Elias De Gonzales, 10, did not think he would like Calzone & Macaroni Co. for one simple reason: “I didn’t know what a calzone was,” he said during a recent visit with his grandmother.
But he looked at the wide and eclectic choices of calzones and mac and cheese on the menu and one selection made him rethink his position: A buffalo chicken calzone. The verdict?
“I like it,” he said. “It’s like an empanada.”
Along with the buffalo chicken calzone, De Gonzales also enjoyed the buffalo chicken mac and cheese. Wait; buffalo chicken mac and cheese?
Yep. There are more than 10 varieties each of these classic comfort foods. The calzone selections include Philly cheesesteak, Italian beef, sausage & peppers, a veggie version and one, yes, stuffed with mac and cheese. A mini calzone is $5.99, the medium is $8.49 and a mega is $11.99.
But that’s mere prologue to the main event: The Jalapesteroni. The cost: $18, but if you accept and beat the eating challenge, it’s on the house. The Jalapesteroni (which is three-times the size of a regular calzone and looks like a flying saucer) is stuffed with jalapeno peppers, pesto, pepperoni, mozzarella, macaroni and white cheddar.
And all you have to do to claim your free one is to eat the entire thing by yourself in 30 minutes without leaving your chair.
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There are equally exotic offerings in the mac and cheese side of the menu (the pricing is the same as the calzones). Along with the traditional incarnation, there is a lobster mac and cheese ($3 extra and the restaurant’s bestseller), bacon apple, mushroom Swiss burger, chicken Parmesan and broccoli cheddar bacon.
There is one more tantalizing calzone or mac and cheese option: Build your own. This is where you enter “The Twilight (cal)Zone,” a wondrous land whose boundaries are that of the imagination, or your appetite.
Everything at Calzone & Macaroni Co. is made to order, including Napoli-style pizza and, on the lighter side, gourmet wraps, soups, salads and flatbreads.
Fun foods demand fun amenities. Adding to the cross-generational appeal of Calzone & Macaroni Co. are tabletop basketball, billiards and soccer games.
Now in its fourth year, the Vernon Hills establishment has carved a rich and filling niche in fast casual dining. Chef and owner Nicholas Lindsey had previously developed his flair for the calzone during his 13-year tenure as chef at the Park Street Restaurant in Mundelein. When it came time to open his family-owned and operated restaurant, he decided to add macaroni to the mix.
“I didn’t feel like fighting in the pizza or hamburger battles,” he said. “Nobody specialized in mac and cheese or calzones around here.”
Mac and cheese, Lindsey said, is timeless. “Everyone has some kind of connection to mac and cheese,” he said. “We wanted to take it to the next level. It’s insane what you can do with it. No matter what you put in, whether it’s shrimp or bacon, if the base is mac and cheese, the rest has to be good.”
Well, not always. Lindsey confesses that one incarnation for kids, a hot dog mac and cheese, was something of a bust.
Earl and Lynette De Young of Geneva were lured to Calzone & Macaroni Co. after they saw it featured on a comfort foods episode of the WGN-TV series, “Chicago’s Best.” The variety, they said, looked interesting and they were intrigued by the out-of-the-box approach to a no-frills dish that in the popular imagination is embodied by Kraft Macaroni and Cheese.
“Melted cheese touches everybody in some way,” Lindsey reflected. “As a kid you’re always wanting mac and cheese. It’s an indulgence. We want (our patrons) to get that same feeling. That big grin on their face; that’s what we’re looking for.”
Hours: 11 a.m.-8 p.m., Sun.-Thurs.; 11 a.m.-9 p.m., Fri.-Sat.
Address: 260 Hawthorn Village Commons, Vernon Hills
Contact: 847-996-0205 or visit www.calzoneandmacaroni.com
Donald Liebenson is a freelance reporter for the News-Sun.