The seriously creamy buffalo mozz at Pizze

Restaurants constantly evolve, which is why I try to revisit as many as possible in between checking out the new ones that come along. I particularly try to revisit the places that I have previously panned, like the trio of pizzerias below.

To be fair here, I didn’t really pan any of them —  save, perhaps, RedRocks 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 Circle.

So let me start with the best of the re-evals:

• My most recent pie at RedRocks was just last night, and the joint’s Margherita was nearly perfect. The cornicione, or crust’s edge, was puffy and charred, which are good signs of excellent dough-making and baking. Better yet, these crispy-chewy crusts were full-flavored, balancing salt and yeast with the unique bitter-sweet qualities of char. It was the best-tasting crust I’ve had since my visit to Lombardi’s in NYC a month or so ago. The sauce itself mellowed out the tomato’s more acidic qualities while maintaining its essential fruitiness. Only the buffalo mozzarella could be improved, I thought. I would have preferred a creamier version.
• The buffalo mozz at Pizze, however, was spectacular. It was rich and creamy and generously applied to my recent order of Margherita at the pizzeria below Petits Plats. In fact, I thought every single ingredient on this pie, from the sweet sauce to the flavorful crust, was far superior to the first time I tried this round. My lone complaint had to do with the baking time. The pizza-maker, clearly under pressure during a lunch-time rush, did not allow the pie to fully cook, which shortchanged his creation in terms of both texture and flavor.
• The crust on my Margherita at the new suds-drenched Paradiso off Dupont was more cracker-y than I remembered with previous pies at Ruth Gresser’s place. It was also lighter in density and chew than I recall. But I discovered an interesting thing about Gresser’s crusts: If you sprinkle them with just the smallest amount of olive oil, they are transformed into a full-bodied bite, as if they’re thirsty for a little more moisture and fat. It’s as if her crusts were made for dipping, like a good crusty Italian bread served with a plate of fruity, extra-virgin olive oil. Try it and see if you don’t agree.

As a general rule, the Young & Hungry blog is not here to plug every damn product that comes down the pike, but we’ll make an exception for the Women Chefs and Restaurateurs 2009 calendar, which you can purchase for $12 over at WCR’s Web site. It’s a great holiday gift, blah, blah, blah.

The national organization’s mission is “to promote and enhance the education, advancement and connection of women in the culinary industry,” which says way more about the industry, I think, than about WCR. I mean, we’re nearly eight full years into the 21st century, and women still need a specialty group to promote their interests inside the kitchen? The French influence, she is still strong in the restaurant world, oui?

The calendar is D.C.-centric, even though the organization is national. The local chefs, restaurateurs and sommeliers who appear in the calendar include Melanie Parker (Equinox), Ris Lacoste (ris and Rock Creek), Amy Brandwein (Fyve), Barbara Black (Addie’s Restaurant, Black Market Bistro, Black’s Bar & Kitchen, and BlackSalt Fish Market & Restaurant), Beverly Bates (ici Urban Bistro at Sofitel Hotel), Nora Pouillon (Nora), Ruth Gresser (Pizzeria Paradiso), Jamie Leeds (CommonWealth Gastropub and Hank’s Oyster Bar), Heather Chittum (Hook), and Tracy O’Grady (Willow Restaurant). So do some of their recipes.

“The D.C. calendar is the first one that WCR has ever done!” e-mails Rachael Siefert, a publicist for the project. “The idea came from the D.C. chapter of WCR…and WCR is hoping to take it to other cities in the future.”

The gentrified-within-an-inch of its life neighborhood is already home to two fine pie joints, RedRocks and Pete’s Apizza, but Gresser tells the Journal that she’s still bullish on the ‘hood. “I feel like it’s a different neighborhood from Dupont Circle, and with all the commercial and residential growth happening there, it seems like there could be an uptick of people who would be interested in us,” she tells the paper.

Before possibly opening the third location, however, Gresser says she needs to focus her energies on moving her Dupont Circle eatery to the former Bike Shop-District Hardware space at 2003 P St. NW, just behind the Blaine Mansion.

Here are three things I learned about Gresser:

1. She studied chemistry in college.

2. She’s a fan of the Williamsburg Cookbook.

3. She likes curing her own corned beef.

I know it wouldn’t fit into her Italian menu, but I’d love to try Gresser’s Reuben one day as a special.