pizza worth travelling for. i live by greenlake but happened to be in madison park a few months ago and decided to grab a few pies from the independent. i have plenty of places to choose from closer to home but i've since made the pilgrimage on several occasions and i've never been disappointed (except the time i got there and they were closed for the week). the crust is great, neapolitan style but not too thin, there's still a nice slightly chewy but airy center with just enough rise; a perfect complement to the inevitable and always desirable surface char from the open flame. they use a gas fired pizza oven, and i know the purists will still argue for a wood fire, but you can't argue the even heat it produces. i've had way too many wood fired pies come out burnt to a crisp or too dense and chewy when the heat wasn't there, at least gas is consistent. as far as their pies go, the stevedore with mama lil's and applegate farms genoa salami is great but i think my favorite is the norwalk with a perfect blend of fiore di latte, prosciutto di norwalk, grana and healthy piling of fresh rocket. i'm not always a fan of "salad pizzas" but they got it right with this one. they don't skimp on the toppings (i hate having to hunt for the token leaf of basil some places seem so loathe to part with) but they aren't overloaded either; rather a nice balance of well thought out combinations in proportions that don't leave you double checking the menu to see if caper really was on thelistand didn't just fall on there by chance. the winelistis compact but eclectic and i haven't had a bad one yet (i used to own a wine shop so i'd be the first one to point out if they were padding thelistwith the same plonk you can buy for 6 bucks at safeway). they have a couple taps that are always in rotation and whether by luck or chance they've always had a good ipa on when i was there. in short, if you're looking for a quality pizza in seattle i can count on one hand the number of places i'd recommend and this would be one of them. one last note, the space is small so get there before they get busy or better yet, pick a sunny day and enjoy your pizza in the park across the street.