The Humble Gourmand

Two Amys, the noisy, family-friendly spot, serves up the best pizza in D.C. proper, hands down.

Sure, it’s a bold statement, but it’s all relative. The D.C. pizza scene — often bemoaned as woefully inadequate — can’t be compared to behemoths such as Manhattan and Chicago. (It’s not apples to oranges when you’re talking about a city with only 400,000 residents!) But Washington’s status as an up-and-coming “food city,” rather than an established one, doesn’t detract in the slightest from the greatness that is Two Amys. Those craving a solid pie — and a good yet cheap glass of red to wash it down — owe themselves a trip to upper Northwest, near the National Cathedral.

The joint, which sports a black-and-white checkered floor and casual, uncovered tables, crafts pizzas in a wood-burning oven using a method certified by the Italian government as genuinely Neapolitan (D.O.C., or Denominazione di Origine Controllata, a status given to Neapolitan pizza in 1998). That standard dictates that only soft-grain flour, fresh yeast, water, and sea salt be used in the dough, and only Italian plum tomatoes, buffalo mozzarella, extra-virgin olive oil, and fresh basil or dried oregano may be used for the toppings, according to Two Amys.

All the better for you, because the pizzas come out piping hot, laced with fresh toppings, and with crusts that boast nicely puffed edges, perfect for tearing off and dunking in the olive oil you can request from your server.

The classic margherita pie (a D.O.C. option) is exactly what it should be: simple and delicious. You can also branch off the short D.O.C. list to pies with a wider variety of toppings, many including house-cured meats, which are pure bliss. Salami, tomato, and grilled red and yellow peppers grace the Norcia, the all-time favorite of nearly every Two Amys frequenter I’ve surveyed. The Abruzzese features delicately spiced meatballs and garlic, while the Etna’s eggplant confit is smooth, with nicely balanced flavors.

On one’s first visit, a diner might be surprised to discover that pies arrive uncut. That’s just the way it is — your knife and fork are responsible for reducing bites to a reasonable size.

Otherwise, the chief complaints heard from Two Amys naysayers are that it’s noisy (which it is — the recently added upstairs room, with only a handful of tables, is a welcome refuge), and that crusts are occasionally burnt and pizzas sometimes soggy. These occurrences are few and far between: in many, many visits, I can report only one instance of each (and they happened to be in the same pie). Knowing that every restaurant has a bad day now and then, my loyalty remains firmly intact.

Before diving into a pizza, you’d be wise to start with the suppli al telefono — five delightful fried balls of risotto with a smudge of mozzarella in the center — or the eggplant Parmesan, a sometime special that whets the appetite with market-fresh flavor (as opposed to the fried junk one finds in eggplant Parmesans elsewhere). Other starter offerings include great deviled eggs and crostata spread with fresh goat cheese, tapenade, or whatever else is on special that evening.

The bar is a great spot for small plates of the aforementioned, as well as olives, cheeses, and cured meats and fish. Italian wines from the fun, cheap list are served by the tumbler (or bottle).

Two Amys’ cookie plate and house-made ice cream are your best bets for dessert, if you still have room after polishing off a pie. Coffee-caramel is a particular favorite from the list of inventive flavor options. Almond cake, served with berries and a scoop of vanilla, is light and lovely — another solid pick to wrap up a casual meal that won’t break the bank.