You gotta have hearth

Jonathan Goldsmith slinks out of bed every day at 4am in an effort to give Chicagoans a taste of authentic Neapolitan pizza. By 4:30 he’s sealed off in a climate-controlled basement concocting dough with a fancy Italian mixer that simulates the diving arms of hand mixing. He uses natural yeast and Molino Caputo flour like his mentors did in the pizzerias Di Matteo and La Notizia, both in the heart of Naples’ Spaccanapoli district. Likewise, only imported olive oil, San Marzano tomatoes, fior di latte (“flower of milk”) mozzarella and fresh basil are found on the classic Margherita, the “Italian flag” of pizzas that helped earn Naples its reputation as the birthplace of modern pizza.

Yet all the attention paid to ingredients would be for nothing if the things weren’t cooked right. And they are. Goldsmith recruited Nella Grassano (pictured), a native of Formia, Italy, as his principal pizzaioli (pizza maker), as well as third-generation oven-builders he met during one of many trips to Naples, where he beefed up his pizza prowess. The oak-stoked oven reaches insanely high heats, kicking out bubbling beauties with perfectly charred peaks and valleys in under ten minutes.

The hand-formed crust is paper-thin at the center, thicker toward the edges and, in contrast to the cracker-crunch of Roman pizzas, has the unmistakable chew of a true Neapolitan pie, with a yeasty tang and a hint of salt. Aside from the simple marinara or Margherita (which can also be had with fresh buffalo mozz that’s flown in each Thursday), toppings run the gamut from fennel-flecked sausage to bitter rapini to prosciutto ribbons. Add a humble Italian wine-and-beer list, after-dinner options such as proper espresso and limoncello, and only the Metra train flying by will remind you you’re still in Chicago.

Spacca Napoli1769 W Sunnyside Ave at Ravenswood Ave (773-878-2420). El: Brown to Damen. Bus: 50, 81 (24 hrs), 145. Lunch (Tue–Sat), dinner (Wed–Sun). Average main course: $12.