We ate at Ruse Brewing on our way down to Portland for the weekend. This was a beautiful day on the…read morewaterfront and there was no wait at 7PM on a Friday night, which we found surprising given how almost every restaurant on the street seemed to be full. We were told it would be a 20 to 25 minute wait for our pizza (I had to ask - the server didn't volunteer this information). It actually took 30.
Dini Broccolini ($16) - We ordered this as an app. The dish includes a thick romesco sauce spread along the bottom of the plate. It's served cold and it's quite nutty (walnuts?) and peppery with a strong tangy umami. It's chunky with lots of small pieces blended in. On top of the romesco are three slices of crostini that are much thicker than average. They are completely dried out and crunchy like croutons. They salt the bread a ton; it's salty enough that my mouth felt like it was burning. The only warm thing on the dish is the broccolini, which is baked rather than charred. The texture is great and the seasoning level is perfect. On top of the veggies, they sprinkle pecorino and and breadcrumbs, for additional saltiness, umami, and a bit of crunch. (4/5)
Now onto the pizza. Taken from another of my reviews: there are several characteristics that define Detroit-style. Firstly, the base must be a thinner and chewier focaccia dough-like crust, pillowy on the interior and with a crispness on the bottom and sides that are somewhat greasy but not overladen*. There must be flavorful Wisconsin brick cheese (or blend), buttery and fatty, melted on top and spread until it spills over the sides of the crust, creating a crisp caramelized frico ring surrounding the pie. The pepperoni must be underneath the cheese**, and the flavorful tomato sauce, typically in several wide lines, is spread atop the cheese. There must not be too many toppings to prevent the crust from compressing and ruining the texture.
*Note 1: The fat/grease is very important, both to allow the crust to crisp up and to act as a hydrophobic layer to prevent sogginess.
**Note 2: This is the one trait I dislike since it makes the pepperoni limp and soaked with grease.
Dial 'P' for Pepperoni ($26) - As always, I start with the base pepperoni pizza, the most classical Detroit-style pizza. The pizzas here are standard 4-square size (8in x 10in), cut into 6 pieces. Pricing is pretty expensive for this size - I'm used to 8-square (10in x 14in) pricing being around this much.
Starting with the base crust - it's pretty good. It's crisp but not overly greasy, thinner and a little collapsed in the area with toppings, but still light and airy without being dense. It's super bubbly from frying in high heat and the crumb, especially towards the sides, looks great. It has a tasty buttery fried flavor. The cheese frico on the sides is underwhelming. While crisp, it's a little collapsed and flattened rather than having lacy, thin, uneven tops as with a great Detroit-style pizza. The bake on the pizza is also uneven, with one side much darker than the other. The darker side unfortunately burns the frico, which gives an unpleasant acridity on one end.
On top, they add an appropriate amount of mild mozzarella. It's enough to give a slightly cheesy stretch, but isn't enough to feel overly heavy or rich. They then place pepperoni on top, which cups and crisps up. Again, they don't overload the pizza, so while salty, it's not overwhelmingly so like several other Detroit-style pizzas I've eaten recently. This all makes a pizza that give a really balanced bite.
Unfortunately the sauce here is a miss. It's ridiculously tangy and acidic to start with somewhat of a metallic kind of flavor. It then descends into a really heavy overly concentrated flavor of dried Italian herbs. It's incredibly overwhelming, like they wanted to completely cover up the taste of bad quality canned tomatoes* but failed. The dried herbs are followed up with a slight heat that warms the mouth, probably from red pepper flakes mixed in. On each slice of pizza, they place a giant spoonful of sauce, which is unfortunate given that I didn't enjoy the sauce. I think they should revisit their tomato sauce recipe. It's one of the worst Ive had in a while. Luckily, it's not a huge part of the pizza. (3.5/5)
Overall the pizzas have some major weaknesses. My review reads very critical, but I think the pizzas are still quite tasty and will satisfy most people. Still, I personally wouldn't return given the better options for Detroit-style pizza across the river.
*Note: They use Valoroso canned tomatoes from Stanislaus, which is a company many places in Detroit also use. I doubt the quality of the tomatoes are actually bad.
Bathrooms - Two unisex rooms
