The one that sells out first on a Friday
Chicken Roll
Grilled chicken thigh, mozzarella and a little roasted pepper rolled in dough and baked until the spiral sets.
Chicken thigh, not breast. A roll spends eighteen minutes in a 500°F oven wrapped in dough, which is a long, humid cook, and breast meat comes out of it dry and stringy no matter what you do beforehand. Thigh has enough fat to survive it and comes out of the same bake still tender.
The chicken is grilled first and cooled, then torn rather than diced — bigger, irregular pieces hold moisture, and diced chicken in a roll is uniformly dry by the geometry of it. A little roasted red pepper goes in for sweetness and colour, and that is all.
It is the roll that goes first every Friday, and if you want six of them for a Friday evening it is worth telephoning in the morning. We do not hold them back for anybody, but we will tell you honestly what is left.
What goes on it
The chicken
Boneless thigh, marinated in oil, garlic and oregano, grilled and cooled, then torn.
The pepper
Roasted red pepper, skinned and cut into strips.
The cheese
Whole-milk mozzarella, generously, because chicken needs it.
The crust
Egg-washed and scored, the same as every roll off this bench.
How it is made here
Grilled, then cooled
Warm chicken melts the cheese before the roll is closed and the spiral slips apart.
Torn, not diced
Bigger pieces retain moisture through a long bake. This is the difference between this roll and a dry one.
Rolled in three turns
Same as the spinach roll.
Eighteen minutes
At 500°F until the internal temperature is properly there and the spiral has set.
Chicken Roll — what it costs
- Each$7.50
- Half dozen$42
Prices include every topping listed above. Extras are $3 for vegetables and $4 for meats. Prices change when our costs do; the menu here is the menu in the shop.
Before you order this
A shared flour kitchen, and what that rules out. Our kitchen handles wheat flour in open air all day, along with milk, eggs, soy, tree nuts and fish. Flour becomes airborne every time a dough ball is opened, and it settles on every surface in the room, including the peels, the oven floor, the cutting board and the wheel. We can tell you what we put on a pizza, and we will tell you honestly. We cannot tell you that anything leaving this kitchen is free of an allergen, and we will not say it. If a reaction would send you to hospital, this is not a safe kitchen for you, and we would far rather say so than take the order.
The kitchen is one room. Every pizza here is opened on the same bench, baked on the same floor and cut with the same wheel, and that is true of this one as much as any other. The pages on allergens and cross-contact and vegetarian, vegan and dietary questions set out plainly what we can and cannot tell you, including the things most shops leave you to assume.
The rest of the menu
Other things worth ordering
Spinach Roll
Spinach wilted with garlic and squeezed dry, rolled through pizza dough with mozzarella and baked until the spiral sets.
From $6.50
Pepperoni Roll
Pepperoni and mozzarella coiled through dough with a sesame crust, so the fat renders into the bread as it bakes.
From $6.50
Broccoli & Garlic Roll
Broccoli florets roasted hard with garlic and chilli, rolled with mozzarella so the char comes through the bread.
From $6.50Asked at the counter
Chicken Roll — questions
Is the chicken spicy?
No. It is marinated in oil, garlic and oregano only. If you want heat, the chilli oil on the counter works well with it.
Can I get it without the pepper?
Yes, and it takes about twenty minutes because it is made to order rather than pulled off the rack — worth knowing if you are in a hurry.
Is it halal?
No. There is no pork in this particular roll, but the kitchen is not halal and holds no certification, and it is prepared alongside pork on the same benches.
Twelve to fifteen minutes, and worth the wait
Order a pie
Telephone the shop and we will tell you honestly how long the kitchen is running before you commit to anything. Collection is always quicker than delivery and the pizza is always better for it. If you are ordering for a crowd, the catering page has the trays and the notice we need.