Mad Mark’s Pizza & Sports

My husband, friend, and I went here last week based on rave reviews.
Our waitress was really nice and attentive, but I was a little confused about the «progression» of things. For example, we got nachos to start with (phenomenal, BTW – I can appreciate any restaurant that uses quality chips that can hold up a ton of ingredients including refried beans!) and I ordered soup and salad with my entrée, as did my friend.
So we get the nachos and proceed to stuff ourselves on them. Then we waited for our salad/soup…and waited and waited. Then the waitress comes by and asks if we’re done with the nachos and if we want our soup/​salad? We said yes, and she took away the nachos. So my friend and I got ours right away after that, but my husband had nothing in front of him, and he was still hungry. Oh, and avoid the clam chowder soup: my friend was unimpressed because to her clam chowder is a cream-​based soup, and this was more like chicken noodle? She even asked if she had the right soup!
We finished the soup/​salad course and then thought our food should be up soon, right? Not so much. It still took about 20 minutes. I don’t know if they just thought maybe we were in the mood to take our time and digest or what, but my poor husband had lost his «nacho high» and by then, he was wishing we had kept the nachos so he could have snacked on them more.
My friend and I both ordered the broasted chicken – verrrrry good, btw. We ordered the exact same meal, and hers came w/​coleslaw and mine did not. Normally, this would be fine seeing as I hate coleslaw, but MM has coleslaw that doesn’t really fall into that category. I don’t know how to describe it – Amazingness In A Cup comes to mind. So of course I made our waitress «right» my order and bring me what I was due! ;)
Food Breakdown:
Nachos: 5*
French Onion Soup: 4*
Clam Chowder Soup: 2*
Salad: 3*
Angry SOB Burger: 3* (Husband said it was not hot in any way)
Broasted Chicken: 4.5* (eat it there – it doesn’t save well as leftovers)
Coleslaw: 5*
Oh, and the drinks on the menu looked amazing, so I will definitely be trying one (or two!) of those next time!
My husband and I are already planning on going back – we need a nacho fix.

Is it wrong to want to have your rehearsal dinner at a place just because they serve mind-​meltingly kickass mac & cheese pizza?
Because that’s kind of where I’m at right now.
Yes, it’s that good.

My wife and I hit up Mad Marks a couple weeks ago for the first time that wasn’t a Unilocal event and since it is no longer Alumni Club. We definitely enjoyed it.
From going to the Unilocal event I became familiar with the firecracker shrimp, broasted chicken and mac and cheese pizza. All which were awesome at the event.
The Firecracker Shrimp is amazing! Great flavor, great spice, we even enjoyed the slaw it came on. Just a really delicious app.
We also had the spinach and artichoke dip that was also quite good. Exactly what you’re looking for.
The mac and cheese pizza is out of this world. We added bacon and tomatoes which was an excellent idea. The crust was so thin and crispy and the flavor was right on the money. We got a 12″ and that was more than enough with the apps to take some home which we enjoyed over the next couple days (probably killed it that night, but don’t tell anyone).
We will definitely return and I can say I would have gone there tomorrow early afternoon to spend a few hours there and watch some March Madness, but they just shortened up their hours and don’t open until 3. Oh well, dinner one of these nights it’ll have to be.
If you go just make sure you rock the firecracker shrimp and mac and cheese pizza. You won’t be disappointed.
Enjoy!

Mad Mark’s is a place with two distinct personalities. On the one hand it is the fairly family friendly pizza sports bar on the weekdays and on late weekends it’s a very very loud bar with a dance floor and DJs that I just quite haven’t figured out yet. The weekend crowd is all over the place age-​wise. I’m not sold on the drink selection yet but the service has always been good. The mac & cheese pizza is also very good in small doses. Splitting a large between two people though and it becomes a bit of a chore midway. It’s not a bad place in the burbs for a little dancing when you haven’t made specific weekend plans. Don’t take the music choices seriously.

