drink “ &food 6 | BOROMAG.COM | JULY 2015 ” If your ears are tender and your sensitivities err on the side of conservative, you may just want to skip to the next story. But if you can stomach a menu worded by a chef who swears like a sailor—because he is one—then you might be rewarded with one of the best pizzas around at Whit’s End on Rockaway Beach, named after chef and owner Whitney Aycock. Under the heading “Some of our Faults,” he confesses, “We say fuck a lot—really, a lot!” Soon after, you may notice menu items like a “Fuckin’ Good Burger” loaded with aged cheddar and hot pepper jelly, or the “Octo… Pussy” served with wild chickpeas, herbs and lemons. You can even order a char-kissed NY Strip for $40. It’s a hole-in-the-wall place tucked between the Playland Hotel and a Chinese takeout shop. They don’t have a working telephone line, and the hours tend to change at the owner’s whim—though the Chinese cook next door confirms they typically open daily at 5 p.m. Imagine a Neapolitan brick oven decorated with rolling waves and topped with a mountain of baseball caps. Then surround that with a wooden bar lined with mismatched stools, on a yellow and white checkered floor, along a window of broken sea shells, beneath posters of bikini pinups, all across from a worn brown leather couch and coffee table—and you’ve nailed the pizzeria’s ambiance. But unlike your older brother’s college dorm room, you won’t be ordering pizza from a generic dial-in delivery pizza chain. You might order a pizza loaded with hillbilly bacon, peaches, lemon and verbena. Or perhaps one topped with a tossed pile of mortadella and blistered peppers. Or maybe you will simply want a classic margherita—any pie maker’s true litmus test. Here, the tender crust blisters up around sweet and tangy tomatoes, with glistening basil leaves crisping over mounds of fior di latte. If you close your eyes and allow the smells to overtake you, you might find yourself in a pizzeria in Naples. Then open your eyes and ears again, and really take in the experience. Because this pizza is legitimate rock and roll. 97-14 Rockaway Beach Blvd. Rockaway Beach, NY 11693 Chewin' out a rhythm on my bubble gum The sun is out and I want some. It’s not hard, not far to reach, We can hitch a ride to Rockaway Beach… —Rockaway Beach, Ramones What the #$@%?
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