Why go: The next-door neighbor of Carole Greenwood’s Buck’s Fishing & Camping, this pizza joint takes food just as seriously. And when the kitchen’s on, the thin-crust pizzas from the wood-fired oven are some of the best around.
What to get: Spicy-vinegary chickpea salad; jerk chicken wings with horseradish dip; freeform pizzas such as the sauceless clam-and-garlic pie, one with lilliputian meatballs, and assorted craft-your-own options (the smoked mushrooms are fabulous); chocolate Texas sheet cake with gooey icing.
Best for: Dining during the week when the hordes are at bay; dining on weekends when the hordes are out in force and the place feels like a party.
Insider tip: Consider eating at the bar, where stools empty now and then, or in the Ping-Pong annex, where the odd chair and loveseat and a counter of sorts make good perches to watch families at play.
Open Monday through Friday for dinner, Saturday and Sunday for lunch and dinner.
>> See all 2009 Cheap Eats restaurants here
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.