My friend Phillip C. is obsessed with this place so we finally went this week for dinner. I had my awesome $ 10 off coupon and we had no problems at all using it. Our waitress was very attentive and pleasant. It was surprising to go and have only a couple other tables sat in this huge honkin’ place. i can see why Phill loves this place as it has a lot of seating, pretty good food and the main draw — -TVs everywhere!
When we were walking in noticed they have a drive up carry out spot. That is awesome! You just ring the bell and they bring your food out to you. Love it!
We had the beer nuggets appetizers which I kept dipping in butter. These were pretty good but I didn’t understand my friend’s raving reviews. Going in, I knew I had to order the Mac & Cheese pizza because if it’s ‘As Seen on TV’, how can I not! I love macaroni & cheese and I love alfredo so how could I not love this?! Well I didn’t. I just found it kind of dry, it was honestly just okay. Not much more I can say then that. Everything I ate was just A-​OK and super duper greasy!
The hostess staff didn’t say goodbye or thank you or anything to us as we left. I’m always a stickler for hosting duties gone wrong as a former head hostess at PF. :P
I wouldn’t ever make a point of going back here to eat but I could definitely see coming with some friends to watch a game.

Their beer nuggats are the… well…you know what I mean!
Jeez I thought I had died and gone to heaven when I had their beer nuggets! shitzzzz, man. I also had the mac and cheese pizza, which, at my age, is a heart attack on a plate. Good yes, but way too much grease.
The waitress was timely and efficient. LOVED it!

I go in a lot for the Monday half off carryout pizza special and last night was no exception. My hubby and I got the BBQ Meat Pizza with pepperoni, sausage (we opted out of the bacon), onion, and bbq sauce. Very tasty. I still need to try the broasted chicken it sounds really yummy.
My husband also got the ribs once and said they were really good. I’ve never been disappointed by anything I got here. I will definitely be back.

I’m so glad a Unilocal event took place here, otherwise I would have never gotten to try all the tasty tasty food. Everything from that event was awesome, from the firecracker shrimp to the macaroni & bacon pizza. But my favorite of that night was definitely the broasted chicken. Broasting is basically pressure cooking & deep frying. This results in some crunchy crispy & juicy fried chicken. They also have the Angry Broasted Chicken, which has just the right amount of spice.
I decided to check out this place with some friends to catch the Bears game. We got the Firecracker Shrimp and Beer Nuggets for apps. The Firecracker Shrimp were just as good as before: crispy large shrimp pieces coated in a creamy chili sauce. I thought that was good then I tried the beer nuggets… these things are great! Freshly baked bread nuggets, sprinlked with romano cheese, dunked in some garlic butter is definitely a flavor explosion in your mouth.
We ordered the 16″ Mad Mark’s Macaroni ‘N’ Cheese pizza w/​bacon. Crispy garlic butter cracker crust, topped with alfredo sauce, and mac & parmesan cheddar cheese. Add some bacon onto that and I have only one word to describe the taste: Intense. Great tasting pizza with so many big flavors going on.
Very chill atmosphere, with plenty of flat screens all around, friendly servers, and for you smokers: a heated/​ventilated outdoor smoking room. With drinks & tip, it only came out to about $ 10/​person between 4 people. Perfect place to eat good food, have a beer, and watch the game.

I was here for the awesome Unilocal party back in the summer. I was impressed with the service, management and the food and vowed to be back with the $ 10 off coupon. I waited so long that Mad Mark’s Mystic Pizza became Mad Mark’s Pizza and Sports. My first thought was I hope they kept the shrimp.
See, I was on a mission to have another taste of their Firecracker Shrimp. It was still there and as awesome as ever. I’m still blown away that these are not tiny shrimp but big ass jumbo shrimp. Oh so good. And the sauce is tangy and sweet. I wish I could buy that for the house because that baby would be flavoring everything.
We ordered the sausage pizza. The crust is the cracker thin type with a bit sweet sauce. The sausage just adds another excellent ingredient. It’s not too spicy but gives the pizza the right amount of kick to it.
And holy hell, our waiter was hot! I think he was attentive to our table but when they’re that good looking, who really cares. But kidding aside, I found the service to be excellent. Fast and efficient.
I’m definitely not waiting another 5 months before I head back. Mad Mark’s is at the top of my pizza eating lists. I cannot wait for summer to enjoy a drink on their patio and stuffing myself full of pizza and shrimp.

