Giving pizza lovers a cooked-in-your-own-oven meal with the distinct absence of Bobili pre-made crust, HomeMade Pizza Co. caters to the most basic chef in all of us: One who can turn on the oven. HomeMade Pizza Co. has built its reputation (and six Chicagoland locations) on being the best gosh darn maker of uncooked pies east of the Mississippi. These babies are built to your specifications by skilled hands then cooked chez vous.

The basic medium pie runs $9.75, the large $11.75, which includes plenty of Wisconsin mozzarella and your choice of HomeMade tomato sauce, an olive oil glaze or fresh pesto. Layer from there, choosing from meats like Santa Fe chicken sausage and barbecue chicken; asiago, blue, feta and other cheeses; a garden-full of herbs; and typical-to-gourmet veggies like roasted red pepper, Vidalia onion, poblano pepper and pine nuts. Tack on $1.25 (medium) or $1.75 (large) for each additional item, and load up on fiber by requesting a whole wheat crust. A number of "Favorite Ensembles" point indecisive patrons in the right direction.

Round out your meal with a gourmet salad; offerings include pear and blue cheese, Caesar, cobb, spinach and the pleasantly named "Big Salad." In true pizza parlor fashion, HomeMade delivers daily after 4:30 p.m. for an additional $2. The decor, however, is far from the expected red- and white-checked vinyl. The space achieves the odd marriage of pizza and artsy minimalism, thanks to white walls, a brushed stainless steel counter and not much else.

Centerstage Reviewer: Kate Schwartz