Once Washington’s undisputed top spot for Neapolitan-style
pies, this ever-packed pizzeria now has some competition. But the pizzas
continue to please with their springy, charred crusts and such excellent
ingredients as the house-made polpettine—Tuscan-style
meatballs—that top the Abruzzese pie. But don’t miss the rest of the menu:
An orange salad with red onion, olives, and chives is a punchy
palate-rouser; grilled rapini is enlivened by garlic and hot pepper.
In
the menu’s “little things” category lie such treats as croquettes filled
with flaky salt cod, sweet-tomato bruschetta, and deviled eggs with an
herby green sauce.
Also good: Suppli a telefono
(cheese-stuffed rice balls); Margherita pizza; tomato-and-ricotta-stuffed
pizza; Vongole pizza, with clams and hot pepper; doughnuts on the
weekend.
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.
