Pizzeria da Nella Cucina Napoletana

WE ARE POUD TO ANNOUCE ARE NEW OPENING FOR ARE NEW PIZZERIA FRANK AND NELLA GRASSANO

Dish Flash: Nella Returns with Pizzeria da Nella Cucina Napoletana in Lincoln Park
Posted Oct 14, 2011 at 03:45 PMBy Penny Pollack and Graham Meyer

Nella Grassano first drew the drooling hordes at Spacca Napoli, where she made the Neapolitan-style pizzas that packed the place as soon as it opened in 2006. Then Grassano teamed up with Scott Harris of the Francesca’s chain in late 2009 to open Nella Pizzeria Napoletana on Clark Street in Lincoln Park, with plans for a second location in Little Italy. After some differences with Harris, Grassano left in mid-2010, and the second location never materialized, while Harris renamed the restaurant Francesca’s Pizzeria Napoletana. It closed in May.

Now Grassano is only a few months away from opening Pizzeria da Nella Cucina Napoletana (1443 W. Fullerton Ave.; no phone yet) in the old Tsuki space and turning out picture-perfect margheritas again. “We will have the beautiful oven like we did at Clark Street,” says Frank Grassano, Nella’s husband. “It will be built again. Everything comes from Naples again.” The oven at Clark Street he’s referring to was a 1,200-degree woodburning beauty built brick by brick by two artisans brought in from Naples, and Harris said in 2009 that Nella thought the flavor given off by the oven and the temperature it kept were irreplaceable.

Frank Grassano says that in addition to 20 to 25 pizzas, the new pizzeria will offer 10 to 12 pastas made by Nella, and probably a pizza with luxury ingredients that costs $100. They’re currently refurnishing and repainting the space, which holds 90 diners inside, and they plan to use the driveway next door as an 80-seat patio. Craft beers will be sold on draft and imported Italian beers in bottles.

They expect to be open by Christmas, Frank Grassano says—the perfect time for a green-white-red tricolor

THANK YOU NELLA AND FRANK GRASSANO WE WILL POST MORE INFO AS IT COMES AVAILABLE

In case it is not entirely clear, this thread was started by Frank, who is Nella's husband.

Thanks,

=R=
for the moderators

grassanof wrote:

grassanof wrote:WE ARE POUD TO ANNOUCE ARE NEW OPENING FOR ARE NEW PIZZERIA FRANK AND NELLA GRASSANO

Dish Flash: Nella Returns with Pizzeria da Nella Cucina Napoletana in Lincoln Park
Posted Oct 14, 2011 at 03:45 PMBy Penny Pollack and Graham Meyer

Nella Grassano first drew the drooling hordes at Spacca Napoli, where she made the Neapolitan-style pizzas that packed the place as soon as it opened in 2006. Then Grassano teamed up with Scott Harris of the Francesca’s chain in late 2009 to open Nella Pizzeria Napoletana on Clark Street in Lincoln Park, with plans for a second location in Little Italy. After some differences with Harris, Grassano left in mid-2010, and the second location never materialized, while Harris renamed the restaurant Francesca’s Pizzeria Napoletana. It closed in May.

Now Grassano is only a few months away from opening Pizzeria da Nella Cucina Napoletana (1443 W. Fullerton Ave.; no phone yet) in the old Tsuki space and turning out picture-perfect margheritas again. “We will have the beautiful oven like we did at Clark Street,” says Frank Grassano, Nella’s husband. “It will be built again. Everything comes from Naples again.” The oven at Clark Street he’s referring to was a 1,200-degree woodburning beauty built brick by brick by two artisans brought in from Naples, and Harris said in 2009 that Nella thought the flavor given off by the oven and the temperature it kept were irreplaceable.

Frank Grassano says that in addition to 20 to 25 pizzas, the new pizzeria will offer 10 to 12 pastas made by Nella, and probably a pizza with luxury ingredients that costs $100. They’re currently refurnishing and repainting the space, which holds 90 diners inside, and they plan to use the driveway next door as an 80-seat patio. Craft beers will be sold on draft and imported Italian beers in bottles.

