Sabasu Pizza
You’d think that all I do is eat based on my food and coffee-focused posts to date. As I immerse myself in Japanese culture, my own diligence on food is self-imposed homework I am enthusiastic about.
I love Japanese cuisine, but last night I was in the mood to try something different. On a prior trip to Tokyo, I discovered Pizza Studio Tamaki back before it became so popular. PST may have been the springboard for the pizza culture that exists here now—a buzzing scene with Neopolitan-style pies and interesting ingredient combinations.
I’ve fortunately had locals recommend several Tokyo pizzerias for me to try, so last night I pulled up a seat at the counter of Sabasu. The owner considers himself Greek-Cypriot-Australian. The pizza master, Maki, makes the rather high-hydration dough using a sourdough starter that the owner brought to Tokyo from Australia. The end result is a pillowly, chewy, savory cloud of slightly charred heaven. I sampled the housemade kimchi, a deliciously simple green salad sprinkled with toasted sesame seeds that gives the salad a wonderful umami, the Hokkaido potatoes roasted and served with a lemon-infused whipped ricotta, and two pizzas: the pork sausage (ricotta cream, buffalo mozzarella, broccoli rabe, and peperoncino) and the ricotta salata (tomato, buffalo mozzarella, salami Napoli, Kalamata olive, confit tomato, and garlic oil). Both were spectacular, though I will always prefer a red sauce, so the ricotta salata was my fave. In addition to some of its mainstay pizzas, Sabasu offers specials too (like the one last night, which featured béchamel sauce, buffalo mozzarella, turnip, sakura shrimp, and Sichuan pepper). There is a tightly curated cocktail selection as well as a nice list of natural wines from around the world. It definitely will be on repeat for me whenever I have a hankering for a great pizza.
