UN ALTRO LIVELLO

Sorry for the delay, I now have a moment to sit down and write. Monday, February 15th, one day after our fourth anniversary, we opened the doors to our expansion. Together with friends and colleagues we celebrated a night of folkloric music and dance, opera, and of course, la cucina napoletana. In my opening remarks I spoke of “un altro livello”. We’ve been getting feedback that the new space simultaneously joins and transcends what we had previously created, taking it to another level. None of this would have ever happened without the many hours of hard work by so many dedicated and talented artisans. My wife Ginny’s intuitive and creative vision was what brought this “altro livello” to fruition.

Behind the new glass sliding doors, are two warm hued rooms with artwork including Mario Raffone’s prints featuring the beloved pulcinella, and two Italian oil landscapes from my father’s travels to Italy. A new painting Ginny did for the smaller room is derived from images of ancient amphore, the containers found in archeological sites that held olive oil and wine. The floors are a rich, terra cotta tile with medallion insets and the wood work, beautiful wine storage unit and shutters were specially made.

The space is flexible and accommodates parties, meetings, and other occasions for up to 52. We can also split the space for several groups, including our intimate side room with a family style table for 20. We now take reservations on Friday and Saturday nights, so wait times have been greatly reduced. We welcome all of you as we go into our fifth year.

THANKS FOR A GREAT YEAR

The year is coming to an end. We have so much to be thankful for. We continue to enjoy our work and all of you who come in to dine.Thanks to Roberto Caporuscio of Keste in New York, my pizzaiuoli friends in Naples, and Arthur Schwartz of Brooklyn for your inspirations and celebrations of southern Italian cuisines that you share so openly. We are grateful for this food community. We continue to evolve. Four years into our business, the interesting and healthy debate concerning Neapolitan pizza continues. What makes a pizza great? What is authentic? What is tradition? Though I always have something to say about this topic, I would never venture forth and give an absolute about myself or the pizza we make. All I can tell you is that we try our best, that we try to honor the tradition and the joy of cooking that brings us all together. We are doing longer, more gentle rises with our dough. Our hands are more delicate. We are never at a loss for new treats to serve when a cookbook is opened.

I am thankful for all of our friends in Italy, I miss them terribly. It is now over twenty years since my family and I first moved to Florence and our lives changes forever. Italy, Chicago, it is all of a piece now. Do I make the best pizza? I'm not sure that's what it is all about. Of course we want to put something good, even great , on the table, and we always want it to be better. More important I think for all of us here at Spacca Napoli is to be proud of what we do, to enjoy ourselves and all of you. What makes a restaurant great? Maybe a better question is what makes us thrive - and in closing this year I would say it is sitting at the table with friends, with those you love - what could be better?

Happy New Year!

WE'RE EXPANDING!

We are busy here at Spacca Napoli. The holidays are upon us, and there is much to do. Beginning in early September we started on an expansion of the pizzeria that will almost double our indoor capacity! These plans have long been in the works, in some ways since our earliest days. This year the timing felt right, and we look forward to being able to share our new spaces with you! We are well under way with the construction and have several city inspections this week. Once we receive approvals on the work performed to date, we will close the walls and begin the fun stuff, such as lighting, tile, cabinetry and the introduction of color. I am confident that the additional two rooms will be pleasing to the eye and ease the wait time for a table. Reservations will be available on Friday and Saturday evenings. Larger parties and private events, no problem! Though starting my days earlier than usual to accommodate the crews has been a little rough, it also has been a lot of fun. I have always liked the demolition part of a project and the excitement of making a new space out of a raw space; this harks back to my pre-pizzeria construction days. All of the trades working on this project take pride in their work and have begun to coalesce as a family, in a way not unlike that of our staff.

Speaking of family, Keith Will, a guiding light at Spacca Napoli, and I participated as we do each year in the Inspiration Café’s Anniversary Dinner fund raiser. This was a particularly special night, a celebration of twenty years of service to the homeless community of Chicago. Keith shares my love for the Inspiration Café, it is truly in our blood. We always look forward to the call for help for this event. Though our main task is doing the dishes, we often are asked by award winning Chef Dominique Tougne of Bistro 110 (the event’s grand master) to work alongside his staff and those of the French Pastry School as the evening progresses.  It’s not a bad job!  And the treats Chef Dominique puts forth are readily available for all of us to enjoy.

On December 7th I will team up with restaurants Piccolo Sogno, Phil Stefani 437 Rush, and Italian Village, as well as with Isola Imports and Palm Bay International to sponsor the Italian Chamber of Commerce’s 2009 Christmas Reception. A portion of the funds raised by the event will be donated to the Cook Italy Education Foundation. Cook Italy was created to provide nutritional education to disadvantaged children in Chicago. We are serving bruschetta with ricotta and peperonata, octopus salad, roasted asparagus with walnut crème and pecorino tartufo, and lastly, Neapolitan meatloaf (Polpettone) with prosciutto, scamorza and parmigiano, made possible with much appreciated help by my own kitchen at Spacca.

The asparagus recipe mentioned above comes from Nate Appleman’s and Shelly Lindgren’s A16 Food and Wine cook book. I am never at a loss to find something new and delightful when I look to them for ideas. The Polpetone comes from a new book, Cucina Napoletana by Arturo Iengo.  Just added to my collection is Arthur Schwartz’s The Southern Italian Table, Authentic Tastes from Traditional Kitchens. I can’t wait to introduce new specials at the pizzeria that Arthur has so lovingly embraced and shares with everyone.

In early December Ginny goes to San Francisco to hear our friend Pasquale Esposito perform.  A wonderful voice (he has crafted a unique pop opera style) and a beautiful person, Pasquale, a native of Napoli, found us when he was here in Chicago in 2006. In October of this year Pasquale was here to sing again. Before flying out on Monday afternoon, he came by with his manager, musical arranger, and his adopted from the heart American parents to make some pizza and have a little Minestra Maritata. I couldn’t help putting Neapolitan Classic, Salsiccia e Broccoletti on the table.

While Ginny is on the West Coast, she will visit a very popular new spot, Flour and Water, which was just written up in the NY Times Travel magazine on Nov 22nd. Their principal pizzaiolo Jon Darsky was visiting family in the neighborhood (our neighborhood), and asked if he could spend a day with me at the pizzeria. It’s always a pleasure to share time with another of the pizza community.  Like San Francisco, in Chicago we continue to see new pizzerias open and are proud to be part of this camaraderie.  It’s an exciting time for all of us. My thanks to all of you. I enjoy what I do, I am inspired. Happy Thanksgiving!