Daily Slice gives a quick snapshot each weekday of a different slice or pie that the folks at the Serious Eats empire have enjoyed lately.
[Photograph: Dave Katz]
For everything the neighboring Pomodoro does wrong on its Vodka slice, Rubirosa does right on its rendition. We'vewaxed poetic about Rubirosa's slices before, but we haven't directed the spotlight to their fantastic vodka pies, which are near carbon copies of Joe & Pat's bar pies in Staten Island (old school Kuban review here).
This Vodka pizza, available by the slice ($3.00) at lunchtime, subs in a thin layer of rich vodka sauce for the traditional tomato sauce. And this layer must be thin, because Rubirosa's crust is some of the thinnest I've had. Nicely charred and flimsy (but not too flimsy), the crust isn't as memorable for its flavor as it is for its delicate texture. Rubirosa's vodka sauce is nearly perfect—not too sweet, deep in tomato flavor and slightly bacon-y from cooked down pancetta. Atop the sauce sit thinly sliced discs of fresh mozzarella, which suit the pie well by neither weighing it down nor crowding out the delicious sauce. Rubirosa has plenty of excellent Italian food on its menu, but we implore you to go with the pizza. Two slices make an excellent light lunch and won't set you back more than six bucks.
Rubirosa
235 Mulberry St. New York, NY 10012 (map)
212-965-0500; rubirosanyc.com
About the author: Sam is an intern, college student, food TV enthusiast and, like Jiro, he dreams of sushi.