Over spring break, I coordinated with Adam P. (who is guilty of saying "za"...sigh) to have a "pizza happy hour" at Pizzeria Paradiso.
Pizzeria Paradiso has a reputation in DC as being "upscale" and "high quality" "artisan" pizza. They also have a great beer selection, and are somewhat beer-snobbish. I'm down with beer and pizza snobbery, to be honest. I like both of these things in both their highbrow and lowbrow forms. Anyhow, on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, Pizzeria Paradiso has a happy hour special where beers are half price, all appetizers are 5 dollars, and all pizzas are 9 dollars. Seemed worth checking out.
Upon actually arriving at Paradiso, however, I quickly realized something: while the beer special was indeed worthy, the pizza and appetizer specials were incredibly lame...for most of the pizzas, the special saved you between 35 cents and 1 dollar. Wooohooo! Thank God for the beer specials, otherwise I might have rolled my eyes and come back another day.
So, yes. As I said, Paradiso has this reputation for being snobby and excellent. But, I hate to say this...I wasn't impressed. There are several reasons for this, but I am going to outline the two major issues that I had.
1) The crust. I can appreciate regional variations on pizza. A New York style will be thin and floppy; a Chicago-style deep dish, yet still thin crusted, much like a pie; and Detroit will be a thicker deep dish and square in shape (caramelized edges, y'all.) But Paradiso didn't claim to have a regional style--they just claimed to have good pizza. In fact, according to their website, they claim that their main concern is the crust, "We opened Pizzeria Paradiso so we could make the kind of pizza we longed for but couldn't find in the DC area, the kind of pizza where the crust was the most important part."
Look, I agree. The crust IS the most important part. But Paradiso, if I may say so, your crust wasn't what I want in a pizza. Your crust was tasty, it's true. But it didn't seem like a pizza crust. The dish you served me tasted more like a foccacia--pillowy and thick and doughy. Very, very bread-like. Very, very heavy. Tasty, but not pizza. Very pizza-esque.
2.) The sauce. Paradiso also brags about their quality sauce which uses only imported tomatoes from Italy. When they say this on their website, however, I take it to mean that they only use that one type of canned tomatoes, not that the ONLY thing in their sauce is canned tomatoes. But, alack! That's what it tasted like: diced canned tomatoes spread on thick foccacia like dough. You're killing me Paradiso! I shouldn't be able to taste the metallic taste of tin can lingering in the sauce in every bite!
So, yeah. In my pizza quest, I won't be returning to Paradiso for their pizza alone any time soon. Maybe I'll return for the beer though. Maybe.
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Monday, March 15, 2010
pizza weekend in nyc
I kind of wanted to title this "let's eat some pizza in Neeeew YOOOORRK!" in honor of the girl at the gelato place last night who was getting DOWN to the Alicia Keys song...which, for the record, isn't that good. Jay-Z helped her out with that one.
I am currently sitting in my brother's living room in Saddle Brook, NJ. I've pretty much eaten pizza exclusively since getting here yesterday afternoon. There was a scoop of gelato, a cup of coffee, and a cheese sandwich at Murray's (http://www.murrayscheese.com), but everything else has been pizza. Really. It's sickening. I love it.
I arrived at my brother's yesterday afternoon (much later than I'd hoped to arrive, due to being foiled by daylight savings time...grrr.). We headed straight into the city for some shopping in SoHo, and made plans to meet up with Anne for dinner. Before finding a neat segue into the pizza, let me talk for a minute about shopping in SoHo.
So...look, it's typical, it's not particularly hip, etc, but every single time I'm in New York, I end up in SoHo cos I love Uniqlo and Muji way too much. 19.50 for the best fitting jeans ever? Yes please. Seriously, between those 2 stores, I got new sneakers, jeans, 2 cardigans, socks, a notebook, my favorite candles, travel accessories, and more...for under 100 dollars. And all of it just fits so right. Sort of obsessed. Go Japan. Nick, fortunately, shares my passion for these two stores. I love that my brother is a man who shops.
