Eatery - Roberta's (NY)

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Roberta's on Urbanspoon

261 Moore St, Brooklyn, NY 11206 (Neighborhood: Bushwick)
Pricing - $$/$$$ | Dining - Casual | Cuisine - Pizza, American
www.robertaspizza.com

 It's funny how unaware I am sometimes since I don't watch very much TV. I landed in NY late on a Friday night and was hungry, so my brother (who lives in Bushwick) excitedly took us to Roberta's, saying that it was a highly recommended place. Of course, later I learned that it's been aired on several shows and written about with much praise...but I didn't know that when I walked in which actually was a good thing. I mean, who wants to be let down when expectations are too high? However, I did appreciate learning about their rooftop garden and how they do urban farming for their produce!


 So excuse my poor photography but it was midnight after all and in general, everything was dimly lit. The restaurant itself is so unassuming and definitely not a place you'd just find while looking for food. It was just a brick building amidst other abandoned warehouses but once you walked inside, you could see everyone bustling with life. The fired-up oven was burning with hot flames and the ambiance a little hipster, a little young, and a lot of fun. In fact, I really wanted to return just to sit at the awesome-looking bar. It was hard to hear even across the table while we conversed but I suppose that's the nature of the place.


 Don't come in here expecting a cheap pizza joint though. Even with the wooden and brick decor that might make it look a little more on the lower price range, general food runs from $15 upward. We snagged ourselves a meat plate for a $12 price tag first. The meats were USA cured - La Quercia prosciutto from Iowa, Biellese finocchiona from NY, and Alps Sweet sopressata from NY. The prosciutto was more ham-like and very soft, slightly melting in your mouth. The finocchiona was heavily laden with other herbs and spices in the curing process probably; its texture was the best of the three. The sopressata held up to its sweet description as it was definitely a lot sweeter than others I've had but not in a bad way. In fact, with the bits of black pepper, it had a nice flavor profile that was both sweet and savory. The meat choices were well-done.


 Now here's why I don't give the place the highest of praises though - our pizza. While greatly amused by the titles of the food (there's a pizza called "Erryday I'm Brusselin'"!), I wasn't so keen on the prices but was open-minded to the offerings. I guess others praise the pizza immensely here; unfortunately, I can't join that crowd since our pizza was slightly burnt (always an overpowering taste) and just alright. We chose "The Sound & The Fiore" (mozzarella, fiore sardo, delicata, calabrian chili, red onion, garlic, sage, and oregano) which had some flavorfully spicy kicks to it but nothing wowing. It filled us up for the night though but at that price? No thanks. Maybe I'll have to dig a little deeper into my wallet and snag an entree next time to see what all the buzzing is about for Roberta's.

Photography by Minerva Thai.

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