Pizza on Perry

Pizza is the most primal and ancient of foods: flat bread cooked on a hot stone, covered in just about anything that’s handy. It’s easy to imagine our cave-dwelling ancestors stuffing their pie holes with mammoth and pineapple pizza, washed down with some accidentally fermented yeasty concoction.

So remember that when you’re at the new SOUTH PERRY PIZZA, chomping on their already amazing pizza and connecting with your inner caveman. “This good,” you’ll think. “Want more!”

But there’s nothing old or too rote at South Perry — the latest landmark in the neighborhood’s resurgence. Across the street from the Lantern Tavern, which opened in April, South Perry Pizza took over a former storage space with two large garage doors and somehow transformed the forgotten building into a swank, and welcoming, pizza joint.

“Our goal is to be for friends, family, neighbors,” says Pat Kautzmann, who opened the restaurant with wife Sue and daughter Krista. “We’re a neighborhood place.”

Large windows line the building’s west side, looking out on to Perry Street, and inside is an open, warmly industrial dining area. Behind the bar sits the oven, the stainless-steeled pizza machine manned by the restaurant’s cook, Christopher Deitz.

The menu is uncomplicated, featuring eight pizzas, four salads and some appetizers.

“We wanted to keep things really simple,” says Krista. “There’s a lot of things that are complicated in life. Pizza shouldn’t be.”

This doesn’t translate to boring pizza. The dough, which took the family six months to perfect, bakes into a thin crust that is both crispy and chewy.

And check out the Sopressata. This pie’s main attraction is the Italian dry-cured salami, which is supported in its scrumptious fame by basil, mozzarella and a delicate tomato sauce. Of course, the old stand-bys are there for the habitual: pepperoni, margherita and cheese.

The restaurant also has a bevy of topping options, from mascarpone and Beecher’s cheese curds to prosciutto and arugula.

You don’t have to be a hunter-gatherer to get behind that. — NICHOLAS DESHAIS

South Perry Pizza, 1011 S. Perry St, is open Tues, Wed, Sun 4 pm-9 pm, and Thurs-Sat 4 pm-10 pm. Call 290-6047 or visit southperrypizzaspokane.com.