Anyhow, after we Uniqlo'd and Muji'd it up, we walked down Bleeker Street singing the requisite Simon and Garfunkel song (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e5UY1t47TNY) to meet up with Anne and Steve at John's. Classic Village brick oven place. It's good. It's really good. In fact, it's not worth comparing it to other pizzas I've eaten up to this point this year (yes, there have been better pizzas in the past. But not yet in 2010). We were seated in a very cozy window booth, and it was one of those "historic" booths--everyone's name all scratched into it, etc. Anne, much like me, is a bit of a pizza purist--she prefers a good cheese pizza. I'd forgotten that Nick gave up meat for Lent, and so, much to my benefit, it turned into an all vegetarian pizza night. We got a large cheese and a large mushroom between the four of us, and none was wasted, that's for sure. We devoured those pizzas.
The crust was a dream: blistery with that nice charry taste, thin, chewy, crisp...mmm. The sauce was also well done--brightly flavored and very authentically tomato-y, not sugary or bitter, and perfectly distributed (I hate heavy handed sauce). The cheese was just a plain cheese, not fresh mozz slices, and it was also distributed in perfect balance. The mushrooms...were good. I don't know. I think that they maybe could have been more generous, but they were fresh mushrooms, so that's a plus. The cheese was, for me, the winner between the two, but both were very, very good. However, John's pizza reminded me of one of the greatest plights I face every time I eat truly good pizza. And in fact, this plight could indeed be the hallmark of a great slice for me. You see, when the pizza is just right and when the crust is really just that perfect balance of thin, crispy, chewy goodness, I get into the following trouble. You see, when it comes to food, I'm very impatient. I need a bite of that pizza as soon as it's set down, and I almost always burn the roof of my mouth on that first bite. And then, with the roof of my mouth all tender...it gets scraped by those sharp edges on that perfect, perfect end crusts...a truly good pizza, therefore, brings me both deep pleasure and a little pain. It's earned. I like that. Anyhow, after eating 5 slices (yes, 5), I was in serious need of some gelato to sooth my scraped up mouth. Really people, gelato is the only solution.
Before moving on to my next pizza, I need to pause to give Anne some credit here. You see, Anne really was the one who inspired me to make this pizza resolution and start this pizza blog, because Anne has told me in the past that, since moving to NYC for law school, she's been on a pizza quest, seeking out the best in New York. Every time I've stayed with her, we've gone out to try the most hyped up pizza joints, and visited some of the big classics. Together, in January of 2008, we went to Lombardi's (New York's original pizzeria), and found that, though it was good, it was perhaps not the best. She encouraged me to walk several extra blocks out of the way late one night when I needed a slicem in order to go to Famous Joe's on Carmine at Bleeker, even though I passed countless places en route from her dorm on Mercer (worth it. best slice, easily).Two summers ago, we trekked all the way out to Coney Island to go to Totonno's...which still stands as the best pizza I've ever had, made even better by the fact that we rode the Cyclone and walked around the boardwalk after the pizza. I really hope that Totonno's won't be changed too much by the fire that happened there last spring. That'd be heartbreaking. But anyhow. What I'm saying here is that Anne really deserves major props for being my inspiration in this blog, and the queen of the NYC pizza quest, and my sister in pizza eating adventures.
Anyhow. Today, in order to celebrate spring break, I did one of my favorite things...one of those things I rarely get the opportunity to do. I went into the city this morning and spent the entire day just walking around exploring by myself, window shopping and eating. Due to a slight train mishap, I didn't get to the city until 11am (note to self: when in Secacus, asking "Does this train go to Penn Station?" is a real gamble. The man was correct when he said "yes" but...he meant Newark Penn Station, not New York Penn Station...durrrr). But that was okay, because that meant I arrived at Famous Joe's at the perfect time--right after the opening rush was done, and they'd juuuust pulled out a fresh cheese pizza. 2.50 can buy you happiness. It really can. It's just such a perfect slice! Not too greasy (but...greasy enough to be just a liiitle sinful), floppy enough to fold, but still perfectly crisp. Great sauce, great balance. Just damn. good. pizza. Plus, I love that the parm, red pepper, salt, and pepper available all came from the CVS next door. Nice. Go there people. It's worth it. I could have eaten 2 slices, easily, but I decided to pace myself in order to allow me other treats throughout the day.
