Tuesday, October 27, 2009

A Recent Pizza Tour of D.C.


In the past month, I've been exploring some of D.C.'s pizza options. I love pizza, but hadn't yet been to some of the places that are well-known for their pies.

First up was 2 Amys in Cleveland Park, which I hadn't been to because it isn't Metro accessible. Several writer friends and I headed there on a Tuesday night, and the place was hopping with American University students. With pizza, I think simplicity is key, so I ordered the Two Amys, with tomato and fresh mozzarella. I also sampled the Norcia, with tomato, salami, grilled peppers, fresh mozzarella and grana, and the Margherita (above), with tomato, mozzarella di bufala and basil from my friends' plates. Crust makes or breaks a pizza, and I liked 2 Amys' puffed and slightly blistered edges. And while I liked the classic Two Amys pie, I wasn't exactly upset when our leftovers got switched and I ended up with two slices of my friend's leftover Norcia.

The next pizza excursion was to Comet Ping Pong for date night, and this place was hopping with small children and their parents. (The small children also precluded us from playing ping pong, so opt for a dinner later than 6 if you want a little more quiet and to bat ping pong balls around.) Here we went with the Steel Wills pizza, with ricotta, garlic and black olives, and a calzone with merguez sausage and ricotta that comes with an addicting tomato sauce. The crust here is thinner than at 2 Amys, and Comet comes in third place in this pizza survey, though it is probably due in part to extremely slow service and loud children.

I saved the best for last — SeventhHill Pizza. Located in Eastern Market next to Montmartre (it has the same owners), Seventh Hill employs a pizzaiolo (male pizza chef), who makes fabulous pies. A friend and I recently went and had two — the Eastern Market with goat cheese, herbs and Portobello mushrooms (which I am still dreaming about) and the Seventh Street, with roasted red peppers and prosciutto. It's also warm and cozy inside, as it only seats about 25. We went on a Sunday and a football game was on the TV, and we sat at the bar where you could see right into the pizza oven and carry on a conversation with the pizzaiolo. It's unfortunate this place is so far from the parts of the city I'm in on a daily basis.

Two Amys, 3715 Macomb St., NW, 202- 885-5700‎, 2amyspizza.com.
Comet Ping Pong,5037 Connecticut Ave., NW, 202-364-0404, cometpingpong.com.
SeventhHill Pizza, 327 7th St., SE, 202-544-1911, seventhhill.com.

2 comments:

Carrie said...

:) i'd also recommend Vace's in Cleveland Park (Bethesda too). Amazingly good and inexpensive pizza to go by the slice or whole pie. they also have a great store full of hard to find Italian food items from wine to fresh mozzarella to pastas.....

JonD said...

2 Amy's Norcia is my fav there. When 2 Amy's is "on" I think they have the best. Have wanted to try SeventhHill. No discussion of DC pizza is complete without Pizzeria Paradiso--still my fav in DC. Excellent whole wheat crusts there (whole wheat is a step down from traditional, but still excellent) and superior beer selections.