Jonathan’s Letter

The year is coming to an end. We have so much to be thankful for. We continue to enjoy our work and all of you who come in to dine.Thanks to Roberto Caporuscio of Keste in New York, my pizzaiuolli friends in Naples, and Arthur Schwartz of Brooklyn for your inspirations and celebrations of southern Italian cuisines that you share so openly. We are grateful for this food community.

We continue to evolve. Four years into our business, the interesting and healthy debate concerning Neapolitan pizza continues. What makes a pizza great? What is authentic? What is tradition? Though I always have something to say about this topic, I would never venture forth and give an absolute about myself or the pizza we make. All I can tell you is that we try our best, that we try to honor the tradition and the joy of cooking that brings us all together. We are doing longer, more gentle rises with our dough. Our hands are more delicate. We are never at a loss for new treats to serve when a cookbook is opened.

I am thankful for all of our friends in Italy, I miss them terribly. It is now over twenty years since my family and I first moved to Florence and our lives changes forever. Italy, Chicago, it is all of a piece now. Do I make the best pizza? I’m not sure that’s what it is all about. Of course we want to put something good, even great , on the table, and we always want it to be better. More important I think for all of us here at Spacca Napoli is to be proud of what we do, to enjoy ourselves and all of you. What makes a restaurant great? Maybe a better question is what makes us thrive – and in closing this year I would say it is sitting at the table with friends, with those you love – what could be better?

Happy New Year!

Jonathan

After almost two weeks of pause, we are about to refire the oven. I am excited to get back in the dough room, to begin thinking once again of our pizze, antipasti, wine and sweets. I am excited to have the staff return, to see many of you who have come in on a regular basis and to make new acquaintances as well. It has truly been a pleasure to see our community grow.

I find taking a break helpful. The opportunity to rest and reflect allows me a moment to focus more clearly on what we are trying to do with Spacca Napoli. None of this would have happened without my and my family having had experienced the good life of the Mediterranean. I have tried to share some of those qualities that seem to make that life special and enjoyable: good food and wine, a slower pace, a celebration of both young and old. I have tried my best to select worthy cheeses, oils and vinegars, to put forth fresh ingredients that my aunt Joyce Goldstein, a continuing inspiration, (see www.JoyceGoldstein.com) would describe as “simple and unpretentious.”

Pizza is a wonderful thing. It is simple to prepare. With just a few ingredients, you can have something dance in your mouth, even make you cry. It can be eaten at the table

or on the street, by yourself or with a large group. Watching the hands of those who extend the dough and work the oven is a thing of beauty. There is art in those motions.

I am appreciative of my pizzaiuoli (pizza makers) and the others who help me put food on the table. Every day I feel want to start at the beginning. I am always asking about the dough; how it feels, performs, tastes. There are many styles, all are good.

DE GUSTIBUS NON DISPUTANDUIUM EST. TASTE IS NOT TO BE DISPUTED. Over the past two years, several artisanal pizzerias have opened, I am proud to be one of them.

It is my wish to learn more of this wonderful way of being.. In our first week open this fall Roberto Caporuscio of the Associazioni Pizzaiuoli Napoletani will be in residence. I look forward to his guidance, his gentle voice and soft touch. I want Roberto to look at our hands, how we touch the dough, how we add ingredients that give life to the pies we make. There is constant discussion about the nuances, of taste, texture, the feel of the dough, its resilience, its air… For me, its all about passion; to share something good, to enjoy all those who come in. I have a lot to learn, I have only just begun. During the latter half of October I will travel once again to the Gargano in Puglia, Napoli and the Cilento further south in Campania. It is always my desire to taste something new, to deepen my understanding of what I have already experienced. Thank you all for your support and kindness. My apologies to those for whom I have not done enough.

Sincerely,

Jonathan

With warm weather here and joyfully opening up our outdoor seating we want to thank everyone for coming out as the summer season gets underway. We hope you are loving the sunny afternoons lengthening more slowly into evening and the big night skies which make it perfect for meeting friends and hanging out–Italian style!

