Who Has the Best Pizza in the DC Area?

[madameswank]

Fireflies in Alexandria definitely has the best pizza. Thin crust, spicy tomato sauce, and a wide range of interesting toppings. All for pretty cheap, too.

[JennyJune]

Believe it or not, there's a little restaurant in the atrium of the office building at 2100 Pennsylvania Ave., NW. They sell pizzas with the very crispy crust. Very good, sauce is tasty... it's fresh.

Also Papparazzi in Georgetown- the pizza is pretty good but the best thing at that restaurant is the bread w/the spicy oil!

Enjoy

[hjshorter]

Welcome to egullet, madam and jenny!

Where is Fireflies? Never heard of it.

[DonRocks]

This is always a controversial topic, of course, as everyone has an opinion on pizza, salad, ice cream, cheese, etc.

Well I'll chime in and say that not only does 2 Amy's have the "best" pizza I've had in the DC area, they also have some of the best desserts (maybe THE best ice cream), some of the best salads, and some of the most well-conceived cheese courses.

And the wines are, in fact, pretty interesting too. And well priced, even by the glass. The Salice Salentino generally works well with their food.

P.S. Get the baked olives as an appetizer and save them to put on your pizza - they have pits in them and are more interesting than the ones that come on the pizzas themselves. Also ask for fresh oregano on the side - this is not your father's oregano.

2 Amy's cranks out a lot of pizzas, yes, but I haven't seen anything yet that is as good, and I seriously doubt that I will.

[carimwc]

FireFlies is on Mount Vernon Ave in Del Ray, down the road from Evening Star. It used to be an autoparts store. Their pizza is some of the best I've ever had- very thin crust, lots of great toppings to choose from (my fave is proscuitto and red onions) and at a reasonable price. They make the dough right there on the premises so it's fresh, like all their other ingredients. A lot of their products are from scratch actually, the sausage, the breads, the sauce, etc.

I am sort of biased towards them as my boyfriend is one of the servers, but I really do like the food and spend quite a lot of time there. Plus I make him bring home a pizza at least once a week.

[vengroff]

We went to Ella's again. This time we were four adults plus an almost-two-year-old. We went four for four on the pizzas: four cheese; mushroom, pepperoni, fontina, and roast garlic; olives, parmesan, and basil; and carmelized onion, gorganzola, and rosemary. The toppings are all good, but the crust is the key. The thing is, no matter what you put on top, the crust is so excellent that the pizza can't help being good. You pick up a slice and in doesn't wilt at all. The bottom is crisp and lightly charred, but not so much that there is any burned taste. Salads were acceptable, but the pizza is the star.

If you are interested in seeing how the pies are created, you can get a booth in the back across from the open kitchen and the brick oven. The rest of the dining room is pleasant enough, but perhaps a bit brighter than necessary at the dinner time hour.

[ftcmj]

Marcella's! Nobody has mentioned Marcella's? Can it be they don't know?

Marcella Il Bersagliere is at 8450 Connecticut in Chevy Chase, a couple of blocks

south of Jones Bridge Road. Next to Starbuck's. Looks like nothing, but it ain't.

The only pizza I've had in the US (granted I'm not

a connoisseur) that comes close to Naples. Rush Street? Please. Saint Louis pizza?

Ugh. (Believe it or not, there is Saint Louis pizza--so thin it's like eating pizza

nachos.) New York even? Maybe. But Napoli, Napoli. I can't imagine anything

local being closer.

But you'd better bet I'm going to try all the ones on this thread so far! With luck,

I'll find I'm wrong, and can go to the next level up in pizza heaven.

--mj

Edited April 19, 2004 by ftcmj (log)

[bilrus]

Saint Louis pizza?

Ugh. (Believe it or not, there is Saint Louis pizza--so thin it's like eating pizza

nachos.)

First let me welcome you to eGullet. But as someone who grew up in St. Louis, I need to take exception to one of your points.

I don't think that St. Louis style pizza (or any others) are trying to be like "authenic" pizza from Italy. That is why they are their own "-style". I won't argue the taste of St. Louis style Pizza. It is very much a love/hate thing. And the provel "cheese" food used in making them is absolutely disgusting by itself.

But when cooked on the thin, crisp crust with some sauce and toppings it all works.

Maybe not the same way a good gooey slice of new york style or an austere Italian version with pristine ingredients, but it can taste very good.

[Hskorz]

I find the pizza situation in DC similar to the Italian food situation - that is, decent pizza and Italian can only be found in fine dining establishments. I haven't been to Italy, so perhaps these fine restaurants offer cuisine more akin to the homeland. But in my experience, growing up in Boston, Italian is a big heavy comfort food and there are no airs about it. DC just doesn't have those joe schmoe joints you can walk into and get great pizza or italian food. (I'm sure it has to do with the evolution of the city; Boston, NY, B-more all had heavy Italian influx where most of the Italian in DC is transplanted.) AV room (on NY ave) might be the closest thing to an exception. The pizza there is okay and they have a sausage dish I really like. But really, you have to go to Baltimore to find good working-class Italian. Even in the realm of upscale pizza, Pizzaria Paradiso doesn't compare in quality (not as good) or price (more expensive) to any of the coal oven pizza joints found four hours to the north. I always get excited for Pizzaria Paradiso and then I leave feeling duped. Anyone know of any good low-brow Italian or pizza in town? There is a little lunch joint on 17th below M that as I recall has very good pizza.

