Cuisine: The best pizza in DC. The New Haven–style pies sport wonderfully thin crusts—crunchy on the outside, chewy on the inside—and spare, well-chosen toppings. Quality comes at a price: Whole pizzas are all one size—18 inches—and start at $19. Given how good the pies are, it’s easy to forget there are other options here, too, with pasta (spaghetti and meatballs), panini (a riff on an Italian sub), and seasonal antipasti (recently, sweet potatoes with cranberries).
Mood: Though slicker than most order-at-the-counter pizza shops—there are beautiful photographs of Italian street life, and food comes on ceramic plates—the space is refreshingly unpretentious and welcoming. Peak dinner hours bring a crush of families, shoppers, and hipsters in search of good pizza.
Best for: A post-shopping slice; dinner with a group.
Best dishes: Glorious, calzone-like Sorbillo’s, a turnover of soft dough stuffed with salty ricotta and cubed salumi; garlicky white-clam pie; a salt lover’s pie with anchovies, olives, and capers; a changing selection of antipasti, which has included black lentils with pickled celery root and bacon, fingerling-potato confit with anchovy dressing, and roasted beets with walnuts and Gorgonzola.
Insider tips: There’s now delivery in a limited zone that includes neighborhoods north of Dupont Circle to Brightwood, and pizza arrives in tip-top shape. For added crispness, you can reheat slices in a hot, non-oiled sauté pan for a minute or two. At happy hour, Monday through Friday 4 to 6:30, a pint of Moretti beer and a slice of cheese pizza are $5.
Service: ••
Open daily for lunch and dinner. Inexpensive.
See all of 2010's 100 Best Restaurants
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.
