When I first went to Naples, I was warned to watch my back, my bag and my wallet.

But I’m from tough stock, and my ancestors ran merrily (and probably barefoot) through the streets of Naples, enjoying the earthy, lush lifestyle that was once the epitome of life in Europe.

So I never shied away from all things Naples – especially pizza.

Now we’ve all heard the legend about how China invented pizza. On paper that sounds fine, but to me, that’s like saying the person who created tins of colorful oil paints is responsible for Renoir or Picasso. It’s distantly related but so beside the point.

Pizza – that sublime mix of dough, tomatoes and cheese – may have been created by the Chinese but believe me, those pizza artists in Naples have taken it to its exponential level.

In Montclair, a new spot in town has opened, and with true Italian bravado, Ah’ Pizz has also transformed the typical American pizza into something truly extraordinary.

And just like in Naples, it’s all about the mad simplicity of perfect ingredients.

The dough is light yet crisp, never soggy or heavy. Rather, it is somehow minus all that fat American doughiness yet has a consistency that can only be compared to breath, as if somehow a tiny pizza fairy had blown in a gentle, magical breath of fresh air straight from the Mediterranean and into the crust.

Then, there are the tomatoes. If you know your tomatoes, you know Marzano tomatoes are the sweetest of them all, and at Ah’ Pizz that’s what you’ll get if you chose a traditional style pie.

The cheese can be anything from fresh mozzarella to authentic Buffalo mozzarella, not the typical dried out American versions.

All the vegetables, and the inspired choices of toppings for their pizzas, are truly the freshest I’ve encountered in years.

Yet, what sets this place apart is not just their superb ingredients and attention to detail.

It’s the 30 second, 1,000 degree wood burning pizza oven that sets this pizza spot above all others.

When these pizzas come out of that hellishly hot oven, what you get is a slightly toasted, roasted and perfectly thin pizza, with all those fresh toppings melded together in a marriage of tastes that you will ooh and ahh over – hence the name.

But no matter how many pizzas you devour – and you will eat more than one – make sure to save room for that Nutella pizza.

It’s created in a three step process, with imported Nutella (not what you find in our supermarkets), fresh dough, and two visits to the pizza oven.

Even Naomi Campbell would break her diet for this – I know I did.

Go to Ah’ Pizz. Enjoy the moment – and if you close your eyes, you’ll know exactly how amazing pizza in Naples can be, right here in Montclair.

Who knows – maybe you’ll be slipping off your shoes and running down North Willow Street, without a care in the world, just as if you were in Naples.

Ah’ Pizz

7 North Willow Street

Montclair, NJ 07042

(973) 783-9200

www.ahpizz.com

FROM THEIR WEBSITE:

here are many different versions of the evolution of Pizza Napoletana. We believe the “True Pizza Napoletana” was first made after the discovery of America in 1492 by Cristoforo Colombo. It was this Genoan who carried the tomato plant back to

Europe. In 1596, it was exported from Spain to Naples where it was first used on top of a disc of dough. This was the birth of the “Pizza Napoletana.”

In 1889, Chef Rafaele Esposito used red tomato sauce, white mozzarella cheese and green basil on pizza dough to represent the Italian flag for King Umberto I. Queen Margherita loved this pizza so much, it became the “Pizza Margherita” in her honor.

The world’s first pizzeria was opened in 1830 in Naples and is still operating today. To attract customers to “Antica Pizzeria Port’Alba,” Italian youths would walk around with tin cans on their heads. They would bang the tin cans to attract customers and lead them to the world’s first pizzeria “Antica Pizzeria Port’Alba.”

IL FORNO (THE OVEN)

The only way to make authentic Pizza Napoletana is in an oven that is heated 100% by wood. Our oven was made by Neapolitan artisans using stone and volcanic soil from Mount Vesuvius. It was built to cook at a temperature of 1,000 degrees, making apizza in 90 seconds. Our oven is the key to making our quality pizza.

INGREDIENTS

We use only the best ingredients from Italy and America to make our authentic Pizza Napoletana:

* San Marzano tomatoes

* Pure flour from Napoli

* Sicilian Sea Salt

* Fresh Fiore Di Latte (fresh mozzarella)

* Extra virgin olive oil (imported from Napoli)

* Fresh basil

* Mozzarella Di Bufala (imported from Napoli fresh every week)