i’d just like to reaffirm everything CDSIII said. it is spot on. in grad school there was a visiting prof in our department, and he was from napoli, italy. he had often complained about the lack of REAL pizza in the US. then one day he arrived at school raving about some restaurant he’d just been to… it turned out to be punch. he not only said it was excellent pizza and very consistent with true neopolitain style, but he said it was the best pizza he has EVER had outside of napoli, italy. he said other parts of italy (specifically naming rome) don’t even offer a pizza as good as punch. coming from a native neopolitan, i think this says a lot. he talked just the way CDSIII talked…

so with that, go have yourself a simple, unpolluted, and pure margarita or napoli punch pizza… and enjoy.

ps – in the opinion of this italian friend of mine, he does not even think the “napoli” pizza is pure enough… i guess the true grand-daddy is the margarita pizza with fresh basil. although, i prefer the napoli…

Pizzeria Uno is probably still my favorite (insert disapproving eye rolls if you must); unfortunately Madison is probably the closest one now. Love the fabulous, pastry-like crust.

(Incidentally, Garrick, this page is currently the 6th ranked Google result for “Punch Pizza”…)

1) You have to stick to the true Neopolitan recipe – cheese, sauce & crust. Your choice is either a Margarita if you prefer basil or a Napoli if you prefer oregano – that’s it! You can maybe add one traditional topping if you absolutely positively have to – but that’s all. You certainly do not americanize and mutilate the purity and perfection of the Vera Napoletana end product with a bunch of ridiculous american toppings/add-ons/substitutions (for instance – if you want that absurd gorgonzola, sun-dried tomatoes, mushrooms, and garlic insanity mentioned in the above article then you should definitely go somewhere else – Punch is not for you).

2) The only substitution you MUST remember to make is the one that makes the pizza MORE authentic. You must always remember to substitute the authentic, flown in from Italy, ultra fresh mozzarella di bufalo for the regular mozzarella. This is CRITICAL – on a scale of 1-10 Punch Pizza is a 7 with the regular mozzarella…..it’s a 20 with the fresh mozzarella di bufalo. But you must ask for it….they don’t give it to you automatically.

3) I’d also recommend asking for light oil (this should solve your problem TJ) as the pizza is already ‘wet’ enough.

4) And finally, ALWAYS eat it there….you can’t get it ‘to go’. The amazingly fresh ingredients – the unparalleled crust and the imported San Marzana tomato sauce & bufalo di mozzarella are fired at 850′ for just a few minutes to create this award winning taste….you can’t take it home and ‘reheat’ something like this….it all coagulates obviously and the end product is destroyed. Always eat it right there on the spot.

That’s it….you do all that and it will be the best-tasting, freshest Neopolitan pizza you’ve ever had….period. Nothing else compares – unless you wanna travel to Napoli . But remember, this is the best Authentic Neopolitan Pizza people….if you’re looking for Americanized pizza….ie – either New York style with lots and lots of cheese/toppings or California style with lots and lots of weird, exotic substitutions/add-ons go somewhere else. The Art of Punch’s award winning Vera Pizza Napoletana is all about the true essence of pizza – the best-tasting, freshest crust, sauce & cheese on the planet.

I think the close-together thing is more or less to help create the Italian atmosphere. I’ve had that happen in Italy.

Luce is good. Paradise Pizza is better. I’d give Dulano’s high praise as well, and Lake Harriet Pizza is pretty good.