Pizza is a lot like sex: when it's done in a brick oven, it's just better.

So we wanted to alert you to a new brick-oven pizzeria in the North End—presenting Benevento's, ready to start burning the roof of your mouth (and possibly your soul) beginning this Thursday.

Brought to you by the next-door neighbors at Al Dente, Benevento's is a cozy (40 seats) and rather elegant (marble counters, stained wood) pizza parlor that churns out thin-crust gems from a giant freestanding brick oven (score one more for the Masonic trade).

It's in the heart of the North End, which means it's your new reason to brave the lack of parking, the out-of-town tourists from faraway places (Europe, Asia, Vermont) and the turf-protecting citizenry of Salem Street.

You'll want to come here when you're craving no-frills old-world pizza with chewy dough that's crispy on the bottom, washed down with a few ice-cold Peronis while you keep an eye on the Sox on the flat-screen.

And in case you find yourself here with a non-pizza lover or just feel like throwing your stomach a curveball, they've also got non-pie classics like hot chicken parmesan subs and heaping plates of Broccoli and Chicken Alfredo.

Hey, we all lose our way sometimes.