DAY 14: OCTOBER 14th, 2009
LOCATION: Roberta's (261 Moore St. Bushwick, BROOKLYN)
ORDER: 3 slices of a Margherita, 2 slices of a Specken Wolf, 1 slice of a Millenium Falco
GUEST(S): Adrian Rose, Shawn Amaro
REVIEW:
A masterpiece! Travel out to Morgan Avenue on the L train and take a look around. Amongst the graffiti covered warehouses and bent street signs ("BOGART St." bent to read "ART St."), there's a caged-up window, a dirty ATM, and a cursive sign reading "Roberta's." You have arrived.
Regardless of whether or not you categorize the restaurant and surrounding area as "urban art" or the work of vandals, Roberta's pizza is an undeniable masterpiece.
It could be the red onions and smoked prosciutto on the Specken Wolf that takes you on a magic pizza ride. Couple it with the sausage on the Millenium Falco and you may be doing the Kessel Run in "less than twelve parsecs." But don't let the pun-filled menu distract you (as it has me), the ingredients are among the best. Proof of this lies at the core; the basic Margherita.
Fresh mozzarella (made in-house) melted into a rich tomato sauce and garnished with basil grown in the greenhouse out back seems basic enough. But toss it in an imported Italian wood-fired brick oven and cook it perfection renders the Margherita anything but "basic." Also, at $8 a pie, it's one of the best deals around.I will be back to Roberta's...with friends. It's one of those places you can introduce your friends to and watch with a smile on your face as the pizza brings one to theirs.
MISC.:
1. The Millennium Falco is no longer on the menu but Adrian Rose loves it so much she mentioned it to the waiter who asked the cook who agreed to resurrect the recipe.
2. Shawn Amaro is editing this video and he mentioned something about an exploding car. i hope he finds a way to use it in the vid.
VIDEO CLIP:
Video edited by Shawn Amaro and winner of Best In Show at the 2009 Slicey Award ceremony
RATING:
5/5- VALUE:
5/5
- AMBIENCE:
- TASTE:
- SERVICE:
21/21= 1.0 x 5 = 5.00
Lucali is the gold standard of pizzerias. I see no room for improvement just a plea for expansion. This unmarked Carroll Gardens gem combines hip with pizza perfection for a laid back dining experience patrons won't soon forget. The wait to get in and lack of menu options in this BYOB joint may raise some concern but all of that will disappear once you take your first bite of Lucali wood-fired brick oven pizza. Owner and chef Mark Iacono sculpts every pizza as if it were a one and only piece of art. Prepared in the open for all to see, Mark carefully presses out the dough and evenly spreads the tomato sauce. He then delicately combines fresh mozzarella with just the right amount of sharp cheeses to maximize flavor potential. 
Any other toppings are expertly layered in to enhance, rather than cover, the essence of the other ingredients. Typically onions overpower anything else on a pizza but the onions on our onion and mushroom pie were sliced so thin they managed to add their natural zest without taking away from the mouthwatering flavor I had enjoyed on the cheese pie. Expect a true masterpiece with each and every Lucali pie - anything less was likely not Lucali. 