Rosa's, since 1998, and the same width
Spinach Roll
Spinach wilted with garlic and squeezed dry, rolled through pizza dough with mozzarella and baked until the spiral sets.
The spinach roll is the thing this shop is known for locally, more than any pizza, and it is the simplest item on the menu to describe and the easiest to ruin. Spinach is almost entirely water. Wilt it, put it in dough without doing anything else, and the water has nowhere to go: it steams the inside of the roll and you cut into a grey, wet, collapsed spiral.
So it is wilted with garlic and chilli, cooled, and then wrung out hard in a cloth — really wrung, until what comes out is a dense dark green mass about a quarter of the weight that went in. That is the step, and it is why these cost more than a slice.
Rosa has been rolling them on the back bench since 1998. The spiral is three turns, the same as it was then, and she is entirely unmoved by suggestions that they could be bigger.
What goes on it
The spinach
Wilted with garlic, chilli and olive oil, cooled, then wrung out in a cloth until it stops giving up water.
The cheese
Whole-milk mozzarella, and a little grated hard cheese for salt.
The dough
The same 48-hour pizza dough, rolled into a rectangle rather than opened round.
The crust
Egg-washed and scored diagonally, so the steam has somewhere to go and the spiral does not burst.
How it is made here
Wilted and wrung
The whole roll depends on this one step and there is no shortcut for it.
Rolled in three turns
Any tighter and the middle never cooks; any looser and it unrolls in the oven.
Scored and washed
Three diagonal cuts through the top skin only, then egg wash for colour.
Eighteen minutes
At 500°F on a tray, until the spiral has set firm enough to cut cleanly.
Spinach Roll — what it costs
- Each$6.50
- Half dozen$36
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
Chicken Roll
Grilled chicken thigh, mozzarella and a little roasted pepper rolled in dough and baked — the one that sells out first on a Friday.
From $7.50
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
Spinach Roll — questions
Is it vegetarian?
The filling has no meat in it. The grated hard cheese is not made without animal rennet, and the egg wash on the crust means it is not vegan — the dietary page sets out the detail.
Can I get a dozen for an office?
Yes, $70 a dozen, mixed with the chicken, pepperoni or broccoli rolls however you like. A day's notice for anything over a dozen.
Do they reheat?
Well, in an oven — ten minutes at 350°F. In a microwave the crust goes leathery and the spiral goes soft, and we would rather you knew that than found out.
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.