Emily- Our new BFF

Emily has a kale salad on their menu, I just want it noted.  There might be some other kinds of vegetables on offer as well, and as delicious as I am sure they are, you don’t go to Emily for vegetables.  Well at least I didn’t.  It is going to take more than kale to get me  to take two subways out to Brooklyn for  a meal.  I do, however, travel for pizza, and burgers,  and although this is not the original Grimaldi’s or Peter Luger’s, Emily represents the best of the new Brooklyn food scene. Emily is an  honest, straight-forward restaurant with an obvious commitment to good food, local and seasonal ingredients, and no hipster pretension.  Emily is run by a couple and you can feel the love in every saucy, cheesy bite you take.

Emily has one of the best burgers in New York right now, hands down.  This much-instagrammed beauty is made of dry aged beef, sharp Grafton cheddar, and house-made Emmy sauce on a hefty pretzel bun.  The bun is sturdy enough to handle all of the ingredients, and the combination of flavors is pure meaty melty zingy goodness. To make things even better,  the burger is served with cornichons (my fave) and fries.  Also in the junk food department, we were lucky enough to try Emily’s lunch-only chicken wings.  These messy, meaty wings are  sweet, sticky, spicy treat that is served with a cooling ranch style dipping sauce that we were tempted to drink.

Now, about that pie. For the sake of research, I actually NEED to go back to Emily, because I did not get to sample the Classic pizza on my first visit, the barometer against which to measure all other jazzier pizzas.  In that department I failed you, dear readers, but I am happy to carry the burden of a return trip.  The pies are divided by color (red, pink,  green and white) which correlates to the kind of sauce (tomato, vodka sauce made with ham, tomatillo or none).  We tried one of each except the green: The Colony-sauce, mozzarella, pepperoni, pickled chilis and honey; Vodka- vodka sauce, mozzarella; and The Uncle Ray- mozzarella, fontina, pecorino, ricotta, Benton’s ham, and Sichuan oil.  The Colony is a wonder of flavors- no matter how many times I try the combination of honey, pepperoni and chili, it never ceases to amaze me.  I also honestly liked the Vodka pizza better than the one at Rubirosa- the ham gives the sauce some real depth of flavor and a substantial boost in texture.  The Uncle Ray was a solid twist on a traditional white pie, again elevated by the Benton’s ham instead of more common prosciutto, and Sichuan oil busting out in a way that peppronicino can’t quite. Oh- there is also a S’mores calzone, which was gooey and yummy but not my favorite.

The service is friendly and casual, and we left Emily absolutely stuffed to the max, but with no regrets.  Well, besides not getting that Classic pizza…Go fall in love with Emily!