On Serious Eats New York, our man Ed Levine visitsRoberta's Pizzeria in Bushwick: "The pizza is already very good and may or may not be on the way to great. But I don't think it really matters if it gets there, because the place itself is already filled with positive energy and good feelings, as well as plenty of really good food made with carefully chosen ingredients."
Was in Manhattan this past weekend for a wedding and tried Roberta's on Friday night. Easy and fast ride out on the L train... and it's just a block or so from the station. Very casual atmosphere. I was alone and sat at oen of their two large communal tables - the outdoor seating was full. had no problem being seated right away on a Friday evening at 8 PM and service was friendly and prompt.
Appetizer: tried the wilted sucrine (some kind of very expensive lettuce) app with dtried cherries and grated cheese (maybe Asiago? don't recall). Really really good. Small portion but $7 including tax and a friend tells me that sucrine is crazy expensive (like $16 per pound). The lettuce was almost sweet and wilted just right.
Had a pizza Margherita with onions and guanciale. The pie w3as $8 plus $1 or $2 for the onions and $3 for the guanciale. Onions were not sliced thin enough for my taste but the guanciale was very good. Pie had what appeared to be high quality whole milk mozzarella (regular not fresh mozzarella). Nice size and a very thin crust. crust had just a tiny bit of char here and there but was cooked enough. A bit crispy/crunchy for my personal taste but overall a very high quality pie and IMHO very fairly priced for the portion size.
Guy next to me had a Berkshire farms pork chop with a cooked egg on top. Looked really good but after the app and pie I had just enough room for dessert. They had only panna cotta to offer but it was amazingly creamy with flecks of vanilla bean and good - very good.
I was given a wine bottle full of tap water that was cheerfully refilled when I drained it and the overall experience was very relaxing. Background music was eclectic but subdued and not hard edged... conversational levels did not result in a painful noise levels... really nice although I yearned for something just slightly different in the lighting (a bit dim but not my kind of dim and that's a really picayune issue).
My bill with tax included and before a tip was $25 and well spent. As I said - their pizza style is not completely in synch with my personal taste in pizza but that's very subjective, I like what they are doing here and will definitely return to try other things from the menu. Worth a visit.
Wow! Thanks for the thorough write-up, Phaelon56. I think you've managed to capture a lot of the place's atmosphere. Very relaxing and good service. I really like this place, even if I do think the pizza needs a little bit more work to be top-notch.
@Adam Kuban I agree wholeheartedly with your assessment. I posted a comment on the SE NY blog and I thought I'd drop it here as well:
Based on your review, I headed across the rivers to Roberta's last night and treated my palette and my camera to a very unique and enjoyable dining experience. I will be sure to return and recommend the place to others. Although my shots pale in comparison to those of the esteemed Ms. Lee, I thought I'd share these:
We had four pies; two Margheritas, a Millenium Falco and the one that knocked my socks off, The Specken Wolf. Fresh mootz, red onion slices, sliced mushrooms and speck. Not to be missed. I read a comment somewhere indicating that the pies weren't cut completely because of the half moon type knife they used. I found that to be a valid concern as well. I expressed my opinion to our server and suggested that she pass on my comment to management.
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6 Comments:
Was in Manhattan this past weekend for a wedding and tried Roberta's on Friday night. Easy and fast ride out on the L train... and it's just a block or so from the station. Very casual atmosphere. I was alone and sat at oen of their two large communal tables - the outdoor seating was full. had no problem being seated right away on a Friday evening at 8 PM and service was friendly and prompt.
Appetizer: tried the wilted sucrine (some kind of very expensive lettuce) app with dtried cherries and grated cheese (maybe Asiago? don't recall). Really really good. Small portion but $7 including tax and a friend tells me that sucrine is crazy expensive (like $16 per pound). The lettuce was almost sweet and wilted just right.
Had a pizza Margherita with onions and guanciale. The pie w3as $8 plus $1 or $2 for the onions and $3 for the guanciale. Onions were not sliced thin enough for my taste but the guanciale was very good. Pie had what appeared to be high quality whole milk mozzarella (regular not fresh mozzarella). Nice size and a very thin crust. crust had just a tiny bit of char here and there but was cooked enough. A bit crispy/crunchy for my personal taste but overall a very high quality pie and IMHO very fairly priced for the portion size.
Guy next to me had a Berkshire farms pork chop with a cooked egg on top. Looked really good but after the app and pie I had just enough room for dessert. They had only panna cotta to offer but it was amazingly creamy with flecks of vanilla bean and good - very good.
I was given a wine bottle full of tap water that was cheerfully refilled when I drained it and the overall experience was very relaxing. Background music was eclectic but subdued and not hard edged... conversational levels did not result in a painful noise levels... really nice although I yearned for something just slightly different in the lighting (a bit dim but not my kind of dim and that's a really picayune issue).
My bill with tax included and before a tip was $25 and well spent. As I said - their pizza style is not completely in synch with my personal taste in pizza but that's very subjective, I like what they are doing here and will definitely return to try other things from the menu. Worth a visit.
phaelon56 at 3:32PM on 06/23/08
Wow! Thanks for the thorough write-up, Phaelon56. I think you've managed to capture a lot of the place's atmosphere. Very relaxing and good service. I really like this place, even if I do think the pizza needs a little bit more work to be top-notch.
Adam Kuban at 5:02PM on 06/23/08
We recently shot a few videos at Roberta's. This profile introduces you to Chris and features some wonderful stills of his pizza joint.
How2Heroes at 2:17PM on 07/29/08
http://www.how2heroes.com/profile.cfm?videoid=171
How2Heroes at 2:18PM on 07/29/08
@Adam Kuban I agree wholeheartedly with your assessment. I posted a comment on the SE NY blog and I thought I'd drop it here as well:
Based on your review, I headed across the rivers to Roberta's last night and treated my palette and my camera to a very unique and enjoyable dining experience. I will be sure to return and recommend the place to others. Although my shots pale in comparison to those of the esteemed Ms. Lee, I thought I'd share these:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/pauliegee/sets/72157607038477979/
Next time I'll sit closer to the front, where the light is much better.
Ciao,
Paulie Gee
pauliegee at 9:42AM on 08/31/08
As you can see from the shots in the second half of the set in the link below, I kept my promise regarding my return visit:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/pauliegee/sets/72157607038477979/
We had four pies; two Margheritas, a Millenium Falco and the one that knocked my socks off, The Specken Wolf. Fresh mootz, red onion slices, sliced mushrooms and speck. Not to be missed. I read a comment somewhere indicating that the pies weren't cut completely because of the half moon type knife they used. I found that to be a valid concern as well. I expressed my opinion to our server and suggested that she pass on my comment to management.
Ciao,
Paulie Gee
pauliegee at 8:28AM on 09/23/08