Pizza has always been a hot topic, in Denver and all around the country. We talk about what’s “authentic,” the best, and price. Now, straight from Brooklyn, comes Roberta’s Pizza, a notorious hipster-cum-corporate entity ready to shake up the scene in the most delicious way. And it opens today.
“Roberta’s expansion to the Mile High City has been on our radar for quite some time,” said Roberta’s co-founder Brandon Hoy in statement. “We couldn’t be happier to join forces with the Urban Cowboy team to bring a touch of Brooklyn flavor to Denver’s dynamic food scene.”
However, fans of New York-style pizza won’t find it at Roberta’s, which opened in 2008 inside an ugly warehouse. When the pizza shop opened it offered something diners hadn’t really seen. Great food using ingredients grown on the restaurant’s roof with a party vibe in run down neighborhood.
At the time when New Yorkers could choose between NYC-style and Neapolitan, the wood-fired pies at Roberta’s melded the two, creating something novel. All of a sudden Manhattan diners took the L-train to Bushwick, a Brooklyn neighborhood full of warehouses and dilapidated buildings. It wasn’t a nice area, but it was a place people open an off-the-wall concept. I know all this because I lived in Brooklyn at the time, and never before had I seen honey on top of a pizza.
Now, Roberta’s has grown to include three full-service locations in NYC, one in Los Angeles, and now, Denver. There’s also an outpost spot in Nashville and Singapore, making the Colorado the fourth state to get a Roberta’s Pizza. The restaurant opens inside Urban Cowboy Hotel, which took over the historic George Schleier Mansion. It’s conveniently located downtown, with plenty of metered parking. The boutique hotel opens next month, though Roberta’s is already cranking out pies.
Hopefully that aforementioned honey pizza will be on the menu. Dubbed the Bee Sting ($24), it’s still available at other locations. So are other old-school classics such as the Cheesus Christ ($22) with mozzarella, taleggio, parmigiano reggiano, black pepper, and cream; and the Famous Original ($22) with tomato, mozzarella, parmigiano reggiano, caciocavallo, oregano, and chilies.
While the dishes and pizzas rotate, the menus from each location varies. In Denver we can expect to see the Normcore ($25) pizza with sungold tomatoes and ozzarella di bufala. Other, non-pizza food also grace the menu. For example, a pasta al forno, market vegetables, and the house-made bread with stracciatella, a Roberta’s classic.
The restaurant will also offer craft cocktails overseen by the 6-year Urban Cowboy veteran Alex Jay, head of beverage and general manager. Look for The Mama Rita, Public House Old Fashioned, Holy Molé, Little Charmer, Rattlesnake Jake, and a seasonally rotating milk punch. Wines and local beers will also be on the menu.
With this opening it’s clear Roberta’s has come a long way from serving pricy pizzas in a small, eclectic restaurant in Brooklyn. While at the time the eatery felt special and expensive, now it’s embraced by many chefs opening similar pizza shops and the prices fit into the average. Roberta’s also sells some of its pies frozen at supermarkets.
Not that we aren’t excited it’s coming to Denver. For some of us, the memory of the Bee Sting pizza has lingered. So has the vibe of the original Roberta’s. By opening in a sleek, new hotel, the setting will differ drastically. But on the up side, it’s no longer hipster pizza, it’s simply a night out. Now,
Roberta’s Pizza is now open at the Urban Cowboy Hotel, inside the Urban Cowboy Public House. It’s open Sunday through Thursday from 4 p.m. to 11 p.m., and Friday and Saturday from 4 p.m. to 12 a.m. 1665 Grant St., Denver, urbancowboy.com