I walked all over the village, NoHo, SoHo, and into Chinatown today. I just walked and walked and walked. I turned down every interesting looking side street. I tried to go down streets I'd never been down. I went into little stores and galleries I'd never been into. I avoided all chains. I went into many eyeglasses shops--all of which were out of my price range--and tried on many awesome frames (I need new ones). I stopped in coffeeshops for cups to go. It was windy, grey, and rainy, but...man. Best day ever. I did a big loop, more or less, so that I could end my day at Murrays for the aforementioned cheese sandwich (with jalepeno coleslaw, chips, and a drink), before catching the train at West 4th Street station. Next trip to NYC, I'll aim to do a different chunk of the city. I need a day like this in Brooklyn too (I've been wanting to get to CB I Hate Perfume for FOREVER!).
Once home, Nick called and said he wanted to pick up a pizza for dinner cos it was easy. No complaints here. Yes, I can have pizza for the third time in 24 hours! Sounds fantastic! We got a margherita pie from Donnagios, which is this place up the street from his apartment. Um. Not a winner of a pie. I guess cos it was a margherita rather than a regular cheese pizza, they were trying to be fancy, but the sauce wasn't right. It tasted like spaghetti sauce--it was dark, sweet, and really thickly applied. Too much. The crust was decent, but the over all experience was low on my list for the weekend. Too bad. It really didn't stand a chance though, when you think of it...I'd just eaten some of the known contenders for best pizza in New York, and...well, this is just some joint up the street in Saddle Brook, New Jersey. I mean, Jersey! Poor New Jersey. It always loses.
I am currently sitting in my brother's living room in Saddle Brook, NJ. I've pretty much eaten pizza exclusively since getting here yesterday afternoon. There was a scoop of gelato, a cup of coffee, and a cheese sandwich at Murray's (http://www.murrayscheese.com), but everything else has been pizza. Really. It's sickening. I love it.
I arrived at my brother's yesterday afternoon (much later than I'd hoped to arrive, due to being foiled by daylight savings time...grrr.). We headed straight into the city for some shopping in SoHo, and made plans to meet up with Anne for dinner. Before finding a neat segue into the pizza, let me talk for a minute about shopping in SoHo.
So...look, it's typical, it's not particularly hip, etc, but every single time I'm in New York, I end up in SoHo cos I love Uniqlo and Muji way too much. 19.50 for the best fitting jeans ever? Yes please. Seriously, between those 2 stores, I got new sneakers, jeans, 2 cardigans, socks, a notebook, my favorite candles, travel accessories, and more...for under 100 dollars. And all of it just fits so right. Sort of obsessed. Go Japan. Nick, fortunately, shares my passion for these two stores. I love that my brother is a man who shops.
Anyhow, after we Uniqlo'd and Muji'd it up, we walked down Bleeker Street singing the requisite Simon and Garfunkel song (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e5UY1t47TNY) to meet up with Anne and Steve at John's. Classic Village brick oven place. It's good. It's really good. In fact, it's not worth comparing it to other pizzas I've eaten up to this point this year (yes, there have been better pizzas in the past. But not yet in 2010). We were seated in a very cozy window booth, and it was one of those "historic" booths--everyone's name all scratched into it, etc. Anne, much like me, is a bit of a pizza purist--she prefers a good cheese pizza. I'd forgotten that Nick gave up meat for Lent, and so, much to my benefit, it turned into an all vegetarian pizza night. We got a large cheese and a large mushroom between the four of us, and none was wasted, that's for sure. We devoured those pizzas.
The crust was a dream: blistery with that nice charry taste, thin, chewy, crisp...mmm. The sauce was also well done--brightly flavored and very authentically tomato-y, not sugary or bitter, and perfectly distributed (I hate heavy handed sauce). The cheese was just a plain cheese, not fresh mozz slices, and it was also distributed in perfect balance. The mushrooms...were good. I don't know. I think that they maybe could have been more generous, but they were fresh mushrooms, so that's a plus. The cheese was, for me, the winner between the two, but both were very, very good. However, John's pizza reminded me of one of the greatest plights I face every time I eat truly good pizza. And in fact, this plight could indeed be the hallmark of a great slice for me. You see, when the pizza is just right and when the crust is really just that perfect balance of thin, crispy, chewy goodness, I get into the following trouble. You see, when it comes to food, I'm very impatient. I need a bite of that pizza as soon as it's set down, and I almost always burn the roof of my mouth on that first bite. And then, with the roof of my mouth all tender...it gets scraped by those sharp edges on that perfect, perfect end crusts...a truly good pizza, therefore, brings me both deep pleasure and a little pain. It's earned. I like that. Anyhow, after eating 5 slices (yes, 5), I was in serious need of some gelato to sooth my scraped up mouth. Really people, gelato is the only solution.
