|
Washington City Paper, Young & Hungry (21 January 2010)
Pete's Apizza
Set to Open Second Location on Wisconsin Avenue
Washingtonian Magazine
(January 2010, p. 100)
100 Very Best Restaurants, 2010
brightestyoungthings.com
(16 December 2009)
2009 BYT Foodie Wrap Up - The Best and Worst
Things I Put in My Mouth
The Hill, 17 November
2009
"Obama-Approved"
WhiteHouse.gov,
21 October 2009
REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT
ON SMALL BUSINESS INITIATIVES
NBC4 Washington,
21 October 2009
Pete's
Gets Presidential Endorsement on National Stage:
Obama recommends local restaurant during small
business speech
Washington City
Paper, Young & Hungry (21 October 2009)
So
How Did Pete's
Apizza Make It Onto the President's
Radar?
dcist.com (21
October 2009)
President Obama Recommends Pete's Apizza
Washingtonian.com
(August-September 2009)
Best Bites Blog: 2009 Pizza Pool (semifinalist) NBC4 Washington,
7 July 2009
Have a Pete's Apizza Delivered
Washingtonian
Magazine (July 2009, p. 59)
"Dear Mr. President: So far, so
good on your dining choices.
Here are ten other places
you should try." Washingtonian Magazine
(24 June 2009)
Cheap Eats 2009
Washington
City Paper (19 June 2009, pp. 31-32)
Young & Hungry's
50 Best Restaurants in DC washingtonpost.com
Going Out Guide (May 2009)
2009 Best Bets: Best Pizza
Washington City
Paper (27 March 2009, pp. 6, 16-17)
"Anyone for Seconds?" 2nd Place, Best Pizza
(Readers' Choice);
2nd Place, Best Boutique Pizzeria (Staff Picks)
The Food Scribe
(2 March 2009)
"Pizza + Veggies + Beer + Espresso = Awesomeness"
Washingtonian Magazine
(January 2009)
100 Very Best Restaurants, 2009
Washingtonian Magazine
(11 December 2008)
Great Takeout: Pete's New Haven Style Apizza
Washingtonian
Magazine (16 September 2008)
Dining
on a Shoestring: Pete's New Haven Style Apizza
The Hill (19 June
2008)
"Pete's 'apizza' lures diners
away from the disgraceful jumbo slice"
Washingtonian Magazine
(10 June 2008)
Word of Mouth: Pete's New Haven Style Apizza
Washingtonian
Magazine (June 2008, p. ??)
Dirt Cheap Eats 2008
Washington Post
(28 May 2008)
First Look by Tom Sietsema
Express (22 May
2008)
Building Columbia Heights: D.C. USA
Washingtonian.com
(20 May 2008)
An Early Look at Pete's Apizza
WTOP Radio, Neal
Augenstein (18 May 2008)
Forget NY and Chicago, This Apizza Packs a Crunch
Daily Candy - Washington
DC Edition (30 April 2008)
For Pete's
Sake: Pete's New Haven Style Apizza Opens
dcist.com (29 April
2008)
First Look: Pete's Apizza
Express (5 February
2008)
Columbia Heights
Awaits Target, New Businesses
Full Text of the
Articles:
Pete's New Haven Style
Apizza Goes For a Second Location
Washingtonian.com (21 January 2010)
Friendship Heights
has something to look forward to.
DC's Friendship Heights
neighborhood is about to get a slice of New Haven,
Connecticut. Pete's New Haven
Style Apizza-home of some of the best pies in
Washington-just signed a lease for a second location
at 4940 Wisconsin Avenue, Northwest, at the corner
of Fessenden Street. The 3,400-square-foot restaurant
will seat 100 and have an outdoor terrace. And it'll
bring a much-needed dining option for the not-too-exciting
stretch near Tenley.
Like the Columbia
Heights original, the new Pete's will offer take-out
and delivery. Owners
Joel and Alicia
Mehr hope to start turning out pizzas by April.
Pete's
Apizza Set to Open Second Location on Wisconsin
Avenue
Washington City Paper: Young & Hungry (21 January
2010)
Pete's New
Haven Style Apizza could have expanded much sooner
than now - there have been offers aplenty - but
the owners of the high-performing Columbia Heights
pizzeria weren't interested in rampant expansionism.
Or expansionism for the sake of expansionism.
"All you need
is a couple of months of swimming upstream," says
Mike Wilkinson, co-owner and twin of fellow owner
Alicia Wilkinson-Mehr, "and you start to
get into trouble."
