Bonci Spittin’ Pizza Fire

A pizza town always has room for one more player; especially one with bona fides directly from Rome. Bonci arrives with tons of cred, a boatload of creativity and a delectable crust. You won’t be alone if you walk in and fall into instalove as soon as you look down at that long row of gorgeous pizza in big rectangular trays.

Ground rules: They sell pizza by the pound, not by the slice. Each slice is cut with scissors to keep all of the ingredients in place. The folks behind the pizza are nice. They know you’ll be overwhelmed if you’re a newbie and will guide you along. And unless things have changed very very recently, they don’t take cash.

Back to the pizza. Bonci gained fame and fortune with his original pizza al taglio (by the slice) in Italia. The west Loop location at 161 N. Sangamon (just below Lake) is his first venture in the U.S. The crusts are all that and then some. Light, airy and crisp. A great foil for either uniquely innovative or highly traditional toppings. You won’t see any menus on their website because the toppings change frequently. In one season, they plan to run through as many as 45.

The great thing about this concept, which combines organic flour, damn near artisanal ingredients and the process of a master craftsman, is that the quality bangs through every bite. Each slice is about 8” long. You decide the width. The average is 2 to 3”. Hefty.

Best of all, you are not limited to one pizza experience when you go. Four slices will fill the average joe to the brim and each slice can be worlds apart from the other three. Or you can stay within a theme, carnivore deluxe or diva light and subtle. Of the six slices on the most recent Bonci foray, the spicy eggplant and the meatball pizzas took gold and silver. All for under 20 bucks.

The only regret is that I didn’t eat in. It was early on a Friday and they weren’t crazy busy. The space has a nice relaxed vibe at that time of day and pizza with a well bodied craft beer would have been chill.