Before moving on to my next pizza, I need to pause to give Anne some credit here. You see, Anne really was the one who inspired me to make this pizza resolution and start this pizza blog, because Anne has told me in the past that, since moving to NYC for law school, she's been on a pizza quest, seeking out the best in New York. Every time I've stayed with her, we've gone out to try the most hyped up pizza joints, and visited some of the big classics. Together, in January of 2008, we went to Lombardi's (New York's original pizzeria), and found that, though it was good, it was perhaps not the best. She encouraged me to walk several extra blocks out of the way late one night when I needed a slicem in order to go to Famous Joe's on Carmine at Bleeker, even though I passed countless places en route from her dorm on Mercer (worth it. best slice, easily).Two summers ago, we trekked all the way out to Coney Island to go to Totonno's...which still stands as the best pizza I've ever had, made even better by the fact that we rode the Cyclone and walked around the boardwalk after the pizza. I really hope that Totonno's won't be changed too much by the fire that happened there last spring. That'd be heartbreaking. But anyhow. What I'm saying here is that Anne really deserves major props for being my inspiration in this blog, and the queen of the NYC pizza quest, and my sister in pizza eating adventures.
Anyhow. Today, in order to celebrate spring break, I did one of my favorite things...one of those things I rarely get the opportunity to do. I went into the city this morning and spent the entire day just walking around exploring by myself, window shopping and eating. Due to a slight train mishap, I didn't get to the city until 11am (note to self: when in Secacus, asking "Does this train go to Penn Station?" is a real gamble. The man was correct when he said "yes" but...he meant Newark Penn Station, not New York Penn Station...durrrr). But that was okay, because that meant I arrived at Famous Joe's at the perfect time--right after the opening rush was done, and they'd juuuust pulled out a fresh cheese pizza. 2.50 can buy you happiness. It really can. It's just such a perfect slice! Not too greasy (but...greasy enough to be just a liiitle sinful), floppy enough to fold, but still perfectly crisp. Great sauce, great balance. Just damn. good. pizza. Plus, I love that the parm, red pepper, salt, and pepper available all came from the CVS next door. Nice. Go there people. It's worth it. I could have eaten 2 slices, easily, but I decided to pace myself in order to allow me other treats throughout the day.
I walked all over the village, NoHo, SoHo, and into Chinatown today. I just walked and walked and walked. I turned down every interesting looking side street. I tried to go down streets I'd never been down. I went into little stores and galleries I'd never been into. I avoided all chains. I went into many eyeglasses shops--all of which were out of my price range--and tried on many awesome frames (I need new ones). I stopped in coffeeshops for cups to go. It was windy, grey, and rainy, but...man. Best day ever. I did a big loop, more or less, so that I could end my day at Murrays for the aforementioned cheese sandwich (with jalepeno coleslaw, chips, and a drink), before catching the train at West 4th Street station. Next trip to NYC, I'll aim to do a different chunk of the city. I need a day like this in Brooklyn too (I've been wanting to get to CB I Hate Perfume for FOREVER!).
Once home, Nick called and said he wanted to pick up a pizza for dinner cos it was easy. No complaints here. Yes, I can have pizza for the third time in 24 hours! Sounds fantastic! We got a margherita pie from Donnagios, which is this place up the street from his apartment. Um. Not a winner of a pie. I guess cos it was a margherita rather than a regular cheese pizza, they were trying to be fancy, but the sauce wasn't right. It tasted like spaghetti sauce--it was dark, sweet, and really thickly applied. Too much. The crust was decent, but the over all experience was low on my list for the weekend. Too bad. It really didn't stand a chance though, when you think of it...I'd just eaten some of the known contenders for best pizza in New York, and...well, this is just some joint up the street in Saddle Brook, New Jersey. I mean, Jersey! Poor New Jersey. It always loses.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Shoppers Value One Dollar Pizza
For the second Wednesday in a row, I've gone to lift weights in the Richie Collesium with Steven and Conor. For the second Wednesday in a row, I've been the only woman in that weightroom--it's next to frat row, so it's fairly frat-tastic. Steven and Conor are really awesome and patient and nice about showing me how to do all this stuff, and I feel pretty great afterwards, like I've accomplished something for womankind, or something. Anyhow, the only lame part about it is that, since I meet with them post-workshop, we don't get out of there until 7:30 or so, and that makes coming home and cooking dinner kinda a pain. So...today I remedied that by buying a frozen pizza.
