Cafe Venezia

The pizza tour has gone kosher. I asked my friend Paul to pick out his favorite kosher pizza place in Brooklyn and he decided on Cafe Venezia on Coney Island Avenue between Ave J and K. In addition to a full selection of Italian food, Venezia operates a gas oven for pizzas. They offer a variety of pizzas and we ultimately decided on the "L&B style" pizza. It was a 14" pie that is inspired by the landmark Brooklyn pizzeria, L&B Spumoni Gardens. It is a round pie that has a thick crust rim. The mozzarella cheese is beneath the sauce and although this pie has the appearance of being heavy and dense, it is actually light and airy like its namesake. The crust was cooked perfectly and there was even some nice charring. I was pleasantly surprised by how well the slices held up. They maintained a crispy crust even with all that sauce. I detected a slight smoky flavor to this pizza and I am not sure if that was from the mozzarella or the sauce. Either way, it added a unique flavor to the pie.
Since one pizza is never quite enough when Paul and I are together, we also ordered a specialty pizza called the "za'atar pizza". This pie definitely stole the show as I have never had anything like it. Za'atar is Middle Eastern spice blend consisting of thyme, oregano, marjoram, sumac, and sesame seeds and is usually served with olive oil and warm pita bread. Venezia puts it on a thin pizza crust with a layer of fresh mozzarella along with an outer rim of sesame seeds. This pie was delicious and I'll definitely be making it at home. Venezia was a hit and serves great kosher pie. Paul told me that there is another place that he likes to go to, so stay tuned for another kosher pizza update.