Semilla's Terrific One-of-a-Kind Pizza Draws Crowds to Brooklyn

It was just after 5 p.m. on an absurdly warm, sunny day in February, and Semilla's tiny dining room was already packed. The diners who looked a bit smug had made reservations in advance, while others lined up on Havermeyer Street pulling on e-cigarettes, waiting for seats to open up at the counter.

They were here for pizza. Not just any pizza, but $5-a-slice pan pizza as imagined by Pam Yung and José Ramirez-Ruiz, two brilliant cooks who are best known for the smart, delicious, and mostly vegetarian tasting menus they serve at Semilla (when I reviewed the restaurant in 2014, I gave it three stars). Yung's crusty sourdough loaves are a highlight of dinner, but the pizzas started out as a no-nonsense way to feed the staff. Since then, the pizzas have evolved.