What do you know about real pizza? I’m taking about the Italian kind, in particular the Neapolitan variety — thin crust, red sauce (unless you like it “blanco”), and cooked in a brick oven. Luckily, to get a taste of Napoli, you don’t have to travel far. Hidden in an Itaewon alley, you can find a pizzeria that blends the flavors of Italian-style pizza while capturing the cosmopolitanism of the city.

As a pizza aficionado (I lived in Napoli — a.k.a. Naples — for two years), I can say that Pizza Peel, the new pizzeria, offers pizzas to rival that city’s. The menu offers a mix of traditional and alternative pizzas and calzones. The pizzaiolo (pizza chef), Dave Lauckner, polished his skills at a pizza externship program in Naples. He also worked for four years at a pizzeria in Canada, which accounts for the North American flair in some of his dishes such as the New York calzone and the “supreme” pizza.  

What’s his secret? It’s often said that the crust makes the pizza. At Pizza Peel, the dough is the outcome of a three-week effort. Lauckner says the key to his crust lies in the yeast starter, which he rests for several weeks before adding it to the flour mixture. The technique allows more air into the dough, making the crust “more bubbly.” The result is a crust that is more than a delivery mechanism for the cheese and toppings. The crust is slightly sweet, and airy yet crispy.

To keep his menu current, Lauckner is constantly on the lookout for dining trends and ways to share his love of pizzas. Not long ago he began a pizza workshop for kids (and kids at heart). He also just introduced a wider selection of American beers such as Indica IPA and Dead Guy Ale by Rogue.

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To get to Pizza Peel, turn right down the first alley past the Itaewon Arch on Itaewon’s main street, heading away from Noksapyeong Station.

By Laine Ritter 

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