Here's an annoying question for the day: What does the Complex staff do when they're not chained to their keyboards? The usual, really; we hang out with porn stars and relive our childhoods (don't worry, they're not related). Oh, and we're running around NYC, consuming the best the city has to offer. And to let you get acquainted with us a little better (yeah, we know, just what you wanted, right?!?), there's our My Spot series, wherein we tell you where we do said consuming. Today, executive editor Peter Rubin (@provenself) bigs up his favorite underrated pizza spot: Toby's Public House in Brooklyn...
Going to Toby's Public House for the first time is a disorienting experience. First off, where the fuck are you? It's not Park Slope, and it's not Sunset Park. (Realtors like to call it "Greenwood Heights," but all that really means is you're a stone's throw from the biggest cemetery in NYC.) Second of all, why would you trust a sports bar to turn out good food that isn't wing-based? Because the dude who opened it is one of those pizza fetishists. The kind who gets a beehive-style pizza oven shipped over from Italy and hires Sicilian pizzaiolas to churn out perfectly crisped-yet-chewy thin pies. Which is a win for those of us who hate everybody, especially the people who crowd "trendy" "artisanal" pizza spots. Toby's can get crowded, but it's off the beaten path enough that you won't be waiting long. Ignore the sometimes annoying music and go in on some of the best pizza you've never heard of.
THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW:
• People swear by the spicy pecorino/arugula pie, but the soppressata (like pepperoni, but spicier) is a thing of wonder. Real talk, I hadn't eaten pork in 20 years before I smelled it—and now it's the only thing I order.
• They've got like a dozen good beers on tap. And ESPN all the time. So yeah, as a casual sports bar they're not so bad either, even though they might not attain Sunday-afternoon destination status.
• The bartender is not only the offspring of Anthony Kiedis and Iggy Pop (see below), but he makes and sells his own beef jerky. Ayolicious!
• As good as the pies (and calzones) are, don't trip on the salads. Get a little table outside and you're looking at a low-key date spot.
686 6th Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11215
(718) 788-1186
Tobyspublichouse.com
What's your spot? Hit us at @ComplexMag and tell us where the place to be is where you are with the hashtag #myspot.