So the five owners
of Pete's waited. They waited
until they had their first operation down pat
(it opened in April 2008), and they waited until
they
had the right location. Oh sure, they scouted
a couple of other spots, which eventually fell
through, but
it wasn't until yesterday that the fivesome
finally landed on the right space: the former
Wisconsin Avenue Collection consignment shop
at 4940 Wisconsin
NW. It's located sort of between Tenleytown
and Friendship Heights.
The owners signed
a lease for the 3,400-square-foot space location
yesterday and hope to be open,
believe it or not, by April, even though the
they will
have to build a kitchen (with large, gas-driven
deck ovens),
install a walk-in in the basement, and essentially
turn a consignment shop into a fully functioning,
100-seat restaurant.
The new place will
look much like the original Pete's
in Columbia Heights, although Wilkinson says that
the owners may swap out the Italian pictures for
snaps of New Haven, Conn., whose pie culture is the
inspiration for Pete's. "We hope to put
the focus on our New Haven heritage," says
Wilkinson, who's from New Haven.
The new location
is significantly larger than the Columbia Heights
spot and even better: There's
likely room for another 20-50 seats on the sidewalk
outside.
100
Very Best Restaurants, 2010
Washingtonian Magazine
(January 2010, p. 100)
#97
Pete's New Haven Style Apizza Cuisine:
The best pizza in DC. The New Haven style pies sport
wonderfully thin crusts - crunchy on the outside,
chewy on the inside - and spare, well-chosen toppings.
Quality comes at a price: Whole pizzas are all one
size - 18 inches - and start at $19. Given how good
the pies are, it's easy to forget there are other
options here, too, with pasta (spaghetti with meatballs),
panini (a riff on an Italian sub), and seasonal antipasti
(recently, sweet potatoes with cranberries).
Mood:
Though slicker than most order-at-the-counter pizza
shops - there are beautiful photographs of Italian
street life, and food comes on ceramic plates - the
space is refreshingly unpretentious and welcoming.
Peak dinner hours bring a crush of families, shoppers
and hipsters in search of good pizza.
Best
for: A post-shopping slice; dinner
with a group.
Best
dishes: Glorious, calzone-like
Sorbillo's, a turnover of soft dough stuffed
with salty ricotta and cubed salumi; garlicky
white-clam pie; a salt-lover's pie with anchovies,
olives, and capers; a changing selection of antipasti,
which has included black lentils with pickled
celery root and bacon, fingerling potato confit
with anchovy dressing, and roasted beets with
walnuts and Gorgonzola.
Insider
tips: There's now delivery in
a limited zone that includes neighborhoods north
of Dupont Circle to Brightwood, and pizza arrives
in tip-top shape. For added crispness, you can
reheat slices in a hot, non-oiled saute pan for
a minute or two. At happy hour, a pint of Moretti
beer and a slice of cheese pizza are $5.
Rating: 2-stars
(good)
Service: 2-forks-and-knives (competent and efficient)
Price point: Inexpensive ($55 or less, dinner for two plus tax and 20%tip)
Open
daily for lunch and dinner.
2009
BYT Foodie Wrap Up - The Best and Worst Things
I Put in My Mouth
brightestyoungthings.com (16 December 2009)
Pete's New
Haven
In Honor Of Pete's New Haven's Mascot
Hattie, 1997-12/11/2009
The best food trend
of 2009?
Sharp rise in availability of high-quality burger
joints (BGR, Ray's Hell, etc).
The worst?
Exaggeration of "green" in food marketing
(green as a marketing ploy not a guiding principle) The
most anticipated (or best) DC restaurant opening
in 2009?
Best: Blue Ridge on Wisconsin Avenue in Glover Park - Excellent
menu, solid guiding principles, some of the best
service we've had in a long time (friendly,
fast), beautiful dining room, beautiful bar, beautiful
rear outdoor terrace.
The one that didn't quite live up?
Kitchen 2404 on Wisconsin Avenue in Glover Park.
A restaurant that looks great and has such an appealing
menu, but the food is very disappointing. Has burned
through several chefs this year. Ought to be better
than the cafeterias at Georgetown University, but
that was my impression coming away from several visits. The
best dish you ate in 2009?
We go back over and over and over and over again
for Blue Ridge's Burger with smoked bacon and
goat cheese, served with good cole slaw and great
thin, salty fries. Over and over and over and over
again.
