The whole scene is enough to make you choke on your Guinness: Edward Marshall III, as broad as a Big 10 defensive lineman, wearing a Scottish kilt and holding a Chicago-style pizza topped with–hold onto your skirt–corned beef and cabbage. Marshall, owner of Marshall’s takeout pizzeria in Wheaton, is Scotch-Irish. What else was he going to do for St. Patrick’s Day?
The Irish pizza “started as a joke,” said Marshall (who did play football for the University of Iowa), in response to customers’ tongue-in-cheek requests for a St. Paddy’s pie. But the concoction, which debuted in February 1992, actually tasted good.
So for the next month, every Kelly or O’Brien or Sullivan who picked up a dinner left with a sample of corned beef and cabbage pizza. The orders rolled in. “It went from a joke to the busiest night we had that year,” Marshall said.
Call ahead (708-510-8000) for the deep-dish pizza, sold now through Sunday. It costs the same as his Marshall Supreme: $18.75 large, $14.25 medium, $5.75 individual. It starts the same too: a rich homemade crust, mozzarella, delightfully chunky tomato sauce, spices–plus finely chopped corned beef and cabbage. The amount of corned beef isn’t overwhelming and the thick cheese mellows the cabbage–which adds a surprising crunch when eaten cold the next day. Your eyes will be smiling.
The pizzeria is at 125 N. Main St. (on the alley).