Due Forni’s pizza innovative, but don’t pass up the appetizers

Due Forni's name is a literal one; it translates from the Italian to "two ovens," and the restaurant does indeed have two pizza ovens, one heated to 500 degrees and one heated to 900 degrees, to turn out two different styles of pizza.

Which is great as far as it goes. The sticking point is that Italy and the rest of the world have brought us numerous styles of pizza crust (not to mention countless styles of pizza), and the one cooked up in Due Forni's 500-degree oven, its Roman-style pizza, is the crackery kind. I not only dislike that style of crust, I've never known anybody else who actually likes it. So that's fair warning to kindred spirits out there.

On the other hand (well, besides the fact that I long ago developed the ability to ignore personal preferences in the interests of research), Due Forni's Neapolitan pizza -- that's the one prepared in the 900-degree oven -- is quite good. And its starters were so fantastic, it's a wonder we even got to the pizza.

For instance: carpaccio ($11.95), which, from the menu description, appeared to be a standard preparation, which is to say paper-thin raw beef arranged on a plate and topped with arugula, pine nuts, Parmesan and olive oil or a vinaigrette.

It did contain all of those things, but that was not how it was served -- and major props to the kitchen. Instead, the beef had been rolled into cylinders and filled with a mixture of chopped arugula and pine nuts and Parmesan, dressed in a black-truffle vinaigrette that actually tasted of black truffles. It was not only a novel preparation but a very practical one, putting all of the flavors and textures together and solving the usual problem of trying to lasso them all on a fork at the same time.

Due Forni has a mozzarella bar, offering bufala mozzarella ($10.95) in classic, smoked and soft-and-creamy variations, along with a choice from among seven accompaniments. Our classic with roasted tomatoes was quite nice, the delicate knob of cheese accompanied by two piles of roasted cherry tomatoes and a few basil leaves for a classic caprese combination. The flavors were clean, simple and classic; there's a reason this dish has timeless appeal.

And the pizzas. They're single-serving size, available with seven combinations of toppings. Even though I'm not a fan of the Roman-style crust, the quattro formaggi ($15.95) we paired with it served it well, the fontina's big personality blending nicely with the nutty Parmesan and neutral mozzarella, with ricotta for a shot of creaminess. This was less like a pizza than like a cheesy flatbread, and I found myself loving it in spite of myself.

We chose our Neapolitan-style crust in the classic Margherita ($12.95) manner, whose colors reflect the bands of the Italian flag. The crust was reasonably stretchy, and the toppings of bufala mozzarella (the white), basil (the green) and imported San Marzano tomatoes (the red), with their sweet, less-acidic flavor, echoed the timeless appeal.

Service throughout was excellent -- much better than we've encountered even in some upscale Strip spots. The atmosphere was suburban comfortable, sleek and simple and muted.

I've seen a lot of comments by people comparing Due Forni to Settebello, across the valley in Henderson. Both are very good pizza restaurants, but such comparisons miss the point of their divergent missions. While Settebello, by definition, strictly adheres to tradition, with its wood oven and government sanction, Due Forni tweaks it, and tweaks it well.

And I'd go back for the carpaccio alone.

Las Vegas Review-Journal reviews are done anonymously at Review-Journal expense. Contact Heidi Knapp Rinella at 383-0474 or email her at hrinella@ reviewjournal.com.