Free Pizza at Roberta’s This Friday!
I met this afternoon with Chris Parachini as he and his crew were working to get Roberta’s into shape for the party tomorrow, and the “soft” opening sometime in the next week. I was very eager to check out the newest addition to Bushwick’s pathetic retail/restaurant scene, and was excited when I got there and saw that the place is huge — much bigger than the tiny facade lets on. The interior aesthetic, with its pine plank and brick walls, wood-framed windows, and high rafters, is rough but warm; Chris noted that much of the place is recycled, and it shows.
The centerpiece of Roberta’s is the fire-engine red wood-burning oven, shipped all the way from Italy, that will be cooking up crispy pizzas. I mentioned to Chris that the place is reminiscent of a beer hall, with its long common tables. “You ever been to Europe?” he asked? “Nope.” “Well, pizzerias in Italy are set up a lot like beer halls.” Now I know.
There’s also a side yard where in the summer we’ll be able to eat our pizza and swig our beers under the stars. I couldn’t express more earnestly how thrilled we all are to have a new food establishment in the hood, especially one that doesn’t just put good food in our bellies, but pays attention to atmosphere as well. Chris said he understands how I feel: he was tired of bitching about nothing to do and eat in the neighborhood, and put his money where his mouth was.
 interior |
 interior |
 the oven |
 future side yard |
So make sure to stop by Roberta’s Friday the 4th after 8pm and get some free pizza! Make sure to tell Chris what you think of his place.
Roberta’s, 261 Moore Street off Bogart
January 4th, 2008 at 12:13 pm
This looks fantastic. Can’t wait to check it out.
January 5th, 2008 at 4:52 pm
we went last nite… highly recommended!!!
January 6th, 2008 at 11:03 am
Thanks to everyone that came out on Friday. You all rule. The party exceeded our expectations on every level. Hope you got some pizza before we ran out of dough. And that you liked it. We’ll be doing it for real starting this Friday the 11th at 5pm and then every night thereafter except for mondays.
We don’t have our beer and wine license yet so its gonna be BYOB for a few months. So bring yourselves and a six pack or two (we accept tips in beer) and get some pies fresh from the oven and laugh a little at how ridiculous all of this seems.
Best,
The crew at Roberta’s
January 8th, 2008 at 1:25 pm
I’m sorry I was out of town on Friday, but will definitely get my crew together this weekend sometime and head over with akahol!
January 8th, 2008 at 2:03 pm
Anyone go over there? How was the pizza?
January 10th, 2008 at 10:12 am
I’m interested to check this place out. Any insight on why it took so ridiculously long to build? If this does well, I think it will draw more development, which is desperately needed.
January 10th, 2008 at 10:18 am
It’s took ridiculously long to build because your city government was protecting you from the evils of pizza places that open too quickly!
http://bushwickbk.com/archives/193#comment-3831
January 20th, 2008 at 6:51 pm
just tried one of their pizzas, very good, great dough. though not sure it’s worth the exorbitant price. $13 for an individual-size pizza?
cheapster, not hipster…
January 21st, 2008 at 7:42 pm
We ate there the other night and the pizza, cheese plate and salad were very good. I thought the price was just fine. THe place was packed, the owner was super friendly and the atmosphere fun. Check it out!
January 22nd, 2008 at 1:49 pm
The prices are high, absolutely. But that is what is going to bring us OTHER restaurants. Eventually we’ll have cheap restaurants, too, as competition for our money increases.
January 22nd, 2008 at 7:13 pm
I also thought it was a bit expensive, though the ingredients all seemed of a very high quality, and the pizza itself was delicious. Another complaint, weather related, is that the place is freezing cold! I definitely left expecting to return, and was generally quite pleased.
January 22nd, 2008 at 8:51 pm
Alright c’mon man, I paid $10 for an individual sized pizza at a restaurant in the West Village with a working fireplace last spring.
I guess this place can charge whatever people are willing to pay… Is this “ghetto tax?”
February 6th, 2008 at 1:31 am
Imported Brick Oven… Awesome
Quality Ingredients… Fantastic
Quantity… Houston we have a problem
The equation: 6 for a salad plus 12 for individual pizza with some toppings equals me still hungry.
I have no problem paying 18 for quality meal however the pizza needs to be bigger. I’m not going to order two. Also the menu could be more explicit about ingredients and size. They’re really close to nailing this, but changes should be made.
February 6th, 2008 at 4:49 pm
Sadly I’m in agreement with the last few comments. We stopped by the other day and to be honest…just not enough ‘there’ there to justify the prices. Not outrageous, but dissapointing. We wish them well and will return, but not as frequently as we thought.