MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — There has been an explosion of great pizza places in the Twin Cities.

Newcomers like Pizzaria Lola and Black Sheep are getting a lot of love, deservedly. But one of the best in town has been making great pie for more than 10 years.

This morning, DeRusha Eats at Pizza Nea in northeast Minneapolis. Owner Mike Sherwood says his carefully crafted dough is what makes his pizza special.

Pizza Nea is Neapolitan-inspired. The oven is gas-fired, not wood, the tomatoes come from California and not Italy. But the ingredients are incredible, and the crust is perfection. Mike ran a bagel joint before he started pumping out pizzas.

For 11 years now, he’s been on Hennepin Avenue. The Salsicce is his best seller: It consists of roasted pequillo peppers and sausage made by a neighboring restaurant. About 70 percent of the menu is vegetarian, including a pizza featuring roasted red peppers, goat cheese, mozarella and red onion.

When he started more than a decade ago, virtually no one was making Neapolitan-style pizza.

But Pizza Nea’s dough recipe will never change. Nor will the high heat in the dome of the oven that gives it those beautiful black blisters.