If you’re in the mood for pizza, you won’t do any better than this recent addition to the Twin Cities dining scene, featuring authentic Neapolitan pizza. It’s so good that I’d seriously consider adding pizza to any dining itinerary. We crossed the Hennepin Ave. Bridge to reach this location, which sits just north of the river on the east side of Hennepin.

Now up to five locations in the metro area, this growing chain of pizzerias is the brainchild of two local restaurateurs, including one of the people behind Caribou Coffee. Pizza—and particularly Neapolitan style pizza, cooked in wood fired ovens—obviously dominates the menu. Punch claims to be one of only a few pizzerias outside of Naples that belong to Vera Pizza Napoletana, an organization dedicated to maintaining standards for Neapolitan pizza.

All pies are the same size, about 10", with the exception of a kid-sized offering, and are cooked in the colorful, wood fired, tile-covered oven. 800° and 90 seconds is one of their slogans, and the wonderful odors wafting out from the pizzas before us made it really difficult to concentrate on ordering. The menu lists about 20 standard pizzas, all featuring authentic (if not imported) toppings and ingredients. Running the gamut from cheese only offerings to vegetarian items to colon-threatening, meat-heavy dishes.

Most pizzas start as Margheritas (basil) or Napolis (oregano). Between the eight of us that gathered here for a late lunch on Friday, we covered the gamut. My Margherita Extra added Mozzarella di Bufalo (which is indeed mozzarella made from the milk of water buffalo) and tomatoes in addition to fresh basil leaves (which were unbelievably fragrant as they emerged from the oven). I shared a piece, but only after ensuring I’d end up with a matching contribution from someone else’s pie. My Dad’s Bruni featured sausage, spiced salami and onion atop a basic Napoli, while my Mom and brother went for the Toto: arugula, prosciutto, goat cheese, cracked red pepper, and basil.

There are five salads on the menu, available in both small and large sizes. A pizza and a small salad was more than enough for a lunch; a large salad would likely have been more than enough for a meal. I had the chopped Italian salad, which mixed greens, salami, prosciutto, and mozzarella with pepperoncini, white bean, carrots and cherry tomatoes in a red wine vinaigrette. The Punch salad had balsamic vinaigrette over greens, pine nuts, Parmesan and prosciutto. Both were different and tasty.

If none of the offerings strike your fancy, you can build your own, from a list of items that’s a little longer than that at other pizzerias. How about a Margherita with prosciutto, capers, pepperoncini and saracene olives—with Gorgonzola?

Pizzas with toppings run $9-$11, small salads are $4, and large salads are $7. In addition to this northeast Minneapolis location, there are also stores near Lake Calhoun, on Cleveland Ave. in St. Paul, and in Eden Prairie and Wayzata.