Chef Peter Pastan’s casual neighborhood gem, with its line out the door, built its reputation on its D.O.C.–accredited Neapolitan-style pizza. And the blistered rounds that emerge from the wood-burning oven—topped with cockles and grana padano, say, or house-made pork sausage with caramelized onions—are still some of the area’s best.
But lately it’s the menu of small, enoteca-inspired plates we keep going back to: tender house-made porchetta paired with bitter marmalade; cured sardines with pickled onions and cumin seeds; crunchy toasts slathered with fava-bean spread and shavings of pecorino.
Yes, there’s a hassle factor—there’s never enough room to stand around during the inevitable 45-minute wait, and the scene is loud and chaotic. While a new upstairs space, slated to open this summer, promises to add 30 seats, we’re guessing that line will still be there.
Open Tuesday through Sunday for lunch and dinner, Monday for dinner.
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.