The one you wish you hadn't?
We wish we hadn't missed our chance to dine
at Taylor's Gourmet Deli on H Street NE, but
we probably will not make it over there in 2009.
Boo. What you wish for
DC in 2010?
We wish for DC to welcome more locally-owned business
enterprises, including restaurants, in 2010, and
we wish the local banks success in lending to local
businesses to create job opportunities and inject
personality into our great neighborhoods.
What you hope stays away?
We hope, after the financial disaster that was 2009,
that our economy begins to reverse the rush to
commoditize everything, which we think has had
the effect of
blanketing our commercial corridors with national
brand retailers and our residential neighborhoods
with robotically manufactured homes and condominiums.
Cities are all beginning to look the same. The
rush to commoditize also has the effect of numbing
and
dumbing what goes into products and services in
the interest of showing year-on-year improvements
in
the numbers on the quarterly conference calls with
Wall Street analysts and the media. The numbers
might look good, but at what cost? Favorite Chef?
Douglas Singer, who launched the menu at Cafe St.
Ex a few years ago, then moved into kitchen and menu
consulting for a bunch of local dive bars (on H Street,
11th Street in Columbia Heights, Georgia Avenue in
Petworth), bringing a foodie sensibility to some
of the most unexpected places. Unfortunately, not
all of the restaurants keep the quality up after
the consulting is over. Singer is now managing partner
of Diamond District Seafood Company, slated to open
on 14th St NW near Logan Circle in 2010, and is currently
helping Room 11 on 11th Street in Columbia Heights
to develop menu items that work well with the restaurant's
many fine wines.
Favorite Restaurant?
We enjoy going to RedRocks to get a break from
pizza and beer (laughing). As noted above, we
also love
Blue Ridge.
Favorite food blog,
web site or column?
Washingtonian has been very good to us. We enjoy
their BestBites Blog. We also appreciate all
the restaurant features and entertaining reader
participation
on PrinceofPetworth.com.
Obama-Approved
The
Hill, 17 November 2009
In his short time
in the District, President Barack Obama has visited
several area restaurants, bringing many instant publicity.
Here are two of those local eateries happy to receive
the executive attention.
PETE'S APIZZA
1400 Irving St. NW
A relative newcomer
to the Columbia Heights area, Pete's Apizza recently
received a major
bump in support thanks
to an endorsement from Obama.
The New Haven-style
pizzeria was mentioned during a speech given Oct. 21,
regarding
a small business credit and SBA loans, when Obama quipped, talking about the
proposed expansion of credit, "These steps will make a difference for more
small businesses like Pete's Apizza in Washington, D.C. I recommend it;
everybody go out there."
Since then, owner
Joel Mehr admits the restaurant has seen a "significant" increase
in revenue and an even greater interest in it as an area institution. Asked about
any specific business practices that would prompt the president to endorse Pete's,
Mehr quipped, "Not really. We got lucky."
The White House still
apparently has an eye on Pete's and has since reached
out to Mehr regarding small business health
insurance policy. While the president
has never been to or eaten at the pizzeria, as far as anyone can confirm, Pete's
has found new customers in the Senate. The office of Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.)
organized a catered lunch by Pete's for 20 freshman senators in the Russell
Senate Office Building earlier this month. With a wide variety
of attractive menu options at a reasonable price, it's
no wonder Pete's has become such a favorite
among locals. For the weary
White House or congressional staffer, Mehr recommends a pint of Bell's
Winter White Ale and "The Staven" pie, crafted with pepperoni, sausage,
caramelized onion, cherry peppers and garlic. Manager Dominic Palazzolo offers
the "Edge of the Woods" pie (spinach, caramelized onions, ricotta,
eggplant) and a Birra Moretti lager pint. The antipasto is also a customer
favorite and options rotate frequently, currently including local beets, lentils,
fingerling
potato confit and northern beans. Pete's boasts a list of more than 15
bottled beers, four draft beers, and several red and white wines to pair with
any menu item.
Palazzolo noted Pete's
has no plan to actively market the endorsement, and
will use the recent earned media, as well as social
media and word of mouth,
to increase business.
RAY'S HELL-BURGER
1713 Wilson Blvd., Arlington
Ray's Hell-Burger, owned by Michael
Landrum, is a destination worth traveling
to if you're looking for a great burger, and on May 5, that's exactly
what Obama was seeking.
