Jane Jasnak perfected her recipe for doughy, delicious Neapolitan pizza in her Burr Ridge home, where her 11- and 14-year-old sons couldn’t get enough of the stuff. Now Jasnak, her husband, and brother-in-law have gone public with the opening of Castel Gandolfo, a brick oven pizzeria in River North. Here, too, everything is homemade, from the light, white mozzarella that melts into chewy, bubbling crust to the perfectly tart sauce made daily from fresh tomatoes. During our visit, we noticed the boys settle in at a table near the restaurant’s kitchen for their umpteenth pizza—one topped with pepperoni, basil leaves, oregano, and small pools of olive oil. “They’re the critics,” Jasnak says, “and they love it.” So do we. 800 N. Dearborn St.; 312-787-2211.

Photograph: Anna Knott