First let me say how happy I am that Alumni Club no longer exists. The world is a better place because of it. Now onto the pizza. We ordered it to go and it was awesome. Seriously, we were shocked. The sauce was delicious and the crust was incredibly crispy. Not like those pieces of pizza you pick up that just sort of flop over on you. This stuff actually held its shape and crunched in your mouth. I would definitely get food there again. Yay!

Mad Mark’s Pizza and Sports?! Utter confusion… are we at Mad Mark’s Mystic Pizza? I was barely here a few months ago for a Unilocal event so was really confused as to when or why the name was change. (Also their website listed does not work.)
Anyways decided to come back because the food was great the Unilocal event! However, after this trip (we had a $ 10 gift certificate) we probably won’t be coming back. Here is why:
1. The loaded fries was mediocre. I could of ate the whole thing by myself. It was plated nice and fancy, but I’m at a pizza joint I don’t expect that, but I do expect a pile high of fries, but nope we got a plate that we finish off in no time and the fries tasted like it’s been sitting around for awhile, at least the cheese helped a bit.
2. My frozen strawberry-​mango margarita. DISGUSTING! It tasted like pure medicine *barfs* To the bartender if you never made a mix frozen margarita please let me know instead of destroying it and serving it to me. I would of been fine with a strawberry margarita. Instead of having layers in the margarita it seems as though both the strawberry and mango were mix together. Bad idea.
3. The pizza: half BBQ Chicken, half MM Real Dream (not sure if this is right) wasn’t up to par to their macaroni and cheese or plain sausage at the event. The BBQ Chicken which is suppose to be doused in BBQ, the chicken was extremely dry and the crust on the over all pizza was hard and doughy. I am a crust lover, but this is the first time I did not eat it. The other half was decent.
Our service was decent, but I’m truly bummed about the food after such high hopes of having great pizza!

UPDATE: IT’S GONE. CLOSED. FINISHED!
I have been here 5 times now. And I have had an all around good experience every time. I found the interior to be fun and keep my eyes occupied and the video games are free for all you parents, which is nice.
The food has been very good. I have never had a bad item yet. The pizza is good. I have not adventured off to try the Mac and Cheese pizza but I walked by one and it looked good. I had the gambler on my last visit. And It’s a huge 2 lbs burger with toppings and comes with a timer to see if you can eat it for free… I wasn’t even trying. I just wanted the experience. And it was well worth the money. I got to eat 3 meals with that $ 15 price tag. Not too bad. And it was cooked perfectly. The bun was awesome.
The service has been hit or miss. But not all around bad. More like flighty waitresses a couple of times. But they were not lazy and I chalked it up to working their kinks out.
We all like this place and will be going back. It’s fair prices and quality food.
UPDATE per ¹²⁄₁₀ Visit: I wanted to update my review of The Gambler. Either they were losing too much money on this burger or they are on to the fact that people are just getting this because it was such a deal. Maybe both. Anyway, they shrunk the burger patti. It’s thinner and not quite as juicy. It’s a good burger. But it’s bordering more on the quantity than the quality factor. I probably will not go with this choice again.
On a high note from our last visit… The Mac N’ Cheese Pizza. My daughter got it and it was awesome. And I would like to point out that the kids pizza was only $ 3.95 and was really a decent size.
I’m truly surprised by the portions this place serves for the price.