With Vice President
Joe Biden in tow, Obama made an impromptu visit to
the Arlington establishment for a high-profile power
lunch. Despite
taking the staff by surprise,
Landrum attests the president is welcome back anytime. "The president's
involvement in the local business community, and specifically my own, has provided
me with better means to enact ways of affording my employees a little more opportunity
that they can in turn extend to their families," says the owner.
Biden
stepped up first and ordered a Swiss-cheeseburger, medium-well, with jalapeños
and ketchup, with a root beer to drink. Obama followed by ordering a cheddar-cheeseburger,
also medium-well, with lettuce, tomato and mustard.
During my own recent
visit, which surprisingly didn't generate nearly as
much fanfare as the president's, I had the pleasure of tasting the "Let's
Get It On" Burger, which boasted a massive and well-trimmed 10-ounce patty,
with a generous helping of Swiss and white-cheddar cheese, bacon, sherry sautéed
mushrooms and peppers, all on a toasted brioche bun. Cutting the burger in half
is a must for handling, but expect the meal to still fall apart into a deliciously
greasy mess by the end. The burger itself was cooked to my request, while the
Swiss and cheddar cheese were distinctly sharp, and the subtle addition of cognac
and sherry to the sautéed toppings rounded out a supremely satisfying
burger. Corn on the cob and watermelon usually come as complimentary sides.
French
fries were a pleasant surprise as I operated under the impression that
Ray's chose not to serve them. Crispy on the outside, soft on the inside,
the lightly salted fries made for a delicious addition to the meal. Cheese toppings
range from your basic American and Swiss to the pricier Epoisse de Bourgogne.
For those who've not yet had the pleasure of visiting Ray's Hell-Burger,
Landrum offers a suggestion: "The president and the vice president intuitively
had it exactly right when they visited Ray's. The simpler the better."
Pete's
Gets Presidential Endorsement on National Stage:
Obama recommends local
restaurant during small business speech
By TOM SHERWOOD, NBC4 Washington, 21 October 2009
WASHINGTON -- Nevermind
that some people think it's a spelling error when
they see the "Pete's Apizza" name
on its sign in Columbia Heights next to the Metro
station, if the president recommends it, you know
it's on the map.
President Barack
Obama singled out Pete's during his speech today
in suburban Maryland
on ways the
federal government can help small businesses.
Mike
Wilkinson, one of five principal owners of Pete's
Apizza, said the 18-month-old restaurant is thrilled
that Obama mentioned their name. He agreed that more
should be done to encourage small businesses.
During
his speech, Obama noted how hard it is for many small
businesses to get either initial loans
or loans to expand. He proposed several steps to
boost businesses through the Small Business Administration,
and then got around to Pete's.
"And these
steps will make a difference for more small businesses
like Pete's APizza in Washington, D.C. I recommend
it -- that everybody go out there. (Laughter.)
When the three owners had little more than a dream of opening up a casual pizza
restaurant, they found it challenging to get financing. Ultimately they got
a loan through City First Bank, a community development
bank right in Washington.
Today, business is booming. And the initiative we're announcing today will
help more banks provide more loans to businesses
like Pete's."
Pete's is in a new
development that has attracted several local, small
businesses
to Columbia Heights on 14th Street. Developer Chris Donatelli said he makes
it a point to look for local businesses, saying they bring more life and diversity
to city streets.
Donatelli is developing
in several city neighborhoods that want and need
more small businesses.
Despite the poor
economy now, Donatelli told NBC4, "Washington
continues to be poised for (more) development ...
there are many neighborhoods yet to be fully developed
and realized."
By the way, "apizza" is
simply the way folks in New Haven, Conn., refer to
pizza. There's a huge Italian population that loves
the New Haven-style pizza
with thin, crunchy crusts and fresh toppings.
So
How Did Pete's Apizza Make It Onto the
President's Radar?
Washington City Paper: Young and Hungry (21 October
2009)
If you've watched the video of President
Obama touting his small-business credit initiatives - and
damn you, C-SPAN, for not offering an embed function - you
had to wonder how the hell Pete's Apizza
ever rose to the Oval Office's attention.
"These steps will
make a difference for more small businesses like
Pete's [pause] Apizza
in Washington, D.C.," the president says
in his speech. "I recommend it. Everybody
go out there."
The way co-owner Joel Mehr explains it, Pete's
was the beneficiary of a bank tour. It seems
that Mehr's bank, City First Bank of D.C.,
gave folks with the Treasury Department a tour
of some small businesses that received loans
from the U Street institution. One was Pete's.
