagoland. The calzones are huge in stature and flavor. This is one of the only places I'll drive across the bridge for."

"Lifelong resident of the Quad Cities… we finally tried tried Alfano’s tonight. I was met by a pleasant voice on the phone and again in person picking up. The staff seemed to be working as a team to create the pizzas for each order. We tried the “regular crust” - one with sausage and pepperoni, and one with half cheese/half sausage. The pizza was still hot at our house 20 minutes later, and we found it to be very tasty and of great quality. See you again soon!"

"The best pizza around! I grew up outside Chicago, and this tavern style is the best you will find within a 100 mile radius - no question."

"I was in the area for a high school football game and wanted a little dose of nostalgia and eat at one of my favorite restaurants from when I went to Augustana two decades ago, but when I looked them up, they were either closed or “under new management.” I did a search for Rock Island restaurants and Alfano’s was the first one to catch my eye. There were a few different Alfano’s near where I grew up but my favorite was Joe’s (Alfano) in Ladd. This was the place where I fell in love with pizza. Even though I moved away two decades ago, and Joe’s has been closed almost as long, it’s always been my gold standard as far as pizza was concerned. When I was in college, I was completely unaware of the existence of the Alfano’s of Rock Island, maybe because it was on the other side of town. I decided to give it a try on the possibility that the owners might be related to the ones I grew up with and the pizza would be similar. When I got there I was a little wary because clearly the neighborhood had seen better days. I didn’t know where to park but I pulled into a lot in front of an abandoned something or other building. However, as soon as I opened my car door, I could smell the pizza cooking (the same smell I had forgotten that I remembered outside of Joe’s) and I knew I would not regret my choice. I asked the friendly cashier inside if the owners were related to the Alfanos in Ladd and Spring Valley, and she said they were cousins. Upon asking this, several in the back busy with the pizzas looked up at me for a moment and then returned to work, dedicated to their craft. I might have imagined it, but a few held a faint resemblance to the Alfanos I had known. There are some decent pizza places where I’ve moved, but the toppings on their popular pizzas tend to be as pretentious as the decor in their restaurants and as pretentious as their clientele. However, there was nothing pretentious about the simple, perfectly crafted pizza that came out. When I bit into it, I had a “critic in the movie Ratatouille” moment, being transported to my childhood in Joe’s cozy Main Street restaurant, hanging out with my Ladd Elementary friends, eating pizza off a paper plate, ice cold Coke in hand, listening to the jukebox and the old folks speaking Italian with Joe behind the counter. The pizza I got last night wasn’t fancy, but in the moment it was as perfect as a pizza can ever be. They say you can’t go home again, and for me that’s true, but for a moment Alfano’s in Rock Island gave a little slice of it. Thank you."

"What a great place! Drove in from KC for a motorcycle event but wanted to stay at a motel where I can walk out the door and touch my motorcycle. Found an old motel down the street and needed dinner. Saw the restaurant on my Google map and headed that way. As soon as I walked in I felt right home growing up in northeast Kansas, that's what the movie Goodfellow's was based on. Ordered the supreme and enjoyed it with a can of Coke. I'll be back next year."