A one dollar frozen pizza.
Hells. Yes.
The Shopper's Brand Value Pizza, in "cheese flavor" (isn't this what they have to say when they can't claim real cheese was used? hmm...) measures up at about 6.5 inches in diameter, and weighs in at 370 calories, total. While microwaving was an option, I went with the oven baking method, since, well...microwaved frozen pizza (sans origami pizza box magic crisping tray) is never a good idea (heck, even with the tray it's rarely a good idea). The crust...well, even when placed directly on the rack in an oven preheated to 450 degrees never quite crisped up. I believe this was due to the gratuitous amount of dark red, pasty and sweet sauce. The cheese flavor cheese (? cheese like substance?) was a bit sparse. Even before placing it into the oven, I suspected the situation was dire, and took manners into my own hands by adding a few fresh portabella mushroom slices on top, in an attempt to fix it up some.
Once baked, a strange thing happened. I lifted my first slice to my mouth and...all of the toppings slid off in a sloppy pile of red sauce. Also, the "cheese" didn't really melt. The crust...well, it wasn't that bad. I'm happy though that I thought to add the mushrooms. Those were really tasty.
I...well. I'm a bit creeped out by the fact that I ate this pizza for dinner tonight. It wasn't really tasty, and after eating it, I felt as though I'd eaten nothing at all. Bad news. The worst news of all though is that, because the thing only cost a DOLLAR and the nutritional value isn't that far off of the lean cuisine pizza I ate a while back, I'd be hard pressed to choose either the lean cuisine or this pizza again in the future. Yeah. This stupid pizza was so bad, yet so cheap, that it's ruined my relatively good lean cuisine pizza eating experience. How can I ever justify eating something only marginally tastier but 4 times more expensive, just for the fancy box? Ugh.
In other news, stuff's been kinda crazy lately. The draft of my thesis is due Friday. I've been really busy at work. Work's been...not super good lately. When deadlines loom, people get on edge and sometimes they really like to take it out on our department...which I guess makes sense. It's our job to point out mistakes, and that bursts the bubble that what's been done up to that point was perfect as it was.
Anyhow. In addition to pizza, lately all I want to do is sleep. Preferably with a snuggle partner. My new favorite word (learned at work) is hygge, or 'snug and cozy feeling'. It's this central part of the Danish mentality, and, considering we don't quite have an equivalent word in English, it's clearly not something we take seriously enough. I need more hygge in my life. More coziness, more snuggliness, more good-warm-homey-comfort-feelingness. Yeah.
A one dollar frozen pizza.
Hells. Yes.
The Shopper's Brand Value Pizza, in "cheese flavor" (isn't this what they have to say when they can't claim real cheese was used? hmm...) measures up at about 6.5 inches in diameter, and weighs in at 370 calories, total. While microwaving was an option, I went with the oven baking method, since, well...microwaved frozen pizza (sans origami pizza box magic crisping tray) is never a good idea (heck, even with the tray it's rarely a good idea). The crust...well, even when placed directly on the rack in an oven preheated to 450 degrees never quite crisped up. I believe this was due to the gratuitous amount of dark red, pasty and sweet sauce. The cheese flavor cheese (? cheese like substance?) was a bit sparse. Even before placing it into the oven, I suspected the situation was dire, and took manners into my own hands by adding a few fresh portabella mushroom slices on top, in an attempt to fix it up some.
Once baked, a strange thing happened. I lifted my first slice to my mouth and...all of the toppings slid off in a sloppy pile of red sauce. Also, the "cheese" didn't really melt. The crust...well, it wasn't that bad. I'm happy though that I thought to add the mushrooms. Those were really tasty.
I...well. I'm a bit creeped out by the fact that I ate this pizza for dinner tonight. It wasn't really tasty, and after eating it, I felt as though I'd eaten nothing at all. Bad news. The worst news of all though is that, because the thing only cost a DOLLAR and the nutritional value isn't that far off of the lean cuisine pizza I ate a while back, I'd be hard pressed to choose either the lean cuisine or this pizza again in the future. Yeah. This stupid pizza was so bad, yet so cheap, that it's ruined my relatively good lean cuisine pizza eating experience. How can I ever justify eating something only marginally tastier but 4 times more expensive, just for the fancy box? Ugh.
