New Algonquin pizzeria captures wood-fired oven flavor

Monica and Errol Earlington had the itch to start their own restaurant business, but they weren't quite sure which direction to go.

Monica has been in the restaurant business all her life, and she knew she could venture out on her own -- but first she had to find just the right project.

One night the couple was watching The Food Network on TV, and the perfect idea appeared on their screen.

"They were doing a pizza throw down: finding the best-tasting wood-fired pizza. We knew that was it. No one in the area had a wood-fire pizza restaurant with great tasting, quality pizza," Monica Earlington said.

"A few weeks later we wrote a business plan and went from there."

That was a year ago October.

Now, one year later, the couple has opened WoodFire Gourmet Pizzeria, along the east side of Randall Road in Algonquin.

The restaurant has several specialty pizzas, including a WoodFire Steak House pizza with skirt steak and gorgonzola cheese; and a Smoldering Wild Mushroom pizza, with four different mushrooms and plenty of spices.

WoodFire also offers more than 60 toppings you can choose from to create your own pizza.

"It's a huge menu for such a small place," she said.

Whichever creation you choose goes into the restaurant's brick-style oven, and then is baked over a combination of cherry and oak woods.

"It makes the crust crispier due to the heat of the oven, and a little smoky," she said. "You're not going to find anything else like this in the area."

The restaurant, which also offers carryout, serves lunch and dinner six days a week. WoodFire is closed on Mondays.

For more information, call (847) 658-0777.

Now open: Just in time to give weary shoppers a food break, the new Red Robin restaurant is now open along Randall Road in South Elgin. This is the second Red Robin along the Randall Road corridor; the other one is in Algonquin.

Holiday open house: Get in the spirit of the season Thursday at Borders, on Randall Road in Algonquin Commons.

The business will feature several in-store holiday festivities, including a performance from the Jacobs High School choir.

The event runs from 7 to 8 p.m.

• Amy Williams' column covers all the news of business along the Randall Road corridor from South Elgin to Crystal Lake. Contact her at randallbiz@comcast.net or at (847) 894-5036.