OK, so I came here for a Unilocal event and REALLY enjoyed the broasted chicken, mac and cheese pizza, firecracker shrimp salad and other goodies. I definitely had to return and see how the dine in experience was like.
So I must say that after coming back, I’m definitely coming back, and again and again!
We had the broasted chicken again and it was awesome. I honestly love this chicken more than any other. First, it’s NOT greasy. Second, it’s NOT dry. Third, it’s just friggin awesome juicyness comfort food!
Ofcourse, we’ve had the Mac and Cheese Pizza before and I think their thin crust pizza is probably among the best I’ve had, but this time, we had the beer nuggets, and wings. I’ve not had beer nuggets since my drunken college days so it was nice to actually have them actually SOBER. It was crispy doughy pockets of goodness! Loved the wings in Captain Morgan sauce too!
The Chicken and Rib combo was definitely enough for 2 after having appetizers and drinks. Love the Mad Markeritas btw.
Oh, Oh, Oh! One thing I need to give kudos for was our server was super nice. I was pleasantly surprised that she gave us two bowls of soup even though we should only have one, being we ordered only 1 dinner. She actually gave us more than ample and simple things like that show good service. She checked on us enough and we were pleased overall.
The décor was really cool, different and there was an abundance of flat screen tvs for your viewing pleasure. I noticed that they have 5 dollar pizzas for Bear games. I’ll have to check that out.

Atmosphere here is great! This plays makes you feel like you are eating at a restaurant in the Florida Keys (except for when its a cold day). They have a large outdoor bar, and they frequently have Bags Tourneys (Yes BAGS! not cornhole!)
As for the food I came here and was impressed with the wide variety of items found on the menu. I ended up getting the meat calzone. It was a very good calzone, although I have tried a lot better.
I would suggest to come here first for the atmosphere and bar, but stay for some good (but not amazing) food.

Our 1^st visit to Mad Mark’s Mystic Pizza was wonderful. The service was very good. When trying to decide between the Beer Nut appetizer (actually little puffs of dough coated in garlic butter and parmesan cheese) and the macaroni and cheese appetizer, our server recommended the beer nuts and I’m glad she did. They were delicious. They were served piping hot along with extra garlic butter and marinara sauce.
I ordered the Sunday special of their broasted chicken, based on several reviews. The dinner could easily be shared by two people. I ordered the white meat and the plate came with 2 nice size chicken wings and then 2 of the biggest chicken breasts I’ve ever seen. Not only were they big but they were delicious. Possibly the best chicken I’ve ever had. In addition to all of that, the dinner came with either soup or chopped salad, any one of their potatoes, a warm roll and a nice size piece of corn on the cob. That is alot of food for the Sunday special price of $ 7.50. Regular price is $ 7.99, still a real bargain.
If you like thin crust you’ll be very happy with the pizza.
I highly recommend this restaurant.

Pizza? Forget pizza. I mean, the pizza is good, don’t get me wrong.
But what you want here is some broasted chicken. It’s got a great crust and is super-​juicy and tasty.
Having been introduced to the mild trippiness of Mad Mark’s at a Unilocal event, we just had to come back and try more food. The gift certificates were just a bonus. As I said in my event review, the place looks like a ski lodge that was decorated by a hippie on an acid trip. There’s goofy stuff everywhere.
Service was friendly and pretty prompt, although our waters never got refilled and the timing was a little odd — we got our soup/​salad first, then our appetizers, then our entrees while still working on the nachos.
But the food? Oh, the food is quite tasty. We started with nachos, which are often a staple for us, and the possibly homemade chips were slathered in refried beans, taco meat, lettuce, tomato, jalapeño and cheese. The salsa on the side was quite zippy and flavorful, though not that hot. I did wish for some pico on top too but overall the nachos were pretty darn good.
My husband had the Sunday special — four pieces of their broasted chicken, corn on the cob, potatoes and soup or salad — while I had a Ragin’ Cajun Chicken sandwich which turned out to be a broasted boneless chicken breast with spicy remoulade, lettuce and pickle on a bun. It was like a bigger, better Chik-​fil-​a (and I love me some Chick-​fil-​a). My only, tiny complaint is that the bun started to fall apart and I ended up eating the last quarter or so with my fork.
The chicken is really, really good. I eat a lot of chicken and sometimes get tired of it, but I could eat this stuff all day. The mini chopped salad I got in lieu of fries was improved with bacon and cheese and a good peppercorn dressing, though the lettuce itself was nothing special.
All in all, Mad Mark’s seems to be a great spot for a group of friends, a night out, or even a family dinner. I think we’ll be visiting Schaumburg more often…

