Why go: Two years ago, first-time restaurateurs Joel and Alicia Mehr started turning out their New Haven–style “apizza,” which quickly became—and remains—one of Washington’s best pies. There’s an unrivaled balance of crispy, thin crust and just enough sauce and cheese. An outpost is slated to open this summer in DC’s Friendship Heights.
What to get: New Haven–inspired white pizza with garlic and chopped clams; the Napoletana, a salty flavor bomb of anchovies, olives, and capers; the rectangular dough pocket known as Sorbillo’s Original, spilling ricotta and salumi; seasonal antipasti such as roasted beets with ricotta salata, couscous with pistachios and orange zest, and asparagus with prosciutto and Parmesan; miniature lemon-meringue tart.
Best for: A quick slice after a Target run; dinner with the kids; delivery pizza that will hold up for a couple of days (the pies are 18 inches).
Insider tip: Weekdays there are lunch specials from 11 to 4—two slices of cheese pizza or one slice and a salad, plus a drink, for $5.99—as well as happy-hour deals from 4 to 6:30: half-price draft beer and house wine, a pint of Moretti with a slice of cheese pizza for $5. Pete’s delivers in a limited zone, although that service tends to be slow.
>> See all 2010 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.
