4-Star Yelp Review
Christine B., Chicago, IL
01/29/2019
Okay, weather is cold and treacherous here in Chicago and I am on Week 2 of Hibernation. It is 4 degrees out there right now and since it’s supposed to be even colder the next two days, I decided to place my food order today. I would feel too guilty bringing a delivery man out in the next two days when I can just as easily place my order today.
Memory Lane
(feel free to scroll past this section to more pertinent information 🙂
I used to order from Lacoco’s more regularly about 20 years ago. The food was very good – – especially that calzone that they make. Couldn’t order from this place without ordering that calzone. I think the name calzone is short for “calorie – zone”. Just kidding! Anyway, decided I just really couldn’t afford all those calories and stopped ordering out. I decided to splurge today because I don’t want to go grocery shopping for more practical food. Besides, this food is comforting to me in this cold weather.
Placing Today’s Order
I found their menu on their website. After deciding which foods would sustain me over the coming cold days, I called in my order. The order taker was Jasmin or Yasmine – – I have friends of both names and so I don’t exactly remember the right version of the name of my call taker, but I do remember that she was delightful and got my order correct. She gave me the total and said the driver would arrive in about an hour and 15 minutes and would call when he got to my house.
The Delivery
About an hour and 15 minutes later, t got the call from the driver. I think he made pretty good time since the streets looked pretty snowy and challenging. He was very pleasant and nice, which made me feel good about putting a little extra into his tip. Even if he wasn’t that nice of a person, he would deserve a good tip for being out in this weather.
The Packaging
I was very impressed with the way Lacoco’s packages their food orders. I ordered garlic bread and two sandwiches on French bread. Each sandwich and the garlic bread was wrapped first in paper, then in foil and then placed into it’s own paper bag along with napkins in each bag. The sandwich on a brioche bun was in a foam container and placed in it’s own bag plus napkins. All of the aforementioned bags were in a large paper bag. The canolli was in a plastic container inside it’s own paper bag with napkins. The calzone came in a pizza box. There is a small container of red sauce and a packet containing napkin and sturdy plastic knife and fork in the pizza box also.
The Food
I sampled a bit of each food for lunch before rewrapping it for the coming days. The Double Order of Garlic Bread ($1.50) seemed small to me and was just okay–would not order it again. The Breaded Chicken Vesuvio Sandwich on French bread ($6.99): not particularly tasty as of the sampling. The Grilled Chicken Vesuvio Sandwich on Brioche Bun($6.99): chicken tasted a bit cold and not done enough for my taste. When I eat the actual sandwich, I will be reheating it, so that will take care of the undercooked aspect of this sandwich. Seemed to be enough chicken on both chicken sandwiches. The meatball sandwich ($4.99 for the small size, which, btw, is a decent size) seemed pretty good. The canolli ($2.99) was okay – – the shell was soft and I am used to crispier shells.
The Calzone ($7.99) – – WINNER!! –
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Just as GREAT as I remembered, only it seems larger than I remembered. I ordered the cheese calzone and I ordered the fried version. Hey, if I’m gonna splurge on calories, I’m gonna do it right! Another Yelper reported that the baked version is also very good.
This cold weather is adding pounds to my body and taking dollars from my purse, so I sure hope the weather warms up SOON!!