Tre Forni, Durham

Tre Forni might just serve the best pizza outside of Italy. That may sound surprising until you consider that owner Dave Diggins learned his craft from a pizza-making mentor that once worked in Naples' oldest pizzeria. Today, Dave stays true to the time-tested Neapolitan tradition by using only flour, crushed tomatoes, olive oil, and buffalo mozzarella imported from Italy, and cooking each one to crispy, chewy perfection in one of the restaurant's three wood-burning ovens. Popular pies include a Margarita D.O.P., dressed simply with tomato sauce, mozzarella di bufala, pecorino romano, basil, and extra virgin olive oil, as well as a white pizza that swaps red sauce for pistachio pesto, paired with sausage. Those same wood-fired ovens also churn out the shop's signature calzones and sandwiches, the latter of which are made with bread that's baked-to-order.