It’s as easy as Mac and Cheese Pizza! How did I not think of this mix prior to having it here? Either way, it was really delicious!
I like Mad Mark’s because it’s comfortable, homey, and has some good ass food!
The restaurant is huge! There is more than one bar, a dance floor, and a huge patio. I’m a fan of nice patios! :)
The staff is friendly, the management is attentive, and you can’t find much to be upset about with a drink in hand and some delicious pizza from a family owned restaurant.
Although I do find most ‘beach like’ places to be somewhat corny, I did not feel that way here at all. There wasn’t the massive amount of douche bags hanging by the dance floor, margaritaville playing over the loud speaker on repeat, or really tacky décor. I found myself in a laid back environment, enjoying my food and drinks.
I had the pizza, but next time would really like to try out some more of the menu. it all looks so good :)

I missed Unilocal’s Endless Summer BBQ @ Mad Mark’s Mystic Pizza. Seeing the rave reviews for the event, I decided to investigate the place for myself.
You are not going to drive past Mad Mark’s and not see it. Psychedelic colors have been liberally used both inside and outside the restaurant. The equally psychedelic décor includes a life-​size model of a woman riding a shark and a mounted bear wearing an Urlacher jersey.
Since the weather was nice, we opted for the patio. Located right by a pretty little lake, it’s one of the largest patios I have seen in the Chicagoland area. The atmosphere on it was very pleasant.
My lunch date and I both picked Jessica’s Chicken and Avocado Sandwich. As soon as we ordered the waitress told us that it was one of her favorites. I could see why. The grilled chicken breast was covered in provolone cheese, topped with slices of avocado, and served on a toasted bun. Applewood bacon added a lot of flavor to the sandwich.
Mad Mark’s has a sand volleyball court, a basketball court and several cornhole (bean bag toss) courts. I hear they also have line dancing every Tuesday night, in case you are into that kind of thing.
In the past I have had trouble arranging fun evenings in the local area for colleagues visiting our Schaumburg office. Now I know exactly where I’ll be taking them.

Pizza, sauce and crust were better than I expected. My husband thought the pizza could have used more cheese. The Italian Beefs were average.
We ordered take out so I can’t comment
on the service in the restaurant.
The girl answering the phone and taking orders was seriously ditzy and my husband had to repeat his order to her several times. A supreme pizza and two beefs isn’t too complicated.

Mad Marks is now a family restaurant with a full bar and indoor /​outdoor seating. It was sad to walk through the establishment which still resembles Alumni Club (my old stomping ground) and have it turned into a restaurant.
The outdoor seating was perfect for the beautiful day we had and to our surprise a magician showed up to entertain my 6 yr old while we waited for our food! When he was done, we kept busy playing bags while other families decided to hit the volleyball court.
The FOOD /​DRINKS: The drinks were your typical premixed margarita /​colata with little booze (would it kill them to throw a real strawberry in there?) — although refreshing on a warm day. The chopped salad was nothing like portillos (in a bad way), the pizza was ok (expected better for a supposed pizza place), the coconut shrimp had a very fishy taste to them, the beer nuggets were nice and greasy, the steak tenderloin wrap was fresh and tasty, the fish was over seasoned and tasted like its been frozen for too long, the chicken tortillas were tasty.
Although the food was still crappy bar food some of the apetizers were good (like chicken toritlas and beer nuggets), I’d stick to beer for my next visit but it was nice to be able to hang with your friends, tag the kids along and dine outside.