We were heading to eat at Spris Pizza on Lincoln Road the other day when I asked the PizzaExpert if I could stop in and try a slice of the pizza at Pizza Rustica.  Since I no longer live in Florida, and have since relocated to NYC, I never got to try this place.  Many of my buddies brag about how amazing the pizza is, and I needed to check it myself.

It seems like everywhere I turned on South Beach that I saw a Pizza Rustica, although on further investigation there are only 3.  Since I happen to like pizza with vegetables on it, I choose the slice right in front of me in the glass enclosure.  Not even sure what they called this pizza, since I just pointed.  So we will call this the "give me that one" pizza.

The slice came out nice and hot, and was uber crisp.  It held these heavy toppings on it quite well. Speaking of the toppings, this slice had broccoli, tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, and some ricotta.  As you can see from the photo there was also plenty of basil.  Like a bit too much in my opinion.  My first bite into this pizza wasn't too bad.  I heard the crunch of the crust in my ears and it sounded really nice.  My initial taste though was of the tomatoes.  They were a bit spicy, and kind of took away from the overall experience of the cheese and sauce.  The vegetables did taste fresh for the most part, but I have a feeling this slice was out a bit longer then it should have been, since a few pieces didn't taste like they just came from the farm.

For the price, I am not sure I would run back to Pizza Rustica.  They probably do well in trendy, late night type of places, but I am not sure these would draw a huge crowd if placed within a family neighborhood.  As I watched others eat their regular slices, I also could see I probably wouldn't like those.  The sauce looked way too chunky. This is almost a $5.00 slice of pizza.  That means if you get two slices of pizza and a soda, you are spending almost $12.50.  Not sure how many regular folks could manage to afford that daily.

Pizza Rustica in South Beach gets 4 out of 8 slices.

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