A few years ago, Jay Jerrier abandoned his paying corporate job in order to make pizza, starting with an oven in his backyard, then assisting with Campania before opening a rolling oven and (finally) his own restaurant. Not just any pizza either, but real Neapolitan-style crusts with a New York attitude.

That’s right, Il Cano Rosso buys sausage from Jimmy’s Food Store and imports the more important cured meats—like sopressata and prosciutto—from a longstanding New York salumeria. The sauce is pressed San Marzano tomatoes and they pull mozzarella in house. Crust drawn from the wood fired oven strikes an aural impression first: a little crackle as a sheen of crisp dough snaps. Sound is perhaps the most overlooked aspect of dining. Imagine, for example, a potato chip without the crunch. But this is a subtle note, a clean break luring you through the dough’s blackened surface. Underneath this razor veneer, it becomes remarkably chewy, a dense traditional white bread packed into one thin layer. This is the essence of a Neapolitan crust, a simple yet beautiful thing adopted by much of Europe, though often adulterated over here.

Toppings ride on the cool bite of San Marzano tomatoes and are applied sparingly, so flavors explode. The room may say Dallas, but the cooking is purely Italian.