[Chicago Pizza News] Margherita-ville...

This link comes to us from Scott Smith, web editor at Time Out Chicago.

So for everyone who loves the taste of Margherita pizza, but is far too lazy to leave the comfort of their own home (though frankly, it seems to me that the lazier option would be to get off your ass and go to a restaurant rather then slave away in your own kitchen, but I digress...) Time Out Chicago offers us these videos on how to make your own at home, with help from such Chicago restaurant mainstays (and Chicago Pizza Club favorites) as Spacca Napoli and Coalfire.

Just click right here to get started!

Spacca Napoli [Meeting #29]

Spacca Napoli
1769 W. Sunnyside (Google Maps)
773-878-2420

CPC invaded Spacca Napoli on 4/5/06

What to say about Spacca Napoli? First off, this restaurant is located in the Lincoln Square neighborhood and from appearances seems to have opened somewhat recently. They serve vera pizza napoletana, cooked in an imported wood-burning oven, decorated with a tile mosaic by the owner's, Jonathan Goldsmith, wife, Ginny Sykes (some of her art also graces the walls). Some internet research tells me that the oven is made of 13,000 pounds of brick, sand, and tufo imported from Italy and was built by three craftsmen from Naples. In addition to what we would all agree is a very serious oven, this Neapolitan-style pizza place takes their ingredients very seriously, using (among things) fresh whole-milk mozzarella (fior di latte mozzarella), imported Italian flour and olive oil.

The atmosphere of the restaurant had a nice contemporary feel to it, with touches of the Old Country, mainly the paintings on the wall, and the tile mosaic of the pizza oven. We went on a Wednesday night and the place was packed to the gills, with several people (besides us) waiting to be seated. The service was top notch, the owner was very accommodating to our large group, and was also very apologetic about us having to wait for our tables despite having a reservation... the fact that they gave us free champagne and bread while we waited also tends to help. Also, the waiters were very helpful in translating the menu and explaining the differences in the three Italian beers that they serve.

Spacca Napoli serves individually sized pizza's, about 10 inches in diameter. So rather than ordering a few pizzas for the group to share (as we usually do), the Chicago Pizza Club let each member fend for themselves. Everyone's meal averaged out to about $23 per person, and this included a beer and a tip for our server. Orders came pretty quickly, in about 20 minutes (no surprise, considering the size of the oven), and once everyone had tried what they ordered members then started to trade slices in order to sample the variety that this restaurant offers.

We ordered the following:

Marinara tomato, oregano, garlic, basil, olive oil
Margherita tomatoes, oregano, fior di latte mozzarella, basil, olive oil
Funghi tomatoes, fior di latte mozzarella, basil, mushroom, olive oil
Salsiccia tomatoes, fior di latte mozzarella, basil, italian sausage, olive oil
Funghi E Salsiccia tomatoes, fior di latte mozzarella, basil, mushrooms, italian sausage, olive oil
Bufalina tomatoes, basil, mozzarella di bufala, olive oil
Prosciutto E Arucola pizza bianca with provola, prosciutto di parma, arugula shaved parmesan olive oil
Salsiccia E Broccoletti pizza bianca with italian sausage, rapini, fior di latte, olive oil
Bianca Con Bufala pizza bianca with mozzarella di bufala, basil, olive oil
Quattro Formaggi pizza bianca with fior di lette, gorgonzola, ementhal, fontina

Petey gives Spacca Napoli a score of 7.25/10


Ooooh! Exterior Lighting!


The oven, in all her glory


Anti-pasto, the opening act for the main event


Look at that fresh basil!


Man, that looks good... wish I had one right now


Time for your close up Mr. Pizza...


Ryan goes to town


The Chicago Pizza Club in action


Where it went down