I grew up in Urbana and ate many a Monical's pie. I still love to go there whenever I get back to Urbana. Here's what I remember about the pizza:
The crust was a simple dough, rolled super thin on a sheeter. The dough was placed between two cardboard circles and trimmed; stacks of these were kept in the cooler until needed. The resulting dough was as thin as the cardboard circle. The dough was laid out on a wooden paddle or peel which had been sprinkled with corn meal, to help it slide off into the deck oven. The pizzas were baked directly on the stone hearth of the deck oven, which was pretty hot(450-500°?). The guy manning the ovens was artful in making sure the pies were rotated to cook evenly, and to pull them out at just the right doneness. The pies were then cut into approximately 3" squares.
The sauce was simple - canned tomato puree with salt and pepper. The pie was just barely sauced otherwise all the toppings slide off.
The cheese was mozzarella only, but had been pushed through a grinder to create "pellets." I watched them sprinkle these pellets on the pizza more evenly than with shredded cheese.
As I recall, Monicals put the meat under the cheese, and all the other toppings on top of the cheese. The sausage (as well as hamburger) was put on raw in tiny balls, which cooked in the oven and stayed juicy (as well as contributing to the grease factor).
They used fresh green peppers and onions, but their mushrooms were canned. My favorite was their Italian Special, which as I recall had sausage, onions, mushrooms, green/black olives and pepperoncini peppers. You can use fresh mushrooms, but it isn't the same.
The final thing I remember is that the pie was sprinkled with herbs prior to baking, after all toppings had been placed. I think it was sprinkled with basil leaves, and garlic powder. Just a light dusting!
The real key here is that there isn't much on the pie. If you overload it the crust becomes soggy and it is difficult to eat without silverware. I've always found that you have to eat Monical's pizza there - even a short ride in the car can change the moisture of the crust and it quickly becomes like wet cardboard.
I've made my knock off of this for years, baking in the oven on a pizza stone, but it will never be like what you can get at the restaurant. For one, it is difficult to roll the dough thin enough at home without a sheeter. You also have to crank the oven up as high as it will go, using a baking stone. And I always loved their salad with their creamy Italian dressing. Hard to beat!
When I was in the mood for thick crust I loved Garcia's Pizza in a Pan, but their pizza is now a shadow of its former self. I believe they make their pizza entirely differently, with different ingredients than the original. Now I'll take Papa Del's instead.
