One day last summer I was waiting on my pizza from SouthShore OvenWorks, a wood-fired pizza oven housed in a bright yellow Studebaker parked at Highway 12 and Broadway in Beverly Shores. I got chatting with a man and his son at the picnic tables, and they told me they drove in from Hammond several times a summer to get this pizza and then soft-serve ice cream at the gas station across the street.

Beverly Shores (where I live) may be tiny, but we’re a foodie destination, apparently. The gas station, which until recently was owned by a Beverly Shores couple, still has its famous soft-serve ice cream and its incredible donuts from Heinze Bakery in Valparaiso.

You’ve no doubt had this style of pizza: Quickly heated in a wood-fired oven, it’s floppy, but has nicely brown bubbles on the crust. SouthShore’s slices are best eaten immediately at the picnic tables near the truck, with a cold drink from Hobgoblin, a terrific liquor store next door.

It’s been a long winter, but SouthShore is back! The truck will be in Beverly Shores this weekend, Saturday 12-7; Sunday 12-7; Monday 12-5 (though sometimes the pizza runs out!) The truck is in Beverly Shores most weekends, but is also at the New Buffalo Farmer’s Market Thursdays 2-6 pm and other spots around the region; follow on Instagram or Facebook for the schedule.

The proper way to eat a slice is to fold the pointy end back onto the crust. I see people eating it from pointy end to the crust, and they leave the crusts! Heresy! If you must take the pizza home, or if you leftovers, the best way to heat it up is in a cast-iron pan on low heat. That’ll crisp up the crust a bit while warming the toppings. No microwaves please!

The owner/chef of SouthShore Ovenworks, Jim Chaddock, was born in Beverly Shores and has lived in the area ever since. He learned pizza making as a pizzaiolo at Eataly in Chicago. Chaddock uses the best Italian imported cheeses and meats and makes his own dough. He co-founded The Rolling Stonebaker in 2010 and later struck out on his own with SouthShore.

Aside from the basics—an excellent margarita pizza, pepperoni, sausage, the truck features specials with ingredients (often seasonal) such as wild mushrooms, roasted corn, spinach, burrata and pesto. A fall pizza one year was the Harvest—maple-sage sausage, winter squash puree, McIntosh apple, caramelized onion and gouda. The Emerald City, typically available in the height of summer, features corn and a pistachio pesto with prosciutto.

When he’s not in Beverly Shores, he’s catering parties and showing up at festivals. Follow SouthShore Ovenworks on social media to get the schedule.

Friends who visit us always ask to go back to “the pizza truck.” Once you try it, you’ll know why.

The runners-up for wood-fired pizza in the area:

Pizza Terra in Burns Harbor. (More on this hidden gem later. It’s excellent. You should go.)

Stop 50 in Michiana (the OG of Neopolitan pizzas around here.)

Beer Church in New Buffalo. (Mobbed in summer; great patio, drinks and salads.)