Union Pizzeria

From the street, Evanston's top spot for Neapolitan pizza looks like an old bank, scooped out and filled with the warm, low glow of Edison bulbs and a wood oven. The pies are indeed highly devourable, with toppings like lamb, eggplant and rosemary melting into crusty-crewy dough from the nearby Hewn bakery, not to mention classics like a well balanced (read: well-basiled) Margherita, but don't overlook the small plates and daily specials. Octopus and squid are routinely cooked to the right tenderness, vegetables are clean and simple, and the molten eggplant parm, the Tuesday special, is a hot hug. Oh, and never neglect the Polenta pound cake, warmed in the oven and topped with a seasonal fruit compote, a carry over from chef Vince DiBattista's more upscale Campagnola down the road. It's more reason to come up to Evanston than taking in a show at SPACE, the concert hall in back that books name singer-songwriters, folkies and the outlying indie act.