Who makes the best pizza in Washington? You tell us! Today, voting begins on the first Washingtonian.com Pizza Pool, a brackets-style contest that will narrow 32 pizzas to one winner. For a refresher on how the brackets will work, head here. Or, go straight to today's first face-off below (we’ll post a second match-up later this afternoon).
Pete’s New Haven Apizza: Co-owner Alicia Mehr hails from New Haven, a pizza Mecca. Although the coal-fired slabs at New Haven landmarks such as Sally’s and Pepe’s don’t quite jump to mind here—they’re thinner, smokier, more brittle—one pie in particular does its forebears justice. The New Haven, an homage to Pepe’s most famous pizza, is a sauceless 18-inch crust laden with chopped clams and pecorino cheese. It’s salty, briny, garlicky—and it stays beautifully crisp. Perhaps Pete’s greatest appeal is pizza by the slice—a rarity in Washington, apart from the after-hours grease bombs slung along Adams Morgans’ 18th Street. The ingredients are well chosen; seldom do you find such good sausage on a $2.75 slice.
Ledo Pizza: You don’t come to Tommy Marcos Ledo Restaurant (the original Ledo Pizza) to hear a waitress extol the virtues of ingredients plucked fresh from the farm or to sample such exotica as a softshell-crab pie. You come to chow on gloriously unfussy fare. The wood-paneled room is past its prime, but the pizza remains one of the area’s best. Rectangular, not circular, topped with gobs of smoked provolone and with a crust that calls to mind a thin pastry, this isn’t a pie for everyone, and pizza vets from New York, Philly, Jersey, or Chicago may look askance at it. Their loss.
Did you know? If you click the links of each of those restaurants' names, you can leave your own review of their pizza at that page!
This poll will stay open until noon on Tuesday. *To help keep this contest fair, we've elected to use an IP address-based poll. This means that if you are voting from an office or network setting, not everybody will be able to vote. We apologize for the inconvenience, but we hope you'll encourage coworkers to vote from their home computers.
Comments
I agree with your readers who endorsed LEDO. I lived in the Washington metro area for 28 years, and LEDO never disappointed us. Additionally, besides LEDO,"Jennie K" likes the "Italian Pizza Kitchen" in Van Ness. On visits back to DC I find this place also worth the stop especially when LEDO is not easy to get to.
If any readers finds themselves in South Jersey, it would be smarter to miss the ocean than to miss eating pizza at Mack and Manco.
Posted by: Phillynative, Aug 20, 2009 01:00:04 PM
@Willy D - we’re offering the Pete’s New Haven Apizza gift certificate completely independently from this contest. They are not sponsoring the poll; they’ve just offered a gift certificate to whatever reader has the most accurate filled-out bracket. I can assure you that the Pete’s gift certificate has nothing to do with the results.
Posted by: Catherine (washingtonian.com), Aug 11, 2009 02:22:42 PM
Amazing that the contest sponsor won this round. Against the largest pizza chain in Washington.
Posted by: Willy D, Aug 11, 2009 12:58:05 PM
I agree with the comments asking why these two are pitted against each other...to me it’s like saying what’s better, an amazing Philly cheese steak or a fancy steakhouse prime rib? Both are good in completely different ways, and the choice of one over the other not only depends on personality, but mood. I’m not really sure what we’re learning by asking which is better.
Posted by: Lauren M., Aug 11, 2009 09:07:52 AM
also try Grizzys in Marlton on 301 PG County, execellent square pizza!!
Posted by: sheila, Aug 11, 2009 08:35:52 AM
I find it really annoying that you’d pit these two against each other in the first round. And it’s true, people who talk trash about Ledo’s are clearly new to DC.
Posted by: cmcc, Aug 11, 2009 08:24:56 AM
Ledo’s does the trick if you’re drunk. It’s crappy food that you can eat a lot of but never savor. It’s ghetto pizza. Pete’s isn’t the world’s best, but it at least strives to deliver a quality product.
