Eat Great Cheap 2016Starting a pizza dinner with fried snacks traditional to chef/owner Enzo Algarme’s hometown of Naples may seem over the top. Do it anyway. We can’t imagine forgoing molten risotto balls stuffed with mozzarella and sausage or crispy potato croquettes laced with prosciutto in favor of healthier (and more ho-hum) salads. Such simple indulgences are the appeal of this charming pizzeria, where families crowd into orange booths and couples split bottles of Chianti. The kitchen takes a traditional approach to oak-fired Neapolitan pies—so much so that the place is one of only four pizzerias in Washington to hold the prestigious Verace Pizza Napoletana verification. Still, Algarme’s strengths go beyond the classic combination of imported buffalo mozzarella and fresh basil. Order a beautifully blistered Margherita and a spicy Spanish chorizo pie, and get the best of both old and new worlds.
Cuisine: Pizza
Where you can find it: 5104 Wilson Blvd., Arlington; 571-312-7230
Also good: Eggplant-stuffed arancini; tomato-artichoke pizza; stuffed fried calzone; pistachio gelato.
Anna Spiegel covers the dining and drinking scene in her native DC. Prior to joining Washingtonian in 2010, she attended the French Culinary Institute and Columbia University’s MFA program in New York, and held various cooking and writing positions in NYC and in St. John, US Virgin Islands.
Ann Limpert joined Washingtonian in late 2003. She was previously an editorial assistant at Entertainment Weekly and a cook in New York restaurant kitchens, and she is a graduate of the Institute of Culinary Education. She lives in Petworth.
