I know, I know. How could this be my first time at Roberta’s. It’s basically Brooklyn Pizza royalty. Let’s just say that it was meant to be when it was meant to be. And it was meant to happen by myself, after a long bike ride, on a beautiful sunny fall day.
The entrance was definitely of “hole-in-the-wall” status, and when you get inside it’s much bigger than I expected. Especially given all horror stories of how long the lines can be (upwards of 2 hours). In fact, I almost took the advice to order take-out service but I called and found out that at noon on a Thursday there was no wait. There certainly ARE benefits of being shall we say, independent. 🙂
There is a bright sun shimmering through the back “garden” seating area. It indicated to me that all was well with the world today.
I ordered quickly spotting the “Lil Stinker” pizza; tomato, mozzarella, double garlic, parmesan, onion and pepperoncini pepper. Definitely not the recommended option on a first date. Note that I did not opt for the “Good Girl” pizza, and I assume neither would RiRi.
The pizza came very quickly (yay!). The blackened rustic crust with wood fired bits was a lovely contrast to the soft, moderately thin dough partially saturated by the slightly sweet marinara sauce.
I finally take a moment to breath and notice the patrons in the room. Moms with babies, round men in blue collard shirts. Friends with bomber jackets on this sunny but cool fall day. A woman in the corner with a male friend had bright red lipstick on, rosy cheeks and short blond hair. If we weren’t in a pizza joint I might think she was in the modeling business. 🙂
I take a moment to smell the air and perhaps that whiff is even more impressive than actually tasting the pizza. I can smell pork and red meat and know that I must come back to try another option on the menu.
I had two slices left of my 6 slice pie and I knew I needed to stop there or the bike rid home would be miserable.
So net, net yup it’s good. The crust is the superstar. The environment is chill and very Brooklyn (of course). You should definitely check it off your list (probably bring a tourist), but avoid the peak times because it wasn’t exactly a pizza euphoria that I would wait in line 2 hours for. And definitely consider biking there if you can. Enjoy the graffiti of Bushwick and consume the pie with a little less guilt.
So, I did it. Mission accomplished. A few actually:
- Finally went to one of the most famous pizza places in Brooklyn
- Wrote a food review of sorts for the first time ever
- Successfully ate by myself without feeling super weird despite being in full on workout gear
- Took a bike ride through beautiful graffiti, which I hope will be there for years to come
The type A in me is very content. This is what sabbaticals were made for. Stopping and smelling the pizza. Doing those things that you never made time for. Going for a bike ride in the middle of the day. Sometimes it just hurts me that in this country, we have to remind ourselves of these things. But that’s a whole different topic, perhaps for another day…
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