I don't mean to rehash the old naysayer DC-no-pizza-bagels discussion, and I do appreciate the local cuisine (Ethiopian and Salvadorian). It's just the Italian.

[DonRocks]

Anyone know of any good low-brow Italian or pizza in town?

Alberto's

P.S. I'm convinced Alberto's serves its slices too hot, and they gain some benefit by being taken outside to chill in the air for 2-3 minutes. Otherwise, the cheese can cling to the roof of your mouth and remove your skin.

The problem with viscous things such as cheese is that the thickness raises the boiling point, and it's possible to be above 212 F before actually boiling. One day I was driving down the BW Parkway having just ordered hot-and-sour soup, and foolishly attempting to eat it while driving (I was starving and in a hurry). Well, I lifted the plastic container up by the top part because it was too hot to handle in the middle; unfortunately, the weight of the soup ripped the lid off, and I was left holding just the lid while the bottom half of the container went plummeting downward towards my crotch, where it literally caused a second-degree burn on the inside of my thigh - unlike boiling water, which runs off, thick hot-and-sour soup just sits there and clings - this, while driving at 55 mph.

I began unleashing a string of invectives, coming straight from the bowels of Hell, while hunched over my steering wheel. Screaming at the top of my lungs, in one breath, every known cuss word in the English language at least twice, I finally looked over towards my left when I was out of breath and could cuss no longer, and there was another car driving parallel to me, and the poor driver was looking at me like she had just seen something really terrible.

[brioboy]

Lowbrow 'za in upscale 'hoods is provided by Vace (Cleveland Park and Bethesda).

[bilrus]

We had a pretty long-running thread here on pizza in DC. Some "high-brow", some not.

[Hskorz]

Is Vace's that italian deli type place? I haven't been too impressed with it, though it's not bad, and I haven't been in a while. And Don, where is Alberto's?

[mnebergall]

Is the AV Ristaurante still around. Also, Otelo on Conn. Ave. has respectable stuff.

[hillvalley]

Is Vace's that italian deli type place? I haven't been too impressed with it, though it's not bad, and I haven't been in a while. And Don, where is Alberto's?

You have to compare it to other DC establishments, not NY.

If you are looking for groceries, or a great Italian sub, Litteri's is great.

[Hskorz]

Yeah, AV is still around.

I've always wondered about Otello, maybe I'll check it out

Oh, and thanks for the link, Bilrus. For some reason, my search capabilities are nil.

[Tweaked]

One of my impressions about pizza in the northeast, at least my experiences in New York state is that the mom and pop pizza joints cook up a bunch of pizzas, allow them to cool, and then reheat them in the pizza oven to order. This is at least the case when you order pizza by the slice. Whole pizzas called in are cooked to order. Anyway...in my experience pizza just tastes better when it has had this chance to rest...maybe there's just not enough mom and pop shops in DC selling pizza by the slice.

And I have to agree with Hskorz, I've had Vace several times both by the slice and ordered whole pizza, and I'm not a huge fan. Not bad for around DC, but overall not that great. Don't think I'm a fan of their pizza sauce.

and I also think Otelo for heavy comfort Italian is pretty decent.

[JennyUptown]

Yeah, AV is still around.

I've always wondered about Otello, maybe I'll check it out

Oh, and thanks for the link, Bilrus. For some reason, my search capabilities are nil.

I think Otello might be what you seek.

[brioboy]

Vace info (for Cleveland Park) is at

http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?n...ofile&id=806680

but pizza is such elemental comfort food - I've found it often depends on what you grew up with.

[Hskorz]

Two more cents:

The slices at the the Georgetown Bagelry (I think that's the name) are actually quite good, though not of the gourmet variety. There is also an italian cafeteria style place on 17th below M I think where I've had the best no-frills pizza in DC. I'll have to go back to Paradiso (which is a different class of pizza than those mentioned above). I always feel like I'm getting a little ripped off there. And I'll definitely be trying Ella's soon. And probably 2 Amys.

[eljo]

Anyone know of any good low-brow Italian or pizza in town?

Alberto's

Where is Alberto's?

[morela]

Anyone know of any good low-brow Italian or pizza in town?

Alberto's

Where is Alberto's?

It's on the same block/same side of street as Johnny's Half Shell and Pesce...in an english basement of sorts...

P Street.

[ace311]

what about the quote from the movie Singles. " Pizza is like sex, no matter how bad it is, it's still good"?

[BBhasin]

I like the sour dough pizzas at Schlotskys on Conn Ave. Particularly their chicken Pesto and the Thai Chicken Pizza.

They have pretty good sandwiches too.

[Al_Dente]

They do an excellent "half-baked" at Vace. Pick up your pie, throw it in the oven at 450 for 10 mins, and ba-da-bing!

I have one of those damn roof-of-mouth blisters today. Didn't wait long enough for the pizza to cool.