In other news, stuff's been kinda crazy lately. The draft of my thesis is due Friday. I've been really busy at work. Work's been...not super good lately. When deadlines loom, people get on edge and sometimes they really like to take it out on our department...which I guess makes sense. It's our job to point out mistakes, and that bursts the bubble that what's been done up to that point was perfect as it was.
Anyhow. In addition to pizza, lately all I want to do is sleep. Preferably with a snuggle partner. My new favorite word (learned at work) is hygge, or 'snug and cozy feeling'. It's this central part of the Danish mentality, and, considering we don't quite have an equivalent word in English, it's clearly not something we take seriously enough. I need more hygge in my life. More coziness, more snuggliness, more good-warm-homey-comfort-feelingness. Yeah.
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Updated List
I need to update my list of pizza places to try...I also really need to get around to posting those reviews of the, uh...more boring pizzas I've eaten as of late.
But, crossed off my original list at this point are Ellas, Red Rocks, Pete's a pizza, and Mama Lucias. Just a fun fact...I ate at 3 of the 4 of those places with Kim. Talk about a good partner in pizza crime! Though, perhaps she doesn't want me pointing out just how much pizza we've eaten together in the past month (Kim. We've eaten like, 7 pizzas in under a month together.)
So. The list as it stands now:
1) Pizza Paradiso (preferably on a Tuesday or Wednesday night when they have happy hour)
2) Pi Pizza (Adams Morgan)
3) Comet Ping Pong (Tenleytown? Pizza and ping pong? Um, yes plz.)
4) The disco Jumbo Slice on U street (cos it's so awesome)
5) Two Amys (Woodley Park?)
Um, I'm going to stop here. I can list more, of course, but these are the 5 that I have my sights set on for now. Also, I'm fairly certain I'll be able to hit up number 4 post backdoor at 9:30 party on Saturday.
While I'm at it, let's talk about some of those pizzas I ate with Kim. Starting with...Ellas.
Dude, fuck Ella's pizza. Seriously! Like, it could be all nice and all. It's schmancy as hell, all up in Penn Quarter, and it really ain't all that. But look. Want to make me mad? Then don't differentiate on your menu between sauced pizzas and white pizzas. Make me guess whether that pizza actually comes with cheese on it or not. Be vague about your pizza basics and jack up the prices, to boot. Seriously. WOMP WOMP WOMP on Ella's Pizza. Yes, when I went there over the summer after a two hot day of being a tourist with my parents, it was nice. It was nice because I was sunburnt and about to pass out from heat and hunger (seriously? how does my mother go for like, 9 hours without eating?) . I guess my memories were tinged by the sheer joy food and water brought me in that moment. Plus, you know, the warm fuzziness I get when I'm with my parents (no. Wait. I mean the warm fuzziness I get when I think about being with my parents when they're not around. I was probably grumpy and snapping at them like a brat in that moment.) Anyhow. I'm getting away from the point here. The point is that I thought it was going to be a lot better than it was when I returned there with Kim on Friday, February 12th.
Kim ordered a straight margherita (duh. must be done!) and I ordered the mushroom pizza. The mushroom pizza that had an "olive oil" sauce (mmm, grease!) and NO CHEESE! Yeah. No sauce. No cheese. No mention of either of these things on the menu. I guess...I guess I'm just so used to most places making it clearer what's on their pizzas and what isn't. Either they'll note all pizzas come with x, y, and z, or they'll specifically note No sauce! or something. Not Ella's. Nope. But when my pizza came out and I was clearly not impressed with it (nay--really disappointed upon first sight), the waiter asked if something was wrong. And I said "well...I guess, I almost asked before I ordered, but I assumed this would have cheese on it!" And he says "Oh! Not a problem, let me go ask them to put some on." And...this made me happy. I was optimistic once again. It came back with some gooey half melted globs of mozzarella, and the oil crust was really soggy, but...I appreciated the effort. The pizza wasn't my thing. The mushrooms were over salty and it was just way too greasy. Overall, it didn't even seem like pizza to me. Kim's margherita was fine--pretty good, even. And...well. Look. Here's something you can argue with me on. That's fine. When we got the bill...I was charged an extra 2.50 for the cheese on my pizza. I mean. I guess I should have assumed this. I guess. But...I guess, too, when a waiter offers something like that because they notice you seem unhappy, they do it to make it better, not make an extra few bucks. Or...they tell you it's gonna cost extra. I mean. The cheese was not worth the 2.50. It wasn't a great addition, and I thought he was just trying to be nice. I got it though that that's how it all works, and I mean, no, I'm not going to complain about such a thing, nor really blame the waiter at all...but I will write a scathing review of the place on my little pizza blog, goddammit!
