Here is a quick and easy recipe for Sweet & Tart Taco Salad! It’s great for Dinner, Picnics or Pot-Lucks! Swing by Monical’s today to get your Family Garden Salad and Sweet & Tart Dressing! If you are not near a Monical’s location, you can order our dressing online by clicking here.
Find this and other recipes right here on our blog by clicking our ‘Recipes’ link above (or click here).
“Does this bag make my pizza look hot?”
Over half of all Monical’s pizzas are eaten outside of the restaurant. Because of the special nature of a thin crust pizza (and ours in particular), getting our food to its destination in good condition has long been a significant goal for our company. Packaging is an important part of this goal.
Long ago, we discovered that the best way to package our thin crust pizza was:
1) On a cardboard circle
2) Wrapped in foil
3) Placed inside a bag
We found this system to be the best at providing a hot carry-out or delivery pizza. To be honest, this method sacrifices some crispness in the crust. Putting a thin crust pizza in a box maintains more of the crispness, but sacrifices some heat. We’ve found that most of our Guests prefer the pizza hotter than crisper. As a result of listening to our Guests, we’ve kept our current packaging (thin crust) all these years.
We still continue to explore and experiment with new forms of packaging, hoping always to improve the experience of our Guests when they’re eating Monical’s at home. So far, we haven’t found a better substitute to our current packaging.
However, the quest continues…
Community Programs
One of the reasons I love being part of the Monical’s family is because of the dedication to giving back to the great communities we serve.
We believe that reading is one of the most important things a child can learn. Monical’s promotes childhood literacy through the School Reading Program and Summer Library Reading Program. Both programs instill the importance of reading while making the learning process fun and exciting for children.
Monical’s also helps new families with our Lamaze program (no, Monical’s doesn’t teach breathing techniques for when you eat too much pizza). When expecting parents go through a Lamaze class at a participating hospital, they get a coupon for a free Monical’s Family Pleaser®, something which will help on one of those nights when the new parents are simply too tired to cook.
There are so many great programs here at Monical’s, and it’s more than just about pizza – it’s family. We are privileged to be a part of our communities, honored that our communities include us as one of their own, and we’re thrilled to give back whenever we have the opportunity.
Full descriptions and opportunity for participation by organizations are available for review in the Community Programs area of our company webpage.
Monical’s – My first ‘out-on-my-own’ job!
Prior to 2002, I had been a regular at Monical’s Pizza with my parents. Typically around twice a month we’d have a meal of thin crust pizza, salad, and breadsticks and leave more than pleased. This had gone on for quite some time, as my aunt had worked at one of the Kankakee locations and my cousin worked at the Gilman location.
Towards the end of 2002 we were at Monical’s for one of our regular visits. During this visit, it was busier than normal and my cousin happened to be working alone. I offered my assistance, and while it was declined because I wasn’t employed there, I was given an application and encouraged to turn it in in a timely manner. Not much later I received a call from that location’s manager asking me to come in for an interview. I was eager and ready for the opportunity; it could be my first “out-on-my-own” job. And sure enough, that’s what it became. I was hired as a pizza maker soon after that interview.
Within the first week it was evident that I hadn’t just taken a job. I had never put much thought to the slogan of “Family Pleaser” until that week. Not only did we as a staff exist to bring families together and give them a great experience, we were also a family ourselves. Through my four years of working at that Monical’s location, I can think of hundreds of great moments while working, from customer compliments to laughs with co-workers; enjoyable meetings to late night cleaning events; maintenance tasks to employee get-togethers. It was never just a job that I attended to receive a paycheck. I was interested in learning new positions and everything that I could: I had started as a maker, but I also tended to the ovens, delivered, made dough, did morning prep, took orders, and (only at desperate times) helped serve and bus tables.
As a matter of fact, I enjoyed my job enough to endure forty and fifty hour work weeks while attending at least nineteen college credit hours worth of classes. I lived halfway between college and work, so I would drive to class in the mornings, drive home in the afternoon, change, and head to work. I put a lot of miles on my poor car, but I had moved up to a shift supervisor position at the location and knew I had to keep up with school as well.
When it was time to transfer colleges, I found that I could no longer do both, and chose my education. I don’t regret the decisions I made, but I’d be lying if I said I that I didn’t miss working at Monical’s. From the strange looks that I got from customers while wearing shorts year-round (it was hot in the kitchen!) to the custom food creations, there are plenty of memorable times.
