Wellfleetians in the know, remember the astounding deliciousness of Rookies Pizza, the only and best game in town for decades. I'd thought it was gone forever when the owners retired and closed the restaurant in 2012. I mourned the loss for years until, somewhere on the Wellfleet grapevine, I heard that Bob's Sub and Cone, next door to the old Rookies, was owned by the son of the former Rookies owners, AND, was making Pizza that appeared to be identical to the Rookies of old, altough there is nothing to note that fact on the menue. My extended family of Rookies devotees descended on the place and discovered that it was TRUE. Now, during our annual "Family Week" in July, it is routine that they receive an order for about 15 pies of varying types for the McKay family.
Why?
Because Rookies is quite simply, in its purest form (a 10" cheese, sausage, or linguisa -a spicy Portuguese sausage) the best Boston bar-style (NOT NY style) pizza in the world. The top is perfectly cooked to the point of having small blackened bubbles across the entire top all the way to within a half inch of the perfect crispy edge. The perfect amount of slightly chewy but also slightly crispy cheese on top. What follows below has become a subject of fierce and passionate debate amongst generations of McKays since 1960....
What makes Rookies so great? Is it the ultra-thin crust, that never flops and always retains a perfect crisp from edge to edge, or is it the tangy uniform spread of tomato sauce, perfectly seasoned with old-school Italian spices and lots of garlic?
While I proudly fall into the sauce camp, the truth is, there is no such thing as an inferior bite in a Rookies pie. From edge to edge, the components are perfectly assembled to assure that each ingredient gets its due in every bite, providing what, in my mind, is a deeply satisfying pizza experience.
Stick with the 10" (the original Rookies never made the 16") cheese, or one or two simple toppings(see above). Order one per person, the perfect amount for teenagers and up, perhaps leaving a couple slices for a terrific cold breakfast. When you are done, unless you are a NYC only guy, you will long to go back for more.
