Once in a blue moon, a restaurant comes along that is so good it keeps you coming back again and again, wanting to try everything on the menu.

That’s the effect Vingenzo’s, Cherokee’s best new restaurant, has on me. Driving home after our very first meal here, my dining companion and I were already avidly discussing what we were going to order on our next visit.

Places where the chef cares enough to make everything he serves from scratch are few and far between. And if there is someone out here in the suburbs other than Chef Michael Bologna who is doing things like producing three different homemade mozzarellas and several kinds of fresh pastas daily, that person is not on my radar.

“Hand-crafted Neapolitan cuisine” is the promise Bologna and his partner, general manager Gary Slivenik, make to diners, and they deliver the goods. Don’t expect the typical offerings found at any red sauce joint like chicken or veal parmesan. Like many neighborhood cafes and markets in Italy, Vingenzo’s focus is on pizza and pasta, and both are superlative.

Nothing here comes from the back of a food service truck. Bologna is an absolute stickler for high quality ingre-dients. What he doesn’t make himself, he imports from the old country from vendors he has personally visited and approved.

Only the best is good enough for this picky chef – wheels of the king of cheeses, aged Parmigiano reggiano, for example, and authentic prosciutto di Parma cured for 24 months, six months more than the standard. His Italian sausage is one he learned to make by watching his southern Italian father in the family butcher shop in New York’s Westchester County.

Using these exceptional components, Bologna and his kitchen staff turn out food that is unpretentious but su-premely satisfying. Bologna has a talent for extracting maximum flavors from seemingly simple combinations.

Pizzas are baked quickly in a wood-burning oven fired at 800 degrees, guaranteeing the thin crust comes out puffy yet crisp and lightly charred. Bologna uses fresh yeast rather than dried for his hand-stretched pizza dough, which may be a reason the crust’s flavor is superior to most others I’ve had. I’m working my way through all of the 14 different pizzas offered and have yet to have one I wasn’t extremely happy with. They’re priced from $12 to $15 and come to the table uncut with a knife provided for self slicing, but if you prefer, the server will accommodate requests for assistance.

Vingenzo’s sauce is made with San Marzano tomatoes, and its clean, bright flavor complements but doesn’t over-whelm. Each of Bologna’s three homemade mozzarellas – the mild latte fresco, extra creamy straccialtella burrata and my favorite, the buffalo milk bufala –are represented on the pizzas and in the pasta dishes. The best way to appreciate the subtle differences in the trio is to order the tasting plate, which comes with roasted tomatoes and peppers, capers, and two kinds of imported olives.

The pastas, also made in the restaurant kitchen and cooked to order, are terrific. A dozen pasta dishes, priced from $11 to $19, are sterling examples of the genre. The fettuccine with littleneck clams and a spicy tomato sauce is outstanding, and the gnocchi with creamy gorgonzola sauce and spinach is close to culinary heaven.

Those who are gluten intolerant will be overjoyed to learn Bologna has perfected recipes for gluten-free pizzas and pastas.

House-made gelatos are a great way to end a meal, but if you’re feeling decadent, by all means order the torta di ricotta, a ricotta cheesecake with chocolate chips and raisins soaked in Marsala wine.

Modeled after a café in Florence, Vingenzo’s décor is minimalistic yet inviting. The high-ceilinged interior with its wood tables, open kitchen and tiled pizza oven are separated from the dining area by a cherry wood bar where customers can stand to the side and watch the pizzas being assembled. Pallets of wood for the oven are strategically placed in the center and sides of the room and become part of the ambiance.

Near the entrance is a small case offering Vingenzo’s primo meats, cheeses, olives, pastas and sauces at retail prices.

Open for dinner six days a week and lunch on Friday and Saturday, Vingenzo’s is closed on Sunday.

Vingenzo’s Pasta and Pizzeria

105 E. Main Street

Woodstock

(770) 924-9133

www.vingenzos.com