Lamp Wood Oven Pizzeria

The rustic pies from this casual yet refined spot in north Scottsdale come courtesy of chef-owner Matt Pilato, who studied Neopolitan pizza-making at the Scuola Italiana Pizzaioli Academy in San Francisco. Pilato doesn’t quite adhere to the strict Neapolitan pizza standard, preferring instead to combine some of its techniques with his own style. The result is nearly 20, 12-inch varieties of red and white artisan pies with bready crusts — charred and crisp at the rim and thin and soft in the center — and laden with top-notch ingredients like San Marzano tomatoes, hand-stretched mozzarella, and sausages prepared by DeFalco’s Italian Deli & Grocery in Scottsdale.