We like to think "former Young & Hungry columnist" remains the fanciest entry on alum Tim Carman's CV. But as of last night, when the winners of the James Beard Foundation's prestigious annual food-writing awards were announced, there's a distinction that may be even shinier: Carman won the foodie organization's award for best columnist, based on [...]
The salsiccia pizza at Tagolio Last week's Young & Hungry column flamed a pizzeria in Gaithersburg called Coal Fire, the second outlet in a budding chain that takes its name from the joint's purported cooking method. The truth, unfortunately, is more complicated than that. Yes, Coal Fire's oven is a giant Wood Stone unit that [...]
Y&H has spent a lot of time (and newsprint space) talking about Neapolitan pizza and its variations in the D.C. area. There are some who believe that genuine Neapolitan pizza is not as soft as the pies they produce around these parts. This video doesn't really solve the crispiness issue of Neapolitan pizza — as [...]
Melisse Baylor sent me an e-mail this afternoon, under the heading, "pizzeria orso — you mind want to amend your review." Never mind the typo, I got the idea. Melissa Baylor and her family had a bad experience at the new Falls Church pizzeria, which I had raved about earlier this week. Below is the [...]
The opening of the second outlet of Pete's New Haven Style Apizza provided me with the perfect opportunity to look into the classic pie and try to understand its defining qualities. Here's one thing I learned during the process of reporting this week's Young & Hungry column: New Haven pizza-makers consider their product Neapolitan-style, which [...]
This week's Young & Hungry will examine New Haven pizza from several different perspectives: What characteristics define it? What is its connection to Neapolitan pies? And how has it been interpreted by two separate pizza parlors in D.C.? To put the column together, I conducted hours of interviews with pizza makers both here and in [...]
As soon as the pie hit the table at Pizzeria Orso, I knew I was in the presence of Edan MacQuaid, the pizzaiolo who has worked the wood-burning ovens at 2Amys, Pizzeria Paradiso, and RedRocks. I'd recognize his margherita pizza anywhere. It's not just the puffy crust, mottled with char and radiating a wood-smoke aroma [...]
Is it just me or has D.C. suddenly turned into a New World Naples? Discounting drunk slices and our lone New Haven connection, it seems that every pizzeria that opens in the metro area channels the spirit, if not always the technical requirements, of Neapolitan pies. Il Canale has already made a name for itself [...]
Fresh out of high school in Naples, Italy, Enzo Algarme came to the United States nearly 12 years ago with the hopes of playing professional soccer. An injury quickly changed his plans. He instead went to culinary school, where he met Anastasiya Laufenberg, and together they opted for a different future, but one equally rooted [...]
Half the enjoyment of eating at Seventh Hill Pizza, a Best of D.C. award winner this year, is watching pizzaiolo Anthony Pilla at work. During my most recent visit this weekend, I briefly chatted with Pilla over the counter at the Capitol Hill pizzeria, as he bounced around the prep area, forming dough and putting the finishing touches [...]
