Juliana's Pizza

For maman and papa's most recent visits, we had all managed to get tickets to watch Nice Fish at St Anne's Warehouse. News that Mark Rylance was in 1 mile proximity from  my parents temporary home meant that not going to this play was out of the question. So on Thursday night we were in need of an early dinner. I rushed out of work at 5.30pm, and crammed on to the usual F train, getting off a couple of stops early in Dumbo. After a brisk walk I found Juliana's, and maman and papa already standing in a line which was disturbingly long for 6pm on a weeknight. Half an hour later, with B still trying to find his way there, we were ushered inside to be seated at our table. 

Pre-theatre (I just typed theater naturally and now I'm sad about how American I've become) suppers are always a tricky thing. I'm rarely a fan of a pre-theatre (did it again) set menus, and don't particularly enjoy eating with the toddlers who are the other restaurant guests at 5.30pm on a weekday. However, in America, pre-theatre meals seem to be slightly less of a set-in-their-ways issue. This is mainly due to the fact that everyone eats at 6pm, no matter what age they are, or what their plans are for the rest of the evening.

The decor at Juliana's is pretty nonexistent, bar the striking, searing hot pizza oven at the back of the room. The service is friendly, and natural, in a classic American way. The customers are a mix of tourists, the obviously Italian owners, and all the locals. The pizzas are phenomenal. As in, possibly the best pizza I've ever had in my entire life.

We munched our way through some surprisingly perfect Romaine hearts with Caesar dressing. This simple salad was so tasty we ordered another. A good sign for a pizza restaurant. It's rarely worth ordering anything other than the doughy special. Apart from Pizza Express' dough balls with garlic butter, which will forever hold a special place in my heart, no matter how bad the indigestion I get from them is.

We had one large number 1 and one large number 4. Set on the metal pizza stands, we split these two gigantic pizzas between the four of us. B was very happy to be with three people who had already been out for lunch that day and who were therefore willing to give him more than his fair share of slices. Number 1 was rich, intense, and an explosion of flavor: on the crispy, perfectly charred dough, was melted mozzarella, topped with Scamorza affumicata (a smoked Italian cow's milk cheese), pancetta, scallions, and Oregon-grown white truffles. White pizza perfection. Number 4 (the more photogenic of the two), was the same delicate base, but this time topped with tomato, mozzarella, arugula, and prosciutto. The only way I can explain to you how good it was is to say that maman and papa, who had just spent several days eating pizza in Naples, declared this the best pizza they've ever tasted. If that's not a good enough reason to get yourself to Juliana's right now, then I don't know what is.

Juliana's, 19 Old Fulton Street, Brooklyn, NY 11201