Quick favor before you head in: bring cash.
Not because the card reader is down. There simply is not one in the plan.
This family-run Italian restaurant still accepts cash and checks, and that old-school streak carries into the kitchen too. The chef grew up in Sicily, while family recipes and Italian traditions continue shaping what reaches the table.
Now comes your part.
Do you want the thicker Sicilian-style pizza or a thinner New York-style pie? Does pasta interrupt that decision? Very possibly.
Indiana may not be the first place you expect a lunch this rooted in Sicily, which makes the choice even more fun.
Even the building carries a little local history, though the food has a good chance of distracting you first.
So arrive with cash in your pocket and confidence in your order.
Only one of those is likely to hold up once you see the menu.
Cash And Checks Keep Payment Old-School
Credit cards are not part of the routine at Perillo’s Pizzeria. Cash and checks are accepted, so arriving with paper money is the easiest approach for anyone who normally depends on a card or phone at checkout.
That one detail is worth remembering before reaching North Salem. It is much easier to think about pizza toppings when nobody at the table is wondering how the bill will get paid.
An ATM is available nearby in town, but stopping for cash beforehand removes an unnecessary errand from the meal. Think about the size of the group, whether dessert might happen, and whether leftovers are likely before deciding how much to bring.
The setup feels increasingly unusual in an era when many restaurants barely touch cash. Here, it is simply part of how the business operates. There is no need to turn it into a novelty once the meal begins.
The useful rule is straightforward: bring cash, keep the card tucked away, and move on to the more interesting decisions.
Those start with the food. A table can divide between thin New York-style pizza and thicker Sicilian-style pizza, or skip the debate completely and order something from another part of the menu.
For a first visit, handling the payment question before leaving home makes the rest of the meal considerably easier. Nobody needs to interrupt dinner plans with a last-minute search for cash, and the table can focus on the choices that actually belong in an Italian restaurant.
Sicily Still Shapes The Kitchen
Chef and owner Damiano Perillo grew up in Sicily and graduated from culinary school in Palermo before moving to the United States in 1999. His background gives the restaurant a direct connection to the food traditions that inspired it.
Some recipes have another family connection. Dishes influenced by recipes from his mother in Sicily remain part of the restaurant’s story, adding a personal thread to a menu that stretches well beyond pizza.
That does not mean every meal needs a history lesson. The connection becomes more useful when deciding what to order. Someone in the mood for pizza has two different styles to consider.
Another diner can turn toward pasta, a sandwich, salad, or calzone instead.
Family recipes also make the broader menu easier to understand. This is not a pizzeria that happens to keep one token pasta dish around. Italian cooking sits at the center of the operation, with pizza sharing space with other familiar dishes.
The simplest approach is to resist deciding too early. Look beyond the pizza section before locking in dinner. A fork may win over a slice once the rest of the menu gets involved.
An 1890s Doctor’s Office Became A Restaurant
Long before pizza ovens entered the picture, the building had a very different purpose. Dr. Oscar H. Wiseheart practiced medicine there beginning in 1898 and continued working in the community for more than six decades.
When the Perillo family renovated the property in 2011, pieces connected to its medical past were still inside, including old medicine bottles and other historical objects.
The building had gone through other uses over the years and was an apartment before the family purchased it.
That history gives dinner a setting with a little more texture than a standard dining room. It does not need theatrical decorations or a manufactured backstory. The building already had decades of life before anyone started cutting pizza inside it.
A patio adds another option when the weather is comfortable. That makes the decision partly seasonal. Cool or rainy weather points indoors, while a mild Indiana afternoon or evening can make an outdoor table more appealing.
The restaurant’s location in North Salem also keeps the surroundings quiet compared with a busier dining district. The town is small, and the restaurant sits close to the center of it.
Once everyone is seated, though, the building’s former purpose quickly becomes background. Pizza has a reliable talent for taking over the conversation.
The old structure also gives the visit a sense of continuity that newer dining rooms cannot manufacture.
You are eating in a place that served another purpose long before the restaurant arrived, and that history quietly sits in the background without demanding attention from the food.