Summer seems to affect us all–Many of our clients are families who bring their kids who can hang out and play, free of bulky layers; and there just seems to be more relaxation in the air. In Italy life happens on the sidewalks as much as anywhere else; and at Spacca Napoli we are blessed with a quiet corner and lots of space to spread out. We hope being outside when weather permits makes sometimes having a wait be more playfully enjoyed. We do strive to make space possible for everyone to enjoy our offerings, and hope the increased summer seating helps us do so. We encourage you to enjoy the wait when there is one; maybe meet someone new outside as you savor the summer days!

Summer often highlights festive ceremonial events, and we have been thrilled to host several graduation parties, from fifth graders to high school to university.

Some of our clients have lately been calling and asking for special pizzas, and we will gladly take your favorite into consideration when planning each week’s menu, accomodating whenever we can. It make take a couple days, but we would love to hear requests from you and will let you know when they will be on the menu. Look for some new seasonal fare in our appetizer specials such as polpi alla luciana, a signature dish from Naples.

Check out these wonderful new cookbook releases also focusing on Mediterranean fare; Tony & Cathy Mantuano of Spiaggia Restaurant have co-written Wine Bar Food: Mediterranean Flavors to Crave with Wines to Match; prolific author Joyce Goldstein has just released Mediterranean Fresh: A Compendium of One-Plate Salad Meals and Mix and Match Dressings (full disclosure: Goldstein is my aunt) These chefs inspire us all to live, shop and cook creatively!

Reminder that we are now open on Tuesdays for dinner in addition to our established hours.

Grazie,

Jonathan Goldsmith

Spring at Spacca Napoli brings with it new lighter fare such as a minestra di zucchini and Maccu di San Giuseppe. Arthur Schwartz, The Food Maven, describes the latter soup as combining “two foods that are preserved for winter — dried beans and dried chestnuts — with the greens that are just emerging from the cold winter earth.” We have introduced a pizza made with a varietal of mozzarella called burrata, a creamy, light and spectacularly flavorful cheese renowned for its freshness and soft texture. Red pepper, onion and zucchini trifoliate along with porcini and a touch of bufala mozzarella make this a white pizza dream!

We look forward to the re-opening of the outdoor café as the weather permits. This coming June, Spacca Napoli will extend its hours to include Tuesday evenings so we can celebrate more of the good summer weather and longer hours of daylight we have all been waiting for.

We are very excited about our upcoming involvement with the Provincial Councils of Avellino, Caserta and Napoli. We have been asked to team up with them to promote the food of Campania and the Mediterranean Diet as “something unique and upscale that can be interpreted in modern ways as well as traditional.” The week prior to the Global Food and Style Expo in Chicago which is April 27-29, 2008, Spacca Napoli will be offering a tasting of Pasta e Fagioli con Le Cozze, Fusilli alla Napoletana and Paccheri al Ragu.

In closing we bid a fond farewell to Adrian Landin, one of our wait staff who has been with the pizzeria since the early days, as he ventures on to Central and South America. We wish him good luck in his journeys and will miss his energy!

Grazie,

Jonathan Goldsmith

I would like to thank all of our customers and friends for making 2007 a wonderful year. As our 2nd anniversary approaches on February 14 and we begin our third year there is so much to celebrate and look forward to. We are grateful for being embraced by the local and larger food community, as we strive to continue to bring you the best from the true food culture of Italy. We cherish the relationships that have formed with all of our customers and want to express how much these are valued!

Our hope is that Spacca Napoli continues to evolve into what my aunt and chef Joyce Goldstein (of Square One Restaurant and Mediterranean Kitchen fame) has written of as the need in our lives for a ‘third place’ — along with home and work — a place where friends can meet, dine, talk and enjoy life and feel in relationship to others, neighborhood, and a kind of authenticity.

In 2008 look for us to introduce more pizzas and some new appetizers…. We are planning some special food treats for our anniversary, so please stop in and help us celebrate! The entire week of February 14th we will celebrate and invite you to join us!

Auguri,

Jonathan Goldsmith