I’ve been a Vegemite lover ever since I started eating toast, which for me coincides closely with the Apollo 11 moon landing. Understandably, after decades of dabbing it on just like so, I was intrigued when a social post started doing the rounds about a pizza joint in Williamsburg serving up a Vegemite pizza!
Keen to gauge its staying power and share the experience with my pizza-loving friends, I invited a couple of Americans and my French wife to join me for a tasting. They politely told me variations of “you’re on your own for this one.”
After making my way to Metropolitan Avenue in Williamsburg, I ordered a slice at the counter and asked what had sparked the idea to offer this custom slice in Brooklyn. Rosa’s Pizza co-owner Alessandro Troia was happy to share with me that Vegemite representatives had contacted the restaurant directly in fall of 2021 and asked if they would consider adding the iconic Aussie product to their regular slice. After agreeing, Alessandro said a box full of large, squeezy bottles of Vegemite arrived…and then the earth shook for a few seconds (or so I imagine it might have). He smiled broadly as he told me he never has Americans ordering the off-the-menu item, only Australians, and at least once or twice a week.
After informing me that there are lots of Australians living in Williamsburg, Alessandro asked me what I thought. Vegemite has long been a friend of cheese, and with tomato sauce and pizza base, it tastes far better than I imagined. Of course, now I’m left wondering what took this development so long to happen and if this is causing shock waves in pizza shops back home. As for my foreign friends, they’ll likely never know what they’re missing out on.😉
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