The Van Mag Review: Straight Outta Brooklyn

Properly big, messy pizza from siblings with a proven track record.

New York has always been deadly serious about its pizza—it is, after all, the city where this continent’s first pizzeria, Lombardi’s, opened in 1905. Much like New Yorkers insist their oversized iteration of the bagel is superior to those found elsewhere (while cocking a smug glance northward to Montreal), so too do they consider it indisputable that the monster pies found in the five boroughs are the gold standard against which all others must be judged.Brothers Dom and Frank Morra, whose Napoli-inspired Via Tevere has ranked among the city’s best pizzerias since opening in 2012, bring their Midas touch to Straight Outta Brooklyn—a name and concept whose brashness would invite a tide of scorn as dark and foul as the East River if their wares weren’t so authentically delicious. A pointedly concise menu of eight pies (you can also design your own) is the quintessence of quality over quantity: the Original (a Margherita in all but name) brings together the timeless triumvirate of bracingly acidic tomato sauce, pungent basil, and molten pools of fresh mozzarella, while the Clam is essentially a very good New England-style chowder served atop a thin, blistered crust just sturdy enough to support its freight.In proper Gotham tradition, slices—to go or at one of the tables in the small, raucous storefront—are a full quarter pie. Do what tradition dictates: fold it together, raise it to your face, and make a glorious, delighted mess of yourself.Straight Outta Brooklyn 350 Robson St. 604-559-3500 Straightouttabrooklyn.com