Posted by: Italian, Aug 11, 2009 08:04:23 AM
Ledo’s is a Washington-area institution. They deserve to make it through this round and far beyond.
I want to also take the opportunity to recommend an up-and-comer for inclusion in next year’s pool. Italian Pizza Kitchen in Van Ness is as unassuming as its pizza is delicious. I highly recommend your staff try their Tuscan.
Posted by: Jennie K., Aug 11, 2009 07:36:50 AM
Pete’s is not sponsoring the contest. Washingtonian selected the prize without any outside advice, and we didn’t know about it until they published it. And, Pete’s ovens are NOT electric. They are gas-fired. And they run at the same temp as the New Haven legends. It’s not the heat source, it’s the temperature. Pepe’s and Sally’s are the only coal fired pizza restaurants in New Haven because they’re grandfathered. Most New Haven pizza is cooked in stacked gas ovens, just like ours. Just an FYI.
Posted by: Mike W., Aug 10, 2009 08:31:25 PM
So let me get this straight. Pete’s is sponsoring this poll and they are winning? Hmmm...
Posted by: John Wilson, Aug 10, 2009 08:13:26 PM
Pete’s is good but c’mon - how can you call it New Haven pizza when Pete’s uses conventional electric ovens. When you think of New Haven pizza, all of the places on Wooster Street use 80-year old coal-fired ovens. The coal ovens cook the pizza at 800+ degrees, giving the pizza its distinct taste. Great marketing for Pete’s but certainly not New Haven pizza.
Posted by: Joe, Aug 10, 2009 07:32:21 PM
Pete’s is great. Ledo is all right, but a little bland.
In my opinion, the best pizza in the D.C. area is Flippin’ Pizza out in Falls Church... But out of the two listed here, I’d choose Pete’s.
Posted by: Josh, Aug 10, 2009 04:49:38 PM
New Haven style pizza is thin-crust, crispy on the bottom and outside, chewy inside. Fresh ingredients. Bigger than most chains’ "large" sizes (Pete’s is 18"). The most famous NH style pizzerias are Pepe’s and Sally’s. They use coal-fired ovens, but many other pizzerias in New Haven use gas. Pretty good description of the style on Wikipedia. It is a pretty obscure style of pizza. Not as well known as New York, Chicago, or California-style even. (There is a special pizza in Detroit, Buddy’s, that’s alot like Ledo’s).
Posted by: Mike W., Aug 10, 2009 02:13:35 PM
@ Tom Mosley: Have you ever been to New Haven? How do you know that New Haven pizza is bad? Give your credentials before making such a statement!
Posted by: Doug C., Aug 10, 2009 01:16:31 PM
Ledo is the awesome, I have never had Pete’s but Ledo is just the best. Also I looked on the Petes website and their toppings look good but the prices look like your eating at Ruth’s Chris, good quality is important but 25 bucks for a pizza is just retarded.
Posted by: Pizza expert, Aug 10, 2009 01:10:50 PM
The only thing that I can think of worse than Dominoe Pizza is pizza that comes from New Haven. I mean New Haven? Really?
Posted by: Tom Mosley, Aug 10, 2009 01:01:11 PM
Ledo Pizza is the best pizza on the east coast.
Posted by: Steve Mullet, Aug 10, 2009 12:52:28 PM
Mmmmm Ledos!
Posted by: Jeff, Aug 10, 2009 12:51:45 PM
Ledo’s is truly gross and a poor excuse for pizza. It’s what my office gets when they need to bring in lunch and don’t actually have a budget for food.
Pete’s -- what can I say, only quality slice in the city.
Posted by: JG, Aug 10, 2009 12:43:30 PM
Ledo is commodity pizza: like a Joe Generic laptop you get suckered into buying for $400 at Best Buy, it’s decent utility but overall leaves you a bit empty.