The other pizza I ate with Kim was takeout from Mama Lucias. Kim was coming over to watch Lady Gaga perform with Elton John (who, FYI, is helping Eminem overcome his drug problems and homophobia) on the Grammys, but we both missed the performance (doh!) Mama Lucia's is probably the best pizza you can get in College Park. And I like it cos it's right up the street. It's decent. It was good food. It was slightly cold though, because my phone wasn't working and I didn't know Kim was waiting outside with it calling me to come let her in. It's a good, basic, new york style floppy pizza. No complaints, but nothing special, either. Also, Grammys? WTF? I don't remember the last time I actually watched the Grammys (or...wait. I do. It was when Bjork was nominated for that one song with the video by Spike Jonze...that was...1998?). But yeah, that shit was effed up. Some band of country music playing Zack Galifinakises beat out all sorts of good stuff for best new artist. Weird.
Okay. I'm feeling a bit more caught up now. Phew.
But, crossed off my original list at this point are Ellas, Red Rocks, Pete's a pizza, and Mama Lucias. Just a fun fact...I ate at 3 of the 4 of those places with Kim. Talk about a good partner in pizza crime! Though, perhaps she doesn't want me pointing out just how much pizza we've eaten together in the past month (Kim. We've eaten like, 7 pizzas in under a month together.)
So. The list as it stands now:
1) Pizza Paradiso (preferably on a Tuesday or Wednesday night when they have happy hour)
2) Pi Pizza (Adams Morgan)
3) Comet Ping Pong (Tenleytown? Pizza and ping pong? Um, yes plz.)
4) The disco Jumbo Slice on U street (cos it's so awesome)
5) Two Amys (Woodley Park?)
Um, I'm going to stop here. I can list more, of course, but these are the 5 that I have my sights set on for now. Also, I'm fairly certain I'll be able to hit up number 4 post backdoor at 9:30 party on Saturday.
While I'm at it, let's talk about some of those pizzas I ate with Kim. Starting with...Ellas.
Dude, fuck Ella's pizza. Seriously! Like, it could be all nice and all. It's schmancy as hell, all up in Penn Quarter, and it really ain't all that. But look. Want to make me mad? Then don't differentiate on your menu between sauced pizzas and white pizzas. Make me guess whether that pizza actually comes with cheese on it or not. Be vague about your pizza basics and jack up the prices, to boot. Seriously. WOMP WOMP WOMP on Ella's Pizza. Yes, when I went there over the summer after a two hot day of being a tourist with my parents, it was nice. It was nice because I was sunburnt and about to pass out from heat and hunger (seriously? how does my mother go for like, 9 hours without eating?) . I guess my memories were tinged by the sheer joy food and water brought me in that moment. Plus, you know, the warm fuzziness I get when I'm with my parents (no. Wait. I mean the warm fuzziness I get when I think about being with my parents when they're not around. I was probably grumpy and snapping at them like a brat in that moment.) Anyhow. I'm getting away from the point here. The point is that I thought it was going to be a lot better than it was when I returned there with Kim on Friday, February 12th.
