[Gatto Nero]

Originally Posted by Sal

There's a pizza thread, below, which concerns itself mainly with who makes it better. My mother, of course, made it better, but she's been gone for a long time. I do a reasonably good job with a large pizza stone (Soap-stone actually) in our gas kitchen oven. it takes about 6 or 7 minutes for a pizza to cook there, and sometimes, the bottom is cooked and the top needs more time. Frustrating.
For the past two years, I've been seeing ads for wood fired pizza ovens. They're flat bottomed, have pizza stone surface, have an arced, insulated top and a chimney to take away the smoke.
You light a wood fire inside, allow it to burn for a while and get the inside temp up to 6 or 7 hundred degrees in order to cook a reasonably sized pizza in two minutes or so. They are for outdoor use only and some come with a base which has wheels. Cost ranges, depending on size and manufacturer, from about $1600 to $3000 (and of course, more).
Needless to say, I am lusting for one . . . but I won't pull the trigger until I see one in action, having been bitten more than once by following up on my lust without checking on quality.
Have you seen them on the internet? Have you purchased and used one. Are you happy with it?

Sal, I built my own using the Cuore 1000 Wood-Fired Oven Kit. We've had it now for several years. It works great and makes for some real fun parties. Happy to share my experiences. Feel free to PM me.