Roberta's, Brooklyn

June 7, 2015

Sunday lunch at Roberta's in Bushwick. While some might argue it doesn't hold the contentious crown for the best pizza in New York, the combination of outdoor seating, fantastic cocktails, great music and an ever changing menu of consistently well executed dishes means that it's a summertime favourite of ours. During the winter even longer queues form for a table in the bustling interior, where chefs knock out wood fired pizzas in 90 seconds and diners watch the folks at Heritage radio broadcasting live from a glass fronted recording studio.

Sitting outside in the sunshine means sacrificing the opportunity to order from the full menu, but there's still plenty to satisfy hungover hunger pangs.

We ordered takeout pizza from next door and sipped spicy Bloody Marys and Hemlock Apple cider from Aaron Burr Cidery, perched in the outdoor bar's patio until a table and the chance to order from the shorter menu became available.

The Axl Rosenberg - tomato and mozzarella base, topped with soppressata, shitake mushrooms, garlic and jalapeno chilli.

The Beastmaster - tomato and mozzarella with gorgonzola, nuggets of fennel seed spiced pork sausage, red onions, capers and green jalapeno.

Currently my favourite salad - shards of crisp romaine tossed with candied walnuts and chopped mint, dressed in a creamy Caesar-ish dressing with salty pecorino Romano.

Smoky barbecued pork ribs in a honey and apple cider vinegar sauce, flavoured with shichimi togarashi (Japanese seven spice powder) and garnished with lime zest.