I’m still a customer, whether it’s just my wife and I carrying out or we’re with our parents at one of the many locations. I tend to keep it simple, not asking for any wild concoctions that I may have once created. Although, if I may suggest, everyone should try a pair of garlic breadsticks with all three (nacho, cheddar, and tomato) sauces mixed. Or, if you’re into a little extra spice, try your usual pizza, but ask for it as a “blue flame.” Just after the sauce is spread onto the dough, the crushed red peppers are sprinkled in. It has a good taste, given that you don’t mind it hot.
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# Eric Wilborn
# twitter: @ericwilborn
# web: http://ericwilborn.com
Recycling at Monical’s Corporate Support Center
It began with recycling aluminum cans. Many of us were drinking canned soft drinks, so we installed a can crusher on the wall in our employee kitchen and placed a lined plastic garbage can under it. After empty cans were crushed, they simply fell into the lined garbage can. Once a bag became half-full, we took it to the local recycling center and redeemed it for cash. The money was then used to buy Dairy Queen treats for the office.
Next, it was paper and cardboard. We spoke with our waste collector and found that by choosing one day of the week to recycle paper and cardboard (Thursday worked best), we could reduce the quantity of pick-ups. In addition to helping the environment, this method of recycling actually saved the company money.
Then, plastic recycling tubs were placed under our desks and a we put a large tub in the fax/copier area. We designated a 4’ x 8’ area in our file room to collect corrugated cardboard during the week. On Thursdays, we spend 15 minutes dumping our tubs into a large pick-up can where it’s then pulled to the outdoor trash area near our employee entrance. The corrugated cardboard is broken down, placed in saved corrugated cardboard boxes, and set out with the paper to await for pickup. It’s gone before the end of our work day.
Next, we tackled the prospect of recycling plastic bottles. A garbage can was placed in our kitchen specifically for PET and polyethylene bottles. We began noticing that the employees who didn’t have recycling collection at home began bringing their used bottles too. This presented two more opportunities: batteries and plastic bags.
We only needed three square feet of space to accomplish this. For batteries, we placed a basket next to our shredding area. For plastic bags, we placed a plastic laundry hamper in the same area. As we began recycling the batteries from various office tools, the plastic bags from our lunches, the used packing materials and mailing sleeves, we once again found that our employees were continuing the effort by bringing their own used batteries and plastic bags from home.
The batteries are recycled at the Interstate Battery Store, located just a couple of blocks away from our office. Interstate has taken it upon themselves to collect and store used batteries until a recycling center in the area is identified. The laundry hamper full of plastic bags is taken to a local grocery store where they happily accept them.
Finally, our IT coordinator began accepting copier and printer cartridges for his church to recycle. As a result of this, we’ve been able to divert 50% of our spent cartridges to support his efforts.
We seem to be treating this process casually and consistently. The reality of recycling is that it doesn’t take much time or require huge amounts of extra space and, in the end, we save the company money. We enjoy this small group effort for a variety of reasons, and rewarding our employees with ice cream certainly adds to the enjoyment.
Monical’s Pizza offers Calzone!
A calzone (Italian “stocking”) is a turnover 
that originated in Italy. It is made of ingredients similar to pizza folded over and shaped like a crescent. The typical calzone is stuffed with tomato and mozzarella, and may include other ingredients usually associated with pizza toppings.
If you’re into Monical’s big flavor in a new “package,” you should check out our version of Italy’s traditional calzone. We start with our pan dough, fill it with Part-Skim Mozzarella, Puree and any three toppings (with a few exceptions that we’ve found don’t cook well). The dough is then rolled over into a half moon shape, sprinkled with Shredded Parmesan Cheese and baked to a golden brown. It’s part pizza, part pie and part sandwich. The best part is it still contains the same ingredients as every Monical’s pizza, but a completely new shape.
For pizza lovers, Monical’s calzone is an old favorite in a new form. It will be satisfying to large appetites and to those looking to not only try something a little different, but an Italian calzone with a definite Monical’s twist. The catch is that it’s only available for a limited time, so if new is your thing then you’ll want to check it out pretty soon.
What is Celiac Disease?
Celiac disease is an autoimmune digestive disease that damages the villi of the small intestine and interferes with absorption of nutrients from food.
Awareness brings treatment that, in turn, brings improvement of the quality of life for those with celiac disease and gluten intolerance. Find more information about Celiac Disease on National Foundation for Celiac Awareness website at: http://www.celiaccentral.org/
At Monical’s Pizza, we are proud to offer our Gluten Free Pizza to those people who suffer with Celiac Disease. Listen to one of our Managers experience with providing a Gluten Free Pizza to a teenager.
