Roberta's holds a special place for me because of a small connection to home. One of my favorite people on the planet, A, moved to New York City after we finished graduate school, ended up with a culinary degree and worked at Roberta's for half of 2012 before she moved back west to try a new adventure. For this reason and because I miss her so, I have a soft spot for Roberta's and it’s holy food grounds.
Regardless of my personal feelings, there's just no denying this powerhouse of flavor.
A few weeks after I moved to New York City, I visited the World Trade Center Memorial and Roberta’s in one weekend. Aside from the fact that it was officially turning into fall weather when leaves were dropping rapidly off trees and scarves were whipping in the wind daily, this weekend normally wouldn’t have stood out aside from the meal. However, my last sit-down meal hours before Hurricane Sandy hit our shores leaving thousands devastated, just happened to be at Roberta’s in Brooklyn. As I left brunch that afternoon feeling slightly less-than-hungover, slightly more than full, and completely satisfied; I clamored to get back to the city on the subway before complete darkness and chaos overcame the borough.
FYI, there is always a long wait. I have waited anywhere from 45 mins to 2.5 hours for a table; so I hope whomever you go here with has great conversation skills.
Go to Roberta's. You won't be disappointed.
Menu Items (Visit #1)
- Bread and butter
- Shaved Brussels sprouts with egg,
- Cheesus Christ pie
- Speckenwolf pie
- Chicory Iced Coffee (New Orleans-style)
Update - Visit #2
Still yummy. Three of us split a sticky bun and a Rosso pie (tomato, oregano, garlic), although we couldn't resist putting cheese on half, and I had the bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich for brunch. The iced coffee is still great ask them for some Agave syrup to sweeten it up!
While we waited over 1.5 hours on a busy Sunday, I spotted frequent Food Network face and NYC restauranteur Amanda Freitag, so it wasn't all wasted and, of course, the spectacular food made up for our wait time.
Menu Items (Visit #2)
- Sticky Bun
Rosso pie
- BEC (Bacon, Egg, and Cheddar Roll)
Aside from these two trips, I have been fortunate to visit Roberta's a few more times but I usually order the same pizza (Cheesus Christ, with the addition of an egg on top) and the Romaine salad (candied walnut, pecorino, mint).