They expect to be open by Christmas, Frank Grassano says—the perfect time for a green-white-red tricolor

THANK YOU NELLA AND FRANK GRASSANO WE WILL POST MORE INFO AS IT COMES AVAILABLE

were getting closer 1 month away for new opening

getting closer to are opening looks like less then 1 month away

Pizzeria da nella will open for business april 27 phone number is 1773 281-6600

http://www.thrillist.com/food/chicago/i ... ontent=Eat

website is up and running pizzeriadanella.com

great article from the red eye http: //articles.redeyechicago.com/2012-05-16/entertainment/31731659_1_neapolitan-pies-neapolitan-style-pizza-deep-dish

Stopped at Nella on our almost weekly trek to Black Dog gelato. Had a good sausage and rapini pizza. The crust was much closer to Coal Fire's than to Spacca Napoli's or the pizzas' we ate during a week in Naples. Maybe that's what they think their customers want. Back to Spacca when we want vera pizza Napolitana.

We checked out Nella last week and her pizza is as good as it's ever been. Unfortunately, the place was just about empty. Granted, we were there midweek but this pizza is too good to be ignored. My white pizza with sausage and rapini was everything this style of pizza should be. A little chewy, a little crispy, and some real character in the crust.

Sure, Neopolitan pizza has become ubiquitous in Chicago (in no small part due to Nella's work), but let's not be so jaded as to greet this place with a collective "meh". Michael Nagrant posted a great review here.

And for all that attention she produces a pizza with a satisfying chew at the center and a perfect puffy rise at the edges. Though much is made of food miles these days, Nella prefers to import many of her ingredients directly from Italy. And, yet to breach the edges of her basic Margherita pie, to inhale a creamy circle of fior di latte mozzarella, to graze on the tangy zip of San Marzano tomatoes and the spicy crispy charred anise perfumed edge of whole basil leaf, is to realize that sometimes authenticity trumps localness.

This is not my favorite style of pizza but a fantastic dinner here about a week ago prompted me to return for lunch yesterday. Unfortunately, the lunch wasn't as enjoyable as the dinner. At the first meal, everything sang. Crusts were typically wonderful and the toppings were sensational in every way. The pizzas were out of this world, as was just about everything we tried, even pastas. We tried 3 excellent pizzas, including the Bufalina (tomatoes, basil, mozzarella di bufala, olive oil) and the Funghi e Salsiccia (tomatoes, mozzarella, mushrooms, sausage, basil, olive oil). However, one pizza -- a sublime tuna and pepperoni combination that must have been a special -- haunted me all week. I couldn't stop thinking about how good it was, nor telling everyone I knew about it. Unfortunately, at yesterday's lunch, it was nowhere to be found. Still, we were easily able to find a couple other combinations that looked appetizing -- it's a great menu. But first, we started with a salad . . .


Rucola e Parmiggiano Salad | arugula, shaved parmiggiano, extra virgin olive oil, fresh lemon
We really enjoyed the peppery, bouncy-fresh arugula but we both found this salad to be way over-salted.



Mare & Monti | tomatoes, mozzarella, baby shrimp, porcini mushrooms, olive oil, parsley
There was a lot to like about this pizza. The dough itself was spot on. It had a crispy exterior and a chewy interior. The complex flavor built throughout the chew. The plump baby shrimp were perfectly cooked and fresh-tasting. But the overall flavor of the ingredients atop the crust was bland and the tomatoes tasted a bit watery. I realize that this style of pizza is more about the crust than the toppings but in comparison to the pizzas I had on my first visit, this was somewhat flat.



Mare & Monti | tomatoes, mozzarella, baby shrimp, porcini mushrooms, olive oil, parsley
A closer look.



Troisi | white pizza with sausage, rapini and olive oil
Again, great, compelling crust. I also really appreciated the bitterness of the rapini, which was tender without being mushy. But the sausage was a bit dried out and somewhat devoid of flavor.



Troisi | white pizza with sausage, rapini and olive oil
A closer look. Crust-wise, it really doesn't get much better than this.



Troisi | white pizza with sausage, rapini and olive oil
Side view. A fairly even crumb.

I really like the all-Italian beer list. On my first visit, we shared a large format Manabrea 'Top Restaurant' Double Malt that was really a nice match for the food. At lunch I had a 330ml Manabrea Ambrata that I also liked, but not quite as much. It had very up front concord grape and honey notes that I found somewhat distracting but the finish was nice and its maltiness matched up well with the pizza dough. There are some other offerings that also look interesting and I hope to try them in the future.

It's hard to say after just 2 visits how variable Nella's is going to be over the long haul. My first meal there was the best Napoletana-style pizza I've ever had. Saturday's lunch was still very good but nowhere near the transcendent level of the dinner. At that dinner, even a Nutella dessert pizza that was sent out for us by the kitchen was astonishing. When we saw it on the menu, we chuckled. After it arrived, we ate the whole thing. Maybe lunch isn't as good a time to go as dinner is. Maybe it was just a different day. I really don't know. I do know that I'll be back. That is for sure but it won't be with the unbridled enthusiasm I felt after my first meal here.

