Bricks Neapolitan Pizza in Hudson, WI

Becca Dilley / Heavy Table

“My husband is a born-in-Milano Italian and we have eaten many pizzas in Italy. This is the real thing — and in Hudson, Wisconsin! Woo-hoo!”

Becca Dilley / Heavy Table

So writes Yelper Patti I. in support of Hudson, Wisconsin’s Bricks Neapolitan Pizza. And if you’re willing to overlook the fact that Milan and Naples are several worlds apart, the comment reflects a dedication to Continental standards that helps Bricks — a VPN-certified pizzeria — stand out amid an ocean of local pizza joints.

This much can be said for the VPN certification program that has asserted itself in the Upper Midwest over the past five or so years: When you see the “VPN” seal (Vera Pizza Napoletana, true Neapolitan pizza), you’ve got a fighting chance at a good meal.

The rules of America’s VPN association are relatively simple: You need a high temperature (800° F) wood-burning oven; specific types of flour, tomatoes, mozzarella, and fresh basil; low-speed or hand-mixed dough; and some oversight from the VPN group itself. This doesn’t guarantee a great pizza; you can still have crackerlike or mushy crust, overcooked cheese, and any number of other execution problems. Still, it’s a start. Bricks builds from the VPN concept to execute a nice, relatively straightforward Neapolitan style pie, with few hitches.

A classic margherita-style pizza (below) with the “Pizza D.O.C” option was as simple and pure as any diner might hope. The pizza itself was a straightforward American rendering of the Neapolitan standby —  thin, chewy crust, bright tomatoes, high-quality cheese, and basil. The $2.25 “Pizza D.O.C.” add-on meant that the pizza featured imported mozzarella di bufala, made from whole water buffalo milk. (Whether you can really make a VPN-worthy pizza using local, non-Italian mozzarella is a brain-melting argument that we’ll delegate to the comments section, if anyone wants to take a crack at it there.)

The result was an extremely lactic, somewhat sweet, and very tender cheese topping on the pie. The only slight regrets were that the rich, engaging cheese shouted down the tomatoes, and the crust could have used a little more oomph and resilience.

Becca Dilley / Heavy Table

A Siciliana pizza (top) was also a well-designed specimen, the olives, artichoke hearts, and prosciutto both in balance and evenly distributed. The non-D.O.C. cheese was a little less flavorful, but the knife cuts both ways — instead of being an overbearing star player, the cheese was more adequately incorporated into the ensemble cast.

Becca Dilley / Heavy Table

Bricks pizzas are similar to the Twin Cities VPN standard (Punch), although the Hudson eatery is more generous on the cheese, and less focused on the sauce. Whether that’s a good thing is a matter for personal interpretation.

Prices are reasonable, on the whole — individual 10-inch pies range from $8.75 for the margherita up to about $15 for a meat-heavy pie tricked out with buffalo mozz and the presumably non-autentico Pizza Vesuvio option (ricotta stuffed in the crust). And while there’s not much to be said for the ambiance (Spartan suburban chic — imagine the opposite of Fat Lorenzo’s), service was prompt and attentive, and the central location is fairly clutch.

So after you’re done rocking Abigail Page antiques for obscure Midwestern gastronomica, you now know where to get a hot slice of Naples.

BEST BET: The classic Margherita with D.O.C. mozzarella is a guaranteed good move; pizza blogger and Heavy Table producer Aaron Landry also recommends the Quattro Formaggi.

Bricks Neapolitan Pizza [warning: website is model for how not to incorporate music and the Internet]

407 2nd Street
Hudson, WI 54016
715.377.7670
HOURS:
Sun-Thu 11am-9pm
Fri-Sat 11am-10pm
BAR: Wine and Beer
VEGETARIAN / VEGAN: Yes / No
RESERVATIONS: No
ENTREE RANGE: $8-15

Becca Dilley / Heavy Table

6 Comments

  1. Ellen

    This place looks great. I’ll have to give it a try. VPN is certainly a good start, but it’s not the be all, end all. I’d love to eat some pizza made with local cheese!

    (For what it’s worth, I have had stuffed crust pizza in Naples, filled with ricotta and proscuitto crudo. There’s a surprising amount of variation and creativity in pizza napoletana from pizza with broccoli rabe to fried pizza. I’ve also had less than great pizza in Naples, go figure.)

  2. Durk

    We ate here on New Year’s Eve while in town for a B+B stay and it was unimpressive. I remember the sauce and crust as a bit lacking, in comparison to Punch, the old Pizza Nea and Black Sheep (I know, it’s not Neapolitan).

    We had the Margherita and started with the prosciutto-wrapped asparagus, which was also just OK. The prosciutto was salty, but didn’t have the porky sweetness that usually follows.

  3. annmartina

    The big standout when we were there was the salad with the maple vinaigrette. Doesn’t necessarily sound that good, but it was fabulous, and the thing we remember the most from our visit. In fact, when my son saw the headline for this story, he exclaimed, “Oh, the place with the salad!”

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