Friday, July 15, 2016
Washington Post by Becky Krystal
Pizzeria Vetri
For a 14th Street NW pizza date-night that's trendier than Matchbox and cheaper than Etto.
- Rundown: A casual import from the Philadelphia-based Vetri Family restaurant group. The menu is mostly pizza, but is also rounded out with several salads.
- Style: Neapolitan.
- Crust: Thin, between crispy and chewy.
- Cooking method: Wood-burning oven at 700 degrees for 3 minutes.
- Signature dishes: A rotolo, a cinnamon-bun-looking creation with meat, cheese and pesto, and the Salsiccia pie, with fennel sausage, roasted fennel, tomato sauce and mozzarella.
- Price range: $12 to $24.
- Address: 2221 14th St. NW.
Timber Pizza Co.
For toppings as creative as what you'll find at Pete's New Haven Style Apizza, but with a bit more of an urban hipster ambiance.
- Rundown: The first bricks-and-mortar location of the mobile business that's been making the rounds at farmers markets and festivals for a few years.
- Style: Hybrid.
- Crust: Thin and crispy, with olive oil and high-gluten flour in the mix.
- Cooking method: Wood-burning oven at 750 degrees for 2 1/2 to 3 minutes.
- Signature dishes: The Green Monster pizza (as seen in 40 Eats), with pesto, mozzarella, feta, zucchini and kale, and the Munday pizza, with squash blossoms, sugar snap peas and honey ricotta.
- Price range: Pizzas $12 to $17.
- Address: 809 Upshur St. NW.
All-Purpose
For a contemporary, elevated pizza parlor where the chef wants to do for pizza what he did for pasta at the Red Hen.
- Rundown: Partnership between the owners of Red Hen and Boundary Stone restaurants in Bloomingdale, centered on theItalian-American fare of chef Michael Friedman's youth.
- Style: Rooted in New York.
- Crust: Bready with a crispy bottom, with whole-wheat flour, olive oil and malt powder in the mix.
- Cooking method: Gas-powered deck oven at 650 degrees for 5 minutes.
- Signature dishes: The Cossimo pizza, with roasted mushrooms, taleggio, scallions, preserved truffle sauce and Grana; "Jersey-style" eggplant parm.
- Price range: Pizzas $18 to $19.
- Address: 1250 Ninth St. NW.
Alta Strada
For when a trip to Italy, or the suburbs (Pupatella, Pizza CS), isn't in the cards, and you want to be able to make a reservation.
- Rundown: The third location, and first in the District, of chef Michael Schlow's Italian trattoria.
- Style: Combination of New York, Rome and Naples.
- Crust: Thin, crispy and crackly.
- Cooking method: Gas-assisted wood oven at 615 to 625 degrees for 5 minutes.
- Signature dishes: Pizza with house-made sausage and broccoli rabe; crunchy meatballs with spicy tomato basil sauce.
- Price range: Pizzas $15 to $17.
- Address: 465 K St. NW.
VÜK
For when you want your Wiseguy pizza with a heavy side of pinball.
- Rundown: A pinball arcade and pizza shop owned by MOM's Organic Market founder and CEO Scott Nash, with a menu development assist from Mark Bucher (Medium Rare, formerly BGR).
- Style: New York/Philadelphia/South Jersey.
- Crust: Thin but flexible. The fold is key.
- Cooking method: Gas-powered deck at 425 to 475 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes.
- Signature dishes: Pepperoni pizza; white pizza with ricotta, olive oil and garlic.
- Price range: $2 per slice; whole pizzas $12 to $14.
- Address: 4924 St. Elmo Ave., Bethesda.