=R=

I ate here last night, and I particularly enjoyed the outside side patio (plenty of outdoor seating) on a beautiful summer night. It was late and they had a pretty good size crowd considering the time. We were also happy to find a handful of available street parking spots pretty much in front of the restaurant. Perhaps that's because it was late . . . I lived a block or so away some years back and parking used to be a bit more difficult then.

As for food, my friend and I each had a salad - he had the salad with pears, arugula and blue cheese (IIRC) and I had the arugula and parmesan salad pictured in Ronnie's post above. Note that the salads are very large and could be split. We thought both of the salads were quite overdressed so dressing on the side would be advised. For me, too much dressing really obscures and ruins that nice peppery bite of arugula.

As for the pizzas, I enjoyed them quite a bit. I had the diavolo which had a spicy tomato sauce (hot pepper flakes I believe), basil and pepperoni, and I enjoyed it quite a bit. The crust was probably a bit more well done than what I'm used to from Spacca Napoli, which was a good thing. I don't necessarily like the soupiness (if I can call it that) of the middle of the Spacca Napoli crust, and that aspect was definitely missing from Nella's crust last night. Toppings were of great quality and also very well distributed so overall I'd say the pizza portion of the meal (the main reason for the visit) was a big success. I personally prefer the crusts at Great Lake and Coalfire texturally, but that's a personal preference. In any event, I'll definitely return.

ronnie_suburban wrote:
It's hard to say after just 2 visits how variable Nella's is going to be over the long haul. My first meal there was the best Napoletana-style pizza I've ever had. Saturday's lunch was still very good but nowhere near the transcendent level of the dinner. At that dinner, even a Nutella dessert pizza that was sent out for us by the kitchen was astonishing. When we saw it on the menu, we chuckled. After it arrived, we ate the whole thing. Maybe lunch isn't as good a time to go as dinner is. Maybe it was just a different day. I really don't know. I do know that I'll be back. That is for sure but it won't be with the unbridled enthusiasm I felt after my first meal here.

=R=

We ended up on the good side of the equation with the caper-and-anchovy red pizza, and the zucchini white pizza. Pretty impressive stuff, generous in portion but cooked full distance all the way to the undermiddle. Salads were overdressed as mentioned above, but tasty. Service was great and I like the room and patio plenty. Split an unfiltered Italian blond beer reminiscent of Chimay, which was very nice - need to look that one up.

got takeout recently for 2 pizzas and liked them both. two problems though:

tried to call ahead and got the "phone disconnect" sound, making me wonder if i had the right number. I did, so no idea why it wasn't working. anyway I ordered once I got there and waited the extra 10-15 minutes to get my food... and while waiting i saw them answer a phone call. weird.

problem #2 was the pizzas were not precut. there might be some complicated quality explanation as to why, (steam gets into the crust or something?) but the at home pizza cutter had a bit of trouble with the chewy crust, etc... some pieces of basil were dragged around instead of split. but part of the blame is on me for having an inferior pizza cutter.

minor issues though, i'm a fan of the place.

Dudefella: Use a pair of kitchen shears.

You're welcome.

Have had a few good pizzas there over the past few weeks. In fact, this is becoming my go-to for authentic Italian pizza.

The crust has a great flavor, texture, and chew. Its thin, but avoids the sogginess in the center that seems to plague the pizza @ spacca napoli. Flavors of the toppings are excellent.

My only (really) minor quibble is that the toppings (at least on the varieties I've had) tend to be too heavy for the crust to support, so they fall off when you pick up the slice. I suppose I could use a knife and fork to avoid the problem, but being from the east coast, using utensils on a pizza is an unnatural act.

EdE wrote:Have had a few good pizzas there over the past few weeks. In fact, this is becoming my go-to for authentic Italian pizza.

The crust has a great flavor, texture, and chew. Its thin, but avoids the sogginess in the center that seems to plague the pizza @ spacca napoli. Flavors of the toppings are excellent.

My only (really) minor quibble is that the toppings (at least on the varieties I've had) tend to be too heavy for the crust to support, so they fall off when you pick up the slice. I suppose I could use a knife and fork to avoid the problem, but being from the east coast, using utensils on a pizza is an unnatural act.

from all of my experiences, authentic italian pizza is meant to be eaten with a knife and fork.

