Rubirosa

The pre-Socratic philosopher Heraclitus famously said “No man ever eats the same pizza twice, for it is not the same pizza and he is not the same man.” This week’s visit to Nolita’s Staten Island Pizza outpost Rubirosa (@rubirosa_nyc) was an opportunity for reflection on the obscure Ephesian’s words - it being ten years since the last time I had enjoyed this pizzeria. 2012 - It’s just a hazy memory now, but that summer America was being entertained by a young Betty White, Millennials were galvanized by the fresh-faced optimism of the Mitt Romney campaign, and the whole nation was in the sway of Staten Island mania - a later day “Summer of Love” (Detroit style was just a twinkle in the Midwest’s eye then). As a bright-eyed 20-something aspiring pizzaiola, I had to make the pilgrimage to Nolita to try this upstart & ‘2012 Joe’ was quite impressed.

Staten Island style was pioneered by @joeandpats and is sometimes featured in Pete Davidson films. Rubirosa was founded by the son of the @joeandpats founder, as a Manhattan outpost of the style & it quickly became a Nolita favorite (“Nolita” being the real estate developers’ term for North of Little Italy). Staten Island style pizza a sort of tavern-style take on New York style. It’s distinguished by its super thin, crisp crust. With a rigid crust, a small slice would stick straight out. However, a larger slice buckles under the weight of toppings (as we attempt to show in the two videos I’ve included). The crust is chewy and a bit cracker-like with few air bubbles. We opted for an 18” “Tie Dye” pizza, featuring vodka-sauce, tomato, and a giant swirl of pesto. It was an excellent combination - particularly the flavorful vodka. If you want a thin crust pizza in the Little Italy area, you can’t do better than @rubirosa_nyc.