Kim ordered a straight margherita (duh. must be done!) and I ordered the mushroom pizza. The mushroom pizza that had an "olive oil" sauce (mmm, grease!) and NO CHEESE! Yeah. No sauce. No cheese. No mention of either of these things on the menu. I guess...I guess I'm just so used to most places making it clearer what's on their pizzas and what isn't. Either they'll note all pizzas come with x, y, and z, or they'll specifically note No sauce! or something. Not Ella's. Nope. But when my pizza came out and I was clearly not impressed with it (nay--really disappointed upon first sight), the waiter asked if something was wrong. And I said "well...I guess, I almost asked before I ordered, but I assumed this would have cheese on it!" And he says "Oh! Not a problem, let me go ask them to put some on." And...this made me happy. I was optimistic once again. It came back with some gooey half melted globs of mozzarella, and the oil crust was really soggy, but...I appreciated the effort. The pizza wasn't my thing. The mushrooms were over salty and it was just way too greasy. Overall, it didn't even seem like pizza to me. Kim's margherita was fine--pretty good, even. And...well. Look. Here's something you can argue with me on. That's fine. When we got the bill...I was charged an extra 2.50 for the cheese on my pizza. I mean. I guess I should have assumed this. I guess. But...I guess, too, when a waiter offers something like that because they notice you seem unhappy, they do it to make it better, not make an extra few bucks. Or...they tell you it's gonna cost extra. I mean. The cheese was not worth the 2.50. It wasn't a great addition, and I thought he was just trying to be nice. I got it though that that's how it all works, and I mean, no, I'm not going to complain about such a thing, nor really blame the waiter at all...but I will write a scathing review of the place on my little pizza blog, goddammit!
The other pizza I ate with Kim was takeout from Mama Lucias. Kim was coming over to watch Lady Gaga perform with Elton John (who, FYI, is helping Eminem overcome his drug problems and homophobia) on the Grammys, but we both missed the performance (doh!) Mama Lucia's is probably the best pizza you can get in College Park. And I like it cos it's right up the street. It's decent. It was good food. It was slightly cold though, because my phone wasn't working and I didn't know Kim was waiting outside with it calling me to come let her in. It's a good, basic, new york style floppy pizza. No complaints, but nothing special, either. Also, Grammys? WTF? I don't remember the last time I actually watched the Grammys (or...wait. I do. It was when Bjork was nominated for that one song with the video by Spike Jonze...that was...1998?). But yeah, that shit was effed up. Some band of country music playing Zack Galifinakises beat out all sorts of good stuff for best new artist. Weird.
Okay. I'm feeling a bit more caught up now. Phew.
insert pun about how red rocks rocks here.
So much pizza action here these days. I'm really making good on my resolution. I should say though that I gave up pop for Lent, and that keeps giving me trouble in funny ways--like, whenever I'm out to eat, especially at fast food places, and I order a fountain drink by habit, and then I drink lemonade. I don't like lemonade. This happened on Sunday, because I was tempted by the Boylans fountain. I need to stop ordering drinks, period.
So, last night was a pretty awesome pizza adventure. I went to Red Rocks with a fine gentleman from Baltimore named Kyle. I've been to Red Rocks before (not in 2010), but always sat upstairs. This time, we got a table downstairs, and the atmosphere was great. Very cozy, yet not schmancy-pants.
We ordered one "pizza rosse" and one "pizza bianche" The red pizza was your straight up margherita, and the white pizza was with arugula, cherry tomatoes, and cheese. Now, even though I don't love white pizza, this was a really decent white pizza. As Kyle said "Arugula makes everything good." We also split a bottle of wine--rare for me, but it was nice. Certainly the first wine and pizza post, though!
What can be said about both pizzas is this: the blistering on the crust was great, and the toppings were high quality and delicious. However, both pizzas were just...not crisp enough. Perhaps this was a result of the cheese used. If they'd had just a slightly crisper bottom, they'd been really near perfect. The margherita had a really excellent spicy and sweet--but not in a fake way--sauce. It was really good pizza, and it's probably, thus far, the best pizza I've had in DC. The great company helped, too :)
So, last night was a pretty awesome pizza adventure. I went to Red Rocks with a fine gentleman from Baltimore named Kyle. I've been to Red Rocks before (not in 2010), but always sat upstairs. This time, we got a table downstairs, and the atmosphere was great. Very cozy, yet not schmancy-pants.
We ordered one "pizza rosse" and one "pizza bianche" The red pizza was your straight up margherita, and the white pizza was with arugula, cherry tomatoes, and cheese. Now, even though I don't love white pizza, this was a really decent white pizza. As Kyle said "Arugula makes everything good." We also split a bottle of wine--rare for me, but it was nice. Certainly the first wine and pizza post, though!
What can be said about both pizzas is this: the blistering on the crust was great, and the toppings were high quality and delicious. However, both pizzas were just...not crisp enough. Perhaps this was a result of the cheese used. If they'd had just a slightly crisper bottom, they'd been really near perfect. The margherita had a really excellent spicy and sweet--but not in a fake way--sauce. It was really good pizza, and it's probably, thus far, the best pizza I've had in DC. The great company helped, too :)
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