EdE wrote:The crust has a great flavor, texture, and chew. Its thin, but avoids the sogginess in the center that seems to plague the pizza @ spacca napoli. Flavors of the toppings are excellent.

Not a plague, a style decision on Spacca Napoli's Jon Goldsmith part. (Discussed at length in the 11-page Spacca Napoli thread). I very much enjoy the crust at Spacca Napoli.

Comparisons are inevitable between Nella and SN, she was opening pizzaiola at SN, and the bread/crust is terrific. Unfortunately the topping on our Troisi (white pizza with rapini and sausage) did not equal the quality of the crust. Rapini was tough/chewy, sausage nondescript. The Diavola fared better, we were each given a slice gratis, (tomatoes, mozzarella, spicy salami, red pepper flakes, basil, olive oil).

Insalata di mare as starter was just ok and served to outline the disconnect I see between Nella and Spacca Napoli, attention to ingredient detail. In numerous visits to Spacca Napoli over the course of years I've always felt Jon Goldsmith chose each element with the care a mother might employ with child, Nella more a teacher with a class full of kids.

Will I go back to Nella, yes, absolutely, the crust is reason enough in itself.

Troisi, Nella


Crust, Nella


Nella

I go here for carry out almost every week, I'm pretty picky with my pizza and it's made my rotation because it's the best Napoletana-style pizza I've found in Chicago. Another bonus is there's free street parking on this part of fullerton, and it's next to fit foot (28.00 an hour foot and body massages!) so it's a great one two punch... The prices are reasonable for the quality and freshness of the ingredients, and you must try the Cafone, which is a white pizza (smoked mozzarella) sausage, onions, and speck. This is the best sausage I've had on a pizza imo, even better than the one at coalfire. I'm a fan of coalfire and great lakes as well, but for me this is my go to place and I've told everyone I know about it and I hope they do well!

In case you hadn't heard, da Nella now delivers via GrubHub. We ordered in recently, and although it took a bit longer than expected, everything was terrific, particularly the Rigatoni al Ragu. We had to stick the pizza in the oven for a few minutes, but it didn't seem to affect the crust, which was spot on. For the record, the pizza was delivered uncut.

Nella and staff provided just the right service for a larger party a few weeks ago, setting up the large round table near the oven, and pacing everything appropriately. The unfiltered Italian beer selection, easy and economical to split, is refreshing, and Monday's $7 pizza margherita specials allow a dive into other menu items; calamari was competent, the arugula salad had a more balanced dressing than previous visits, and the burrata was actually stellar - we ordered a second round. This is an attractive space and I hope one that sees better visit volume later in the weeks / evenings, since it has been very quiet each time I've enjoyed the charry-undercrusted, bubbly, and appealing pies.

Anyone visited the Carol Stream location yet? Curious to hear how it stands up to the Chicago one.

First visit to this place was Friday night. Not being a fan of Spacca Napoli, I harbored cautious hope that Nella would be serviceable, but fully expected to be disappointed. For me, the best example done within driving distance of this type of pizza is Il Ritrovo in Sheboygan, which we'll drive to for lunch a few times a year.

Happily, Nella delivered some excellent pies. I had the Cavana (or Cavani?) which had some excellent sausage, and quite spicy salami as toppings. The true test though, for any of these joints, is the crust. Nella's sports nice crispy edges, an appropriate toothsomeness, and doesn't have the overly soggy center that too many others fall victim to. We'll definitely be back.

The big question: does Nella meet, or exceed Il Ritrovo? Sadly, no. Ritrovo is a slightly better pie, mostly due to the taste of the dough, which sports a hint of saltiness almost as if it were of the ocean. No small feat for a city in Wiscinsin. Also, Nella's apps were fine, but nothing to right home about. Both the Caprese salad and prosciutto y ruccola were just fine

Finally, what's the deal with Nella's wine. Very small pours of some pretty mediocre wine for 9-14 a glass? Quite disappointing.

None the less, an excellent pie and happy to have this place near by in between my sojourns behind the cheddar curtain!

the wimperoo wrote:Anyone visited the Carol Stream location yet? Curious to hear how it stands up to the Chicago one.

Well, I tried to eat at the Carol Stream location on Saturday night, but this was the scene when I arrived.



No signs on the door saying they were closed so I'm not sure if they are just remodeling or what is going on.

It seems that Carol Stream location has been closed, although I understand that Nella may be looking for a venue in Streeterville. Lincoln Park on Fullerton location remains open (with $7 off on final bill tomorrow, July 27).