A Pizaro's Pizza From Start to Finish

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• The fire rages inside the pizza oven, which has been lit since its installation. Sort of like the eternal flame, only for pizza.
• Owner Bill Hutchinson makes the mozzarella from scratch, daily.
• Hutchinson's son, Matt, spins pizza dough.
• Sauced and cheesed and ready for the oven.
• It takes a mere 90-seconds to get that crust perfectly blistered and charred.
• You've got to master the perfect folding technique, or "pizza a libretto" as it is termed in Italian.

[Photos: Gary R Wise]

Pizaro's Pizza Napoletana is a big deal, although that may not be apparent from the outside of its near-hidden location in a west Houston strip mall. How big of a deal is it? It made Eater National's recent list of The 15 Hottest Pizzerias Across the Country. And here are some fun facts to back up the hype.

· The mozzarella is made in-house daily in 20 to 40-pound batches. They also cold-smoke this fresh mozzarella in-house for topping some of their pizzas.

· Owner Bill Hutchinson is certified as a Pizzaiuolo from the Verace Pizza Napoletana (VPN), which basically means he trained in Italy to learn how to make truly authentic pizza.

· The whole family's in on the gig: Bill is the father and overseer of all things pizza and mozzarella related, Matt is the manager and Bill's son (and master pizza combination artist), Gloria is the wife/mother who makes all the tasty salads from scratch.

· The flour used in the dough is imported from Italy and is whole wheat (who knew?). The San Marzano tomatoes used for the sauce also come from Italy as well.

·: The badass pizza oven was imported from Naples, Italy and the fire has never been allowed to go out since it was installed in December of last year. Temperatures inside the oven range from 1000-degrees to 800-degrees.

· All Pizza Week Coverage on Eater Houston [EHOU]
· All Pizaro's Pizza Coverage on Eater Houston [EHOU]