"I never worked in a pizzeria before so I really didn't have this box to have these rules. It wasn't Neapolitan-style pizza, I didn't go to study in Italy, it was what I thought pizza was," said Chef Jeff Mahin.
Something as simple as soft, creamy burrata cheese arrives with grilled red grapes, olive oil and fresh, grilled bread. But for pizza, start with the baseline - a Margherita - which is simultaneously soft and crunchy, loaded with quite a bit of fresh mozzarella. But his kale and spinach version - which gets a bottom layer of parmesan cream sauce and some roasted garlic, also has pecorino romano as well as scallions and parsley.
"When we put the kale on there - and we were messing around, I wanted a spinach pizza - but the kale gets really crispy, like kale chips. But it's a different crispy than the dough. So you have this multiple-textured pizza," he said. "The reason I got into making pizza is I wanted to go back to why I started cooking was having fun in the kitchen."
So the nice thing about Stella Barra are all of the options: from the familiar - such as a margherita pizza or pepperoni - to the maybe not-so-familiar, such as the imports from California like the kale and spinach pizza; yes, it's delicious.
On your way out, be sure to stop by the dessert bar in the center of the entrance, for an amazing thin cookie (or two).
Stella Barra Pizzeria
1954 N. Halsted
773-634-4101
http://www.stellabarra.com/
