If it’s pizza your buds are calling for, then you might as well give ‘em the best. For over 60 years Gus Guerra’s pizza has been sold to Metro-Detroiters. In fact, his claim to fame is being the originator of the Detroit-style pizza.
Now in the heart of Eastpointe, Gus and his wife Anna had originally bought Buddy’s Rendezvous Bar located in Detroit. After a few years, they decided to expand it to offer food. Grandma Passalacqua, Anna’s mother, taught them her pizza recipe. The deep dish pizza was a tremendous hit. Ten years after opening, Gus sold the bar, along with the use of his recipe, (the origin of Buddy’s), and moved out to its present Gratiot location in 1953. Gus kept his new restaurant’s current name “Cloverleaf,” so-named for the city's typically Irish population of the time. Today, they still boast a booming clientele of many repeat customers as people travel far and wide to indulge themselves in the one-of-a-kind pizza taste.
The restaurant is nothing special on the outside. If not for the rather large, high-in-the-sky sign out front, you could almost miss this plain-looking building. Within though, is an attractively decorated cozy atmosphere of casual dining.
With its red or green checkered tablecloths and nostalgic décor, it has a flare of Little Italy. The walls are littered with family portraits, customer pictures and an office door flooded with staff photos. Throughout the dining rooms is wall-to-wall carpeting---the sort you’d find in grandma’s living room with its ornate design. Add the aroma of fresh dough being cooked, and you have a tremendous sense of being home.
Upon entering the restaurant, you will soon be greeted by a young hostess, or maybe even one of the attentive managers. From there you could be courted to one of four areas of the restaurant depending on your preference for smoking or non-smoking. You have your choice of a booth or a table. One dining room and a patio nearby are smoke-free. The other dining room, set near the bar, allows smoking.
The wait staff is courteous and friendly with the sincerest of smiles. They are dressed casually, but cute, in their Cloverleaf green and white baseball shirts and black slacks. Their service is efficient throughout the meal.
New bread baskets are brought as old ones become emptied. Meals are checked for customer satisfaction. Anything not cooked to your liking is immediately remedied. They also bring drink refills on pop as desired no matter how thirsty you are.
The tables are clean and well-stocked with related condiments. A stack of side plates await the arrival of pizza, salad, and bread. Neatly aligned on the table are sets of utensils, clean and tightly wrapped with a green paper band for handling. Upon use of the restroom, I noticed it a bit run down and out-of-date, but it was clean and everything in working order.
Cloverleaf pizza dough is made fresh daily and cooked to order. The secret dough, following the perfect cook time, is an exquisite texture---a slight crunch around the edges, soft, but not mushy, in the middle. Topped with a well-simmered, perfectly seasoned sauce and fresh mozzarella cheese, you’ll find the most wonderful foundation for any or all of your favorite toppings.
In February 2009, Cloverleaf’s Meat Supreme Specialty Pizza was named “best pizza” in the North America Pizza & Ice Cream Show. They ran against 58 other contenders, including Canada’s first place winner of the International Pizza Contest in Italy. The Metro Times has given Cloverleaf a three and a half star rating which is great for casual dining. I would rate it at least that.
Beware, though, if you are in a hurry. Pizzas may take up to 35 minutes to prepare on a busy weekend night. But that’s plenty of time for you to enjoy a fresh anti-pasto salad--a delectable blend of salad greens, chopped ham, salami, and mozzarella cheese. Mixed with just the right amount of Cloverleaf’s homemade Italian dressing, the salad is topped with tomatoes and garbanzo beans, finished with a handful of green and black olives for an overall tantalizing taste.
Accompanying the salad is a never-ending basket of “crunchy bread.” This specialty bread is made from the same pizza dough with a splash of sugar and parmesan cheese. It is baked to a slight brown, creating a crunchy bottom but a soft upper layer. If it wasn’t for the meal soon to arrive, you could make a meal out of it.
Pizzas start from $6.65 for a small cheese-only, $12.05 for a large. Add $0.90 and $1.50 respectively for each additional topping. Specialty pizzas are also priced to sell. Anti-pasto salads are priced at $5.75 for a small, serving two to three people. A large runs $9.75 and feeds three to five. You could realistically have dinner with a friend for under $20.
Cloverleaf also boasts a full menu, including various pasta meals, seafood, ribs, steak, sandwiches and burgers. For $7.75 you can “create your own pasta” by picking the noodle, sauce, and veggies of your choice to combine. A full appetizer line is also available including the unusual “pub pickles.” The breaded and deep fried pickles have a hint of basil. Served with marinara or ranch, they are a pickle-persons delight. Appetizers range anywhere from $2.25 to an $8.95 combo platter.
Another Cloverleaf specialty is their home-made soup line. The soup of the day, usually minestrone or chicken noodle, are always a winner, but the crème de la crème is their Friday night clam chowder. For $3.50 you’ll receive a generous bowl filled with a delectable combination of clams, cream, butter and seasonings. Be forewarned---this Friday night rave might not last the night as many a disappointed customer have come by mid-evening only to find the pot already emptied.
Among the dessert menu of not much worth mentioning you will find a homemade deep-dish cheesecake. It is so light and fluffy that it measures about 4 inches high. With your choice of strawberries or raspberry topping, this hidden treasure is definitely worth the $3.50.
Have them bring two forks though, for the creamy delight is a bit rich for one to take advantage of the most generous piece. Desserts average about $3.75.
While most come and go for the food, Cloverleaf also offers a full bar and bar area. With high-top tables and dimmed lighting, the area has a more party-type atmosphere. One can get a “boomba” of draft beer (23 oz.) for a mere $3.75. Bottled beer and well drinks start at $2.75.
Behind the bar, Keeno games run throughout the evening for the gambling-type to have a drink, enjoy a meal, and take their chances. A large wide-screen TV in the bar area, and sports-fed televisions in almost every corner of the restaurant, make for a lively hotspot with lots of conversation and activity appeasing the needs of many a late-night patron.
Weekends after 9 p.m. brings Karaoke time. Unfortunately, ‘old-and-moldies’ sung by voices that should have been kept in the shower, often serve as more of a deterrent than a crowd pleaser. I was safe today---having made it before the Saturday night dinner rush.
Reservations are recommended on Friday and Saturday nights for parties of eight or more. If it’s an entire room you’d like to book, the restaurant courts a nice-sized enclosed patio closed off by double-glass doors and situated off to the side of one of the main dining rooms. It accommodates about 50 people at one time.
Following the passing of Gus and Anna, the restaurant is now run by their children Jack and Marie, and it is still flourishing. There are also two other carry-out locations in neighboring Sterling Heights and St. Clair Shores.
I give Gus’s place a big thumbs up and recommend it to even the most particular of eaters. So, if it’s a great pizza you seek, in a comfortable, friendly atmosphere, Gus Guerra’s Cloverleaf Bar & Restaurant is the place for you. Here’s to you Gus!
