Pizze in Woodley Park: Taking Aim at the Jumbo Slice Culture
The guy manning the Wood Stone oven at Pizze, the new Neapolitan-style pizzeria in the basement of Petits Plats, is a work in progress, much like the place where he’s employed. A manager is giving him instructions on how to put together my Margherita pizza. After rolling out a beautifully thin skin of house-made dough, the neophyte ladles out a too-generous portion of tomato sauce, strategically drops clumps of fresh buffalo mozzarella all over the round, places a handful of basil leaves on top, and then sprinkles salt and drizzles some olive oil over everything.
I have to admit that, before the dude even places my pie in the oven, I want to change at least four different things about his preparation: I want less sauce, more salt, and more basil. And I really wish I could convince him to add the basil after the round has been in the oven for a few minutes, so that the leaves won’t shrivel up until they look like dehydrated ancho peppers. Oh, and I’d prefer to see that olive oil drizzle after the pie has been cooked, not before.
Regardless, the newbie pizza man watches over my pie like a cat stalking a mouse. I like his singular attention to the task. He uses a peel to rotate the round as the crust nearest to the gas flames begins to blister; he wants to make sure no part of my pizza is scorched to death. By the time he finally takes the pie out of the oven, I’m practically foaming at the mouth in hunger.
Overall, the pizza is not a bad. It’s also not great, but the shop is so new, you don’t expect greatness yet, even if the esteemed Edan MacQuaid was a consultant on the project. The sauce is too tart for my tastes—and too much of it. I’d like to see the sauce cooked down longer to promote more sweetness. The crust is chewy, just as I like it, but it’s also slightly gummy. I think the whole round could have stayed in the oven, which registered only about 340 degrees F on the external thermometer, for another minute or so.
The ingredients are clearly first-rate. The pie-makers just need more experience under their belts. They’re already producing the best rounds in the Adams Morgan/Woodley Park area, but given the neighborhoods’ preference for the jumbo slice, that’s not saying much.
God, I’m praying hard the Pizze will be the first step toward killing off the jumbo slice culture once and for all.
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Linked From: February 13th, 2009This Week’s Greatest Hits from the Young & Hungry Blog - Young & Hungry - Washington City Paper
7:06 pm[...] Pizze in Woodley Park: Taking Aim at the Jumbo Slice Culture var addthis_pub=”washingtoncitypaper”; var addthis_options=”facebook, twitter, google, yahoobkm, digg, reddit, myspace, delicious, email, more”; Tags: Bill Catron, Brasserie Beck, Cameron Perks, James Beard Awards, Jamie Stachowski, jumbo slice, noodle shops, Pizze, Ray’s: The Catch, Young & Hungry blog previousSo Many New Restaurants to Check Out, So Little Weekend [...]
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Linked From: September 11th, 2009Y&H Takes a Second Slice at a Few Local Pizzerias - Young & Hungry - Washington City Paper
7:39 pm[...] in Columbia Heights. I think it would be more accurate to say that I expressed reservations about Pizze in Woodley Park and Pizzeria Paradiso near Dupont [...]
9:13 am
As a long time Woodley Park resident, I can say with certainty that Open City has a superior pie. It’s also not perfect but waaaay better than Pizze.
12:05 pm
Dan,
I haven’t sampled Open City’s pie yet, but based on your rec, I’ll check it out soon. Thanks for that.
But I also wouldn’t judge Pizze’s work too harhly yet. They’re just starting. Give it a little more time before rendering a final verdict.
-Tim
10:20 am
Tim,
Absolutely. I generally stay away from brand new or recently-transformed places. Most hospitality vets know to let them figure it out for a bit. Keep up the good work.
Dan
1:10 pm
I love Pizze! The crust is amazing and Pizzas so tasty. I had one yesterday with a beer: Delicious!
Let’s give them some time and I’m sure they will be the best. Great addition to the neighborhood…
4:37 pm
eh fred raiment l’americain parfait ,je ni comprends rien ecris en french mill bisous marcel mireille