Two Pizza Styles Give The Table A Choice
Pizza does not come in just one form here. Perillo’s serves both New York-style pizza and Sicilian-style pizza, giving thin-crust and thick-crust diners something to negotiate over.
New York-style pizza provides the thinner option. It works well for anyone who prefers a lighter crust underneath the toppings and a slice that is easy to handle.
Sicilian-style pizza changes the proportions, bringing a thicker base and a more substantial bite. For diners who judge pizza partly by how much crust appears beneath the toppings, this is the side of the menu that deserves attention.
Garlic rolls are another Italian favorite associated with the restaurant, but the menu extends well past pizza accompaniments.
The real decision is how much of the meal should revolve around pizza. Sometimes the answer is all of it. Other times, the pasta and calzone side of the menu starts making a strong case for itself.
A mixed table can make both styles work without turning dinner into a crust argument. One pie can satisfy the thin-crust side, another can cover the thicker Sicilian preference, and suddenly everyone has something to trade across the table.
Pasta, Calzones, Sandwiches And Salads Broaden The Menu
Pizza may dominate the restaurant’s name, but it is not the only route through dinner. Pasta, calzones, baked sandwiches, salads, and desserts give the menu enough range for a table where not everyone arrived craving the same thing.
Calzones are one of the more substantial alternatives. A sausage roll version has included Italian sausage, pizza sauce, bell pepper, onion, cheese, dough, butter, and Parmesan, bringing several familiar pizzeria ingredients together in a different format.
This is where ordering can become a small group project. One person wants Sicilian pizza. Someone else is eyeing pasta.
Another has decided on a calzone before everyone else has opened the menu.
There is no reason to make everyone compromise. Sharing one item while ordering another individually can put more of the menu on the table without turning dinner into a contest.
Dessert can wait until the end. Deciding too early is risky when pizza, pasta, and calzones are still occupying most of the available space.
For a table that likes to sample, ordering one shared pizza alongside individual dishes is an easy way to widen the meal without overcomplicating it. That gives everyone a chance to try a slice while still choosing the entree that fits their own appetite.
Family Members Still Work Side By Side
Perillo’s remains closely tied to the family behind it. Damiano Perillo owns the restaurant with his mother-in-law and brother-in-law, and his wife also helps during busier periods.
That family structure connects naturally with the recipes brought from Sicily. The restaurant is not simply using a family name as decoration while a separate operation runs behind the scenes. Family members remain part of the actual day-to-day business.
For diners, there is no need to turn that into a sentimental storyline. It is simply useful context for understanding why the restaurant’s identity feels consistent across the food, ownership, and history.
It also explains why the menu can comfortably mix pizza-shop staples with dishes connected to Sicilian cooking. The restaurant developed around the people running it rather than around a corporate menu template.
That hands-on setup can also mean pacing changes depending on how busy the dining room becomes. Food is prepared as orders move through the kitchen, so a relaxed schedule makes more sense than squeezing dinner into a tiny window.
A good table decision is to order what actually sounds appealing rather than what seems fastest. Once everyone has cash ready and nowhere urgent to be, an extra conversation between courses is hardly a problem.
Current Hours Make Timing Important
Perillo’s is closed on Tuesdays, so that is the first detail to remember when choosing a day. Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday are split between lunch and dinner, with service from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and again from 4 to 8 p.m.
Friday and Saturday have longer continuous hours from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday runs from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Those differences make the day of the week part of the meal decision. A Monday lunch needs to happen before the afternoon break, while Friday gives considerably more flexibility. Sunday works for an earlier meal but ends sooner than the weekend days before it.
Cash still belongs at the top of the checklist, followed closely by timing. After those two details are handled, the choices become much easier to enjoy.
Maybe the table starts with Sicilian pizza. Maybe New York-style wins. Pasta can take over dinner, or a calzone might settle the matter before anyone starts debating crust.
North Salem keeps the setting small, the restaurant keeps credit cards out of the transaction, and the kitchen keeps several Italian paths open right up until the order is placed.
So, when will you plan your drive? Your table and a hot pie could be waiting at 5 S Broadway St, North Salem, IN 46165.