🚀 go-pugleaf

Let me throw my two cents into this debate.

Unlike Italian food generally, there are *lots* of places to get Good Pizza
in the DC area.  My personal experience is in Northern Virginia, and my list
is obviously biased.

First and foremost I want to clarify what I mean by pizza.  Pizza is a flat
bread with a tomato based sauce and melted mozzarella (sp?) cheese.  If it
doesn't have those three basic ingredients, it is not pizza in my book.  You
can have a variety of other toppings with this, but without these three, it
may be food, it may be good, but it isn't pizza.

My favorite pizzeria in the area is McLean Pizza in McLean.  Huge, great,
cheap pizza.  I think they've gone downhill a bit of late, but I may have
simply caught them on a bad day.  No fancy gourmet ingredients, just plain
simple pizza as generally understood in the Northeast.  Chicogoans should look
elsewhere.

My second favorit pizza in the area is (believe it or not) Price Club.  Price
Club in Pentagon City and Fairfax both serve a respectable pizza, that is
likewise plain simple pizza as understood in the Northeast.  Cheaper than
McLean pizza, but it only shows in the decor.  Hey, its Price Club, not I Ricci.

[That should be favorite above, not favorit, BYKT.]

My third favorite pizza in the area is Gepetto's, in Georgetown and in
Bethesda.  Chicogans rejoice at this place.  The pizza is deeep.  Some would
say too deep, but I like it this way.  Their pies are not cheap, but they
are filling.  If the menu says serves 1-2 or 2-3, that pizza will serve 1-2
hungry people, or 2-3 hungry people, respectively.  The Georgetown location
gets crowded (surprise, surprise), so expect to wait if your go during a
peak period.  Bethesda is a better bet.

Now let me add that I love all three of these places.  I've rated them 1-2-3,
but the difference is negligible.  You wont go wrong (IMO) with any of them.
The key differences between these places are price and decor.  Gepetto's is
not cheap, but you can have a nice dinner there.  McLean Pizza is good for
the lunch crowd, or maybe the family for dinner.  Price Club is a place to
buy food, tires, 30" television sets, and cases of diapers (fortunately you
can get their pizza to go.)  McLean Pizza and Gepetto's will let you order
your pizza with your choice of toppings -- Price Club only has three or four
pizzas (plain, pepperoni, veggie, and everything (Pentagon City only)).
McLean Pizza and Price Club make New York style pizza, while Gepetto's makes
Chicago style.  Pick your poison and enjoy.

There are a number of other good places for pizza in the area.  I haven't
been there in years, but there used to be a restaurant called Gentleman Jim's
in Rockville that did a good job.  Armand's and Maggies (both have two or
three locations throughout the area.  Maggie's has two locations in NW
Washington on Connecticut Ave.  Armand's has a location on Connecticut Ave
(next to Maggie's in fact), in Old Town Alexandria, and in Silver Spring
(just inside the Beltway, a block off Georgia Avenue).  Ledo's is a local
chain that does okay -- I have friends that swear by their pizza.  In
Gaithersburg, their's a restaurant called (I believe) Zia's on Gaither Road
(I think it's Gaither Road at least) that does well for themselves.
Restaurant Bravo, at the intersection of Jermantown Road and US 50 in Fairfax
and at the intersection of Centreville Road and US 50 in Chantilly, has a
really great pizza, but its pricier (albeit worth it.)  Bravo's incidently
is one of the best Italian restaurants I've eaten in, including the ones
I grew up with in the North End of Boston (Anthony!  Anthony!!).  Johnny's
in Vienna is said to do a good job with their pizza, but I've not tried it
so I can't say with any authority.In Tyson's Corner Center, there is an
Italian Restaurant on the upper level near the entrance to Lord and Taylor
that my parents swear by, which also does a respectable job.

Last, but not least, is a Washington institution -- Generous Georges Positive
Pizza and Pasta Place.  The pizza here is pretty good.  Not the best in the
are IMVHO, but a good effort that will not disappoint you.  That being said,
one does not go to GG because of the food.  This place has atmosphere out the
gazingas!  Take the kids and have a blast!  Take a date and relax!  The place
defies description.  There are several GGPPPP in Alexandria, one in Springfield
and one in Arlington.

Now just as there are good pizza places, there are Bad Pizza Places.  Top on
my list of Really Bad Pizza Places is California Pizza Kitchen.  Yucch.  Pooey!
Expensive, tasteless (the food), expensive, long lines, tasteless, mock-yuppie,
cardboard, etc., etc., etc., etc., etc.  Save your money and go to the real
pizzeria in Tyson's Corner Center.  CPK should be banned, burned, crucified,
drawn and quarted.  (I'd say and served with melted butter, but why waste good
butter.)  I think CPK is a crime against pizza specifically and food generally.

Next on the list is McDonalds.  Yes, McDonald's is now in the pizza business.
At least the one at 123 and Old Gallows Road is.  Its better than what they
serve at the Pentagon, and light years ahead of CPK, but pales against other
offerings.  It isn't even fast.

There are also a number of chains in the area -- Pizza Hut, Shakey's, Domino's
Little Ceaser's, and Chuck E. Cheese.  No further mention of these is needed.

Finally, let me offer one other thought on pizza.  An author by the name of
Joie Warner has a small paperback book called _All the best Pizzas_ that 
contains a number of recipes for all sorts of pizzas (including a few that
fail my test for pizza, but all the recipes are good.)  Of note is a recipe
for a no-cook tomato sauce that takes minutes to prepare.  If you want to
make pizza (and it's not hard), go out, buy the book, buy the ingredients
for the aforementioned sauce (no, I will not post or mail the recipe because
it would violate the book's copyright), buy the Italian bread shell of your
choice (Boboli, etc.), but cheese to taste, throw it together, bake for 6
minutes or so at 350 degrees and voila!  Really good pizza, fast, easy, and
cheap.

<Phew!>

-- 
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