Pizza but one of family-owned Italian restaurant's charms

Canta Napoli Pizzeria is a family-owned spot in downtown Mount Prospect that manages to carve out a place for itself in the realm of quality with subtle decor, good food and great service.

Its corner location slices the dining area into two rooms, one of which has a floor-to-ceiling embellished painting of Italian-style houses. The other side, where we sat, was the sunnier option, at least during the time of day when we visited.

Classics from Italian singer Adriano Celentano infused the air with nostalgic sounds. Semi-exposed ducts covered by hanging wooden crisscrossed panels created an illusion of beams, while burnt orange terra cotta-like walls and palpable floor faux-cracks added to the mood set by the 5-foot-high wooden wine-filled rack.

Less than 20 wines make up the wine list, but they are sufficiently diverse (Chilean to Californian to Italian) and approachable.

Starters include the calamari fritti, served with a cream-inflected cocktail sauce. It was fresh, but effortlessly outdone by the soft and crunchy bruschetta Canta Napoli, which neared ceviche-like tanginess with its vinegary tomatoes and baby shrimp underneath chopped spongy mozzarella.

Pizza is a focal point here - as evidenced both by the sentimental photograph of a hundred year-old brick oven the size of a small garage taken in rural Italy (captioned "Nonoo's"), and the absolutely delicious pizza itself, of which there are more than 15 different kinds. The choices range from the classic margherita to the more involved verdure with tomato sauce, fresh mozzarella, roasted eggplant, roasted peppers, zucchini, grilled asparagus and Kalamata olives.

Melted Fontina, a smearing of black truffle tapenade (a black pesto made of olives, capers and black truffles) and drizzles of truffle oil made up the house specialty Canta Napoli pizza. Presented in the black-white dichotomy of tapenade versus cheese, the pizza - with a super-thin center and fluffed up, chewy end crust - was original and completely impressive. Our server, Italian herself and an effortless purveyor of top-notch service, revealed it to be specked with a touch of Emmental cheese to tame the truffle effect.

If you're looking beyond pizza, the menu offers paninis, various entrees and a fish of the day. A sheet of paper listed the specials, which on the night we visited included penne alla vodka and Mediterranean tilapia. Also on the special's list was a crispy, generous chicken parmesan. Although it edged close to being overdone, it was enveloped by a rich, tasty marinara sauce and served over spaghetti.

The cheesy lasagna Bolognese had a subtle spice that one could prematurely judge too mild. But the taste slowly escalated and lingered nicely, transforming the dish.

Soups accompanied the chicken and lasagna. The borscht-inspired minestrone with cabbage, beans and slightly spicy broth was a standout.

A finish of two scoops of homemade chocolate gelato with a sprig of mint ended things superbly at this great discovery of a restaurant.