Pizza in Israel

My pizza tour has left the Big Apple and landed in Haifa. The land of milk and honey is well known for its Falafel, Shawarma, and Bourekas...definitely less so for its pizza. Nevertheless, while visiting my family last week, my brother in law treated us to a few pies from the local pizzeria "Pizza Perfecto". The place recently opened and it was pretty quiet when we picked up the pies. 2 large 40 cm pizzas for about 70 shekels (about $20 US). My brother in law mentioned to the owner that I have a pizza blog and he gladly brought me to the back to snap a few photos of the ovens and the prep area. Nothing fancy here. Standard gas pizza ovens. I wan't sure what to expect from the pizza but I was pleasantly surprised. The sauce and cheese were good. The crust had a good chew but could have been a bit crispier. I guess I'm spoiled by the coal oven char of NY pie! I was most intrigued by the spice packets that we got with the pizza. Forget the italian seasoning. More like a garlic-mediterranean spice blend that complemented the pizza well. All in all I enjoyed the pizza but I enjoyed the opportunity to spend time with my family even more.

Roberta's

With some extra time this week I decided to venture out of my borough for some pizza. My friend Kelly read an article about a new pizzeria in Brooklyn called Roberta's and told me about it. After one visit to their website I really wanted to go there. Roberta's is 8 stops off the L from Union Square. It is right around the corner from the Morgan street station in Bushwick. This was my first trip to Bushwick and I wasn't sure what to expect. The neighborhood is definitely industrial looking, but with a google map in hand, I had no problem finding Roberta's. The red sign and the chalkboard out front were inviting. You can even see the pile of wood that feeds the oven from the open door. The place is really cool. Large wooden tables and chairs fill the open space. Lunch time was really quiet and I secured a prime spot close to the pizza oven. The waitress Daphne was really friendly and I ordered the margherita pizza. 12" $8. All the pies are 12" and they offer a variety of toppings as well as daily specialty pizzas. I watched as my pizza was assembled and put into the red wood fired oven. This oven is imported from Italy and is inscribed with the name "Roberta's" which happens to be the name of the owner's mom. The pie came out of the oven, was cut into 4 slices and received a few basil leaves before arriving to me. Daphne recommended I try the house made chili oil which she drizzled onto the pie at the table. It added just enough heat to the already flavorful pizza. They use a simple tomato sauce from San Marzano tomatoes and they even make their own mozzarella on the premises. Overall this was very good pizza. It's just too bad they don't offer larger pies. I really enjoyed this place and I enjoyed talking to the owner Chris and to Daphne. They were both friendly and interested in hearing about my pizza tour. I will definitely be returning to Roberta's as I really want to try their calzone and maybe even a pie with some roasted peppers.