By Steve Mosco
Cheap eats in Queens can boast an international flair not found in many other places. The frugal forager can experience cuisine from around the world without leaving the borough or draining the bank account.
The second stop on any inexpensive dining tour has to be a neighborhood pizzeria. Some might dismiss pizza as a run-of-the-mill food, with the conventional wisdom being that any restaurant claiming a vaguely Italian name offers pies that range in flavor from “decent” to “pretty good.” And while this is true in some cases, Rosa’s Pizza in Maspeth steps out of the cheesy circle with piping-hot originality.
For an eater in search of affordable food that does not sacrifice taste and quality, Rosa’s ravioli slice will not disappoint. Two slices and a small soda add up to $8.50, leaving plenty of money for gas or a subway ride.
The slice itself achieves exactly what ravioli on a pizza should – a meta-cheese experience with ricotta-filled pasta pockets supplying a subtle yet filling background note to the mozzarella and sauce of a standard pizza slice.
It is basically a plate of raviolis, except that you can eat the plate because it is pizza slice. It does not get much better than that. And the pizza is far beyond mediocre munchies – the sauce is seasoned perfectly and the crust is crisp enough to induce toe curling and elicit an audible “mmm…yes” from the eater.
There are a lot of pizzas in Queens, but when you want to eat well and save a few bucks the ravioli pizza from Rosa’s in Maspeth at 55-26 69th St. should be menu item No. 1.
