Illinois

I’ve had the famous Chicago deep dish at Giordano’s and Lou Malnati’s. It’s a cool experience, but not the way I like pizza. Forno Rosso came highly recommended for good reason. I didn’t expect to have such an incredible Neapolitan pie in deep dish country.

This pizza hit every single note I look for in a Neapolitan. Not just another AVPN restaurant, Forno Rosso’s execution perfectly aligned with my palate – the full satisfaction of all my personal preferences in Neapolitan pizza.

We showed up for lunch soon after they opened on a rainy day, happy to be one of the few served at the time.

This is easily in my top 10 favorite Neapolitan pizzas. It hits every devilish desire with flawless execution. There is the ideal amount of EVOO on top. The balance of the sauce is incredible. I’m all about the sauce – this is delightfully authentic, simple and sweet. Datterini tomatoes are sweeter than San Marzanos, and it is an incredible blend. Add red piennolo tomatoes – the hanging tomato of Vesuvius – cooked to perfection. The umami floods your mouth when the tomatoes gently break with your bite. The mozzarella di bufala is lusciously tender and weightlessly fluffy. It is so fresh that it melts with the pie when you eat it. The texture melds delicately with the sauce and tomatoes. Add to that a ciliegine mozz ball in the center. The crust was definitely AVPN-style, serving as a delicious carb vessel to float the heavenly clouds of flavor into your pie-hole. Absolutely no surprise that this pizza won a Caputo Cup in 2018.

Mushrooms aren’t really my thing, but these were well done – moist and flavorful. The prosciutto was fantastic, but it was overpowered by the mushroom. The fun began when I added the hot oil. I always try the house chili oil when available, something I discovered for the first time at Ghibellina in 2017. That’s what this pizza needed for me – a little heat to cut the earthiness of the mushroom and the delicate fat of the prosciutto. Another great pie.