Pete’s, on the other hand, is like a MacBook Pro or a high-end Alienware unit: attention to detail, actual thought going into the product that’s sold.
Plus, the bona fides of Pete’s are top-notch. The same can’t be said for the über franchise of Ledo.
Pete’s FTW.
Posted by: Rudi, Aug 10, 2009 12:39:11 PM
Ledo owns D.C. and everyone knows it. Pete’s is good but ledo is just plain better. But this contest seems like a bit of a sham since the winner gets a pete’s gift card. Ledo has been around for 54 years and has like 80 or 90 locations if this poll were for real they should be at like 90% of the vote.
Posted by: jimmy, Aug 10, 2009 12:32:42 PM
Ledo’s smashes Pete’s
Posted by: Andre R., Aug 10, 2009 12:30:26 PM
From one cheater to another - this is a sham. I voted a million times and got the vote to be: Pete’s 49%; Ledo’s 51%.
How is it that 1 second later it turned into
Pete’s 43%; Ledo’s 57% ?
Posted by: Boss Tweed, Aug 10, 2009 12:18:12 PM
This is like old-school democracy. Vote early and often!!!! Total BS.
Posted by: Carlos Puyols, Aug 10, 2009 12:15:08 PM
To be fair, those that are trashing Ledo’s are the typical D.C. transplants that don’t understand the history Ledo’s has in the area. Anyone who went to College Park in the last 40 years knows what I’m talking about...similiar to the fondness Yale folks have for New Haven Appiza. Indeed it is a wholly different style of pizza and should be judged as its own thing. It is good for what it is, just like Pete’s. That being said, I voted for Pete’s because they make a great pie, they are new and deserve the momentum to become as popular and successful as Ledo’s.
Posted by: D, Aug 10, 2009 12:15:06 PM
I am a DC native and very happy we have good pizza, because we didn’t always, with few exceptions. I like both Ledo’s and Pete’s. But ever since Pete’s came to town they have been my favorite by far, so I had to vote for them. So, I am someone who loves both Ledo’s and Pete’s, but I really don’t feel they should be up against each other because they are completely different types of pizza.
Posted by: Camille, Aug 10, 2009 12:05:27 PM
Pete’s is hands down the best!
Posted by: Sonya , Aug 10, 2009 12:04:55 PM
Ledo’s is decent, but Pete’s Apizza is so much better in terms of the quality of the ingredients and the vegetarian/vegan-friendly options. Not to mention their gelatto and great beer selection. Either way, the pizza itself is delicious.
Posted by: Pizza Connoisseur , Aug 10, 2009 12:04:16 PM
Pete’s Apizza is reaaaaaaaallly good. New Haven style? Love it!
Posted by: Darren, Aug 10, 2009 11:59:09 AM
Ledo is gross and Petes is awesome. If Ledo’s "pulls it out" in the first round over Petes, then the legitimacy of this whole pizza ranking enterprise will be thoroughly undermined.
Posted by: NattyB, Aug 10, 2009 11:50:33 AM
This is the best pizza in the DC area HANDS DOWN. Trust me. I’m a New Yorker.
Posted by: Andrea, Aug 10, 2009 11:49:43 AM
Nothing beats New Haven style pizza.
Posted by: RJ, Aug 10, 2009 11:48:44 AM
Ledos??? Give me a break. That stuff shouldn’t even be called "pizza".
In fact, you’re really talking about two entirely different audiences here. I had one sad experience with Ledos and wouldn’t go back if you paid me. Those who want what Ledos offers certainly won’t like Pete’s.
Which is really all you need to know about the meaningless of contests such as these.
Posted by: zoe, Aug 10, 2009 11:38:27 AM
Pete’s -- we love you!
Posted by: Sacha, Aug 10, 2009 11:28:12 AM
WTF?
Posted by: Biro, Aug 10, 2009 10:43:41 AM
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