Tony Weeds marks 60 years of pizza perfection

The Mystery Diner has enjoyed Tony Weeds Pizza for more than half of the restaurant's 60 years of existence. I have fond memories of driving my red Ford Maverick to Tony Weeds back in the mid-1970s and picking up tasty cheese and sausage pizzas. I'd cruise that Maverick back to my parents' house and head straight down the back steps into the wood-paneled basement where I and several friends would have fun munching on pizza while playing ping pong and actual vinyl records like The Who's "Live at Leeds" way too loud--at least according to my mom.

It's heartening to know that more than 40 years later I can still make the drive to Tony Weeds and pick-up a hot, delicious pizza. The restaurant operates just as it did all those years ago out of a non-descript, single-story brick building located just yards north of Montgomery in a quasi-residential/industrial area along Oliver Avenue in Aurora. And just like back when, Tony Weeds has no dining room; it operates strictly as a take out and delivery restaurant.

In addition to their famous pizza, Tony Weeds offers a variety of other dining options, including Italian beef sandwiches, Italian sausage and cold subs. Appetizer offerings include chicken tenders, mushrooms, onion rings, garlic bread and French Fries.

Pulling up to Tony Weeds on a recent weekday evening, I spotted the familiar red neon signing proclaiming "Tony Weeds Pizza" in the front window. I stepped inside the brown aluminum storm door and up to the same split-door counter I first saw decades ago. I glanced behind the counter inside the kitchen and spotted a cooler filled with bottles and cans of pop, the pizza making tables and oven. The rich aroma of thousands and thousands of baked pizza filled the room. After a brief moment, one of the employees asked my name and quickly handed me the large pizza I had ordered on my cellphone while leaving the office 20 minutes earlier.

For this order, I stuck to the tried and true: an Italian sausage pizza with green peppers and blacks olives. At home I opened the box and there before me was a perfect pizza, a true work of Italian culinary art. The Italian sausage was lightly seasoned and the green peppers and black olives baked to a tender goodness. The tomato-based sauce, according to Tony Weeds website, has been handed down "from generation to generation" while the dough "is kneaded to perfect and cooked till golden brown." Back when Gerald Ford was in the White House I especially enjoyed Tony Weeds crust and I still do. It is indeed baked "till golden brown" and is light and crisp while maintaining just the right thickness throughout.

There have been many new fangeled trends in the pizza making world over the past many years, including deep dish, stuffed and Chicago-style pies. A pizza aficionado can, of course, enjoy them all, but for the diner looking for a taste of a truly classic pizza with just the right amount of fresh ingredients all baked onto a perfect crust the Mystery Diner highly recommends Tony Weeds. Given Tony Weeds 60 years of successful operation, several generations of diners in the lower Fox Valley most certainly agree.

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• The Mystery Diner is a newsroom employee at the Record Newspapers. The diner’s identity is not revealed to restaurant staff before or during the meal. The Mystery Diner visits a restaurant and then reports on the experience. The Mystery Diner is not intended to be a restaurant critic but does highlight the parts of a dining experience that he/she can recommend.

If you go

What: Tony Weeds Pizza (take out and delivery only)

Where: 1039 Oliver Avenue, Aurora

Hours: 4 p.m. to 11 p.m. Sunday through Thursday; 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday; 4 p.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday.

Information: 630-892-2772 or visit tonyweedspizza.com