(Mehr noted that City First was the only bank
that didn't need twice in collateral what
the loan was worth.)
Mehr says he got
a call last night from someone with Treasury, who
started asking all kinds
of questions about Pete's, trying to
confirm information about the Columbia Heights
pizzeria.
The co-owner says he even spent about 10 minutes
trying to explain why the name is pronounced "A-beets," not "a-pizza."
"So after
a lot of who-what who-ha," Mehr
says, "I find out that the president
may be mentioning us" in a speech about
small business loans the next day.
The Treasury official
also said that, should Mehr clear the Secret Service
background
check, he could attend the speech at a small
family-owned
business in Landover. He should hear back,
one way or another, that very night, the
official apparently told Mehr. He didn't.
The White House
official who called Mehr the next morning didn't
have an invitation, either. He just wanted to confirm
information.
Mehr mentioned, once again, how to pronounce
his pizzeria's name. Then at 11 a.m.
as Mehr was getting a haircut, he got a phone call.
He was officially invited
to the speech. He had to be there in 90 minutes.
Welcome to government efficiency.
Mehr made it to
the speech in time to hear President Obama call Pete's
Apizza "Pete's
A-pizza." No matter to Mehr. The pizzeria
owner is just hoping to enjoy an Obama bump,
like the one Ray's Hell Burger got.
So has he seen any
uptick yet?
"No," Mehr
says at around 5:30 p.m., "there's
nobody in the restaurant now."
Really, no one?
"There's
one person by the window," he
says, "but it's early."
One person Mehr
hasn't seen at Pete's,
however, is the president himself, the
very man who endorsed the establishment's New
Haven-style pies. "He's not been here," Mehr
says. "You'd think I'd
know if he was."
President Obama
Recommends Pete's Apizza
dcist.com (21 October 2009)
Ray's Hell Burger.
Ben's Chili Bowl. Five Guys. Good Stuff Eatery. And
now Pete's Apizza. It is becoming abundantly clear
that the first family has a yen for junk food that
rivals even former president Clinton's Big Mac attacks.
In
a speech today announcing his new lending initiatives
for small businesses, President Barack Obama shined
the spotlight on three groups of D.C.-area "entrepreneurial
pioneers" that have benefited and thrived from
SBA loans. His plans call on Congress to increase
the cap on specific loans for new and expanding businesses.
The honorees included Joe Incarnato and Doug Peters
of Metropolitan Archives; Andy Cabra, owner of a
string of local Dunkin' Donuts; and Tom Marr, Joel
and Alicia Mehr of the now presidentially approved
Pete's Apizza in Columbia Heights.
"And these
steps will make a difference for more small businesses
like Pete's Apizza in Washington, D.C.
I recommend it -- that everybody go there," Obama
said, an off-the-cuff remark after a brief pause
from pronouncing 'Pete's Apizza.' (Really, it's harder
than you think).
Reached by telephone,
Joel Mehr, co-owner of Pete's, could not confirm
for us whether
the President has
actually eaten any of his pizzas. He said he's sure
the President has not stopped by himself, but who's
to say a White House aide hasn't brought some back
to the office?
Still, Mehr was
humbled by the endorsement. "I'm
surprised, it's just pizza," he said. He was
also happy that his loan provider, locally-run City
First Bank, received recognition, adding, "My
bank is awesome. It's just like the 1950s; your friendly
neighborhood bank who knows your name."
President
Obama's initiative also includes plans to help
smaller banks raise capital to increase lending in
the community.
We'll
have to wait and see whether the "Obama-effect" will
hit the New Haven-style pizzeria, as we've seen with
Ray's Hell Burger. But Marr and the Mehrs are already
planning to serve more customers with a second location
this time next year. Options being considered include
the new waterfront walk and Clarendon.
Have a
Pete's Apizza Delivered: Their name is just too
catchy
By CALLIE MCCLENDON, NBC4 Washington
One of our favorite
pizza joints has finally mustered up enough bravery
to step out into the uncharted territory of ... pizza
delivery. We wish them Godspeed.
Pete's Apizza (1400
Irving St. N.W.) starts delivering tonight and forevermore
(we hope). Columbia Heights
residents can hungrily anticipate delivery from 5-10
p.m. Sun.-Thurs., and until 11 p.m. Fri.-Sat.
But
there are rules. Oh my yes, there are rules. First,
there's a $25 minimum order for delivery.
Second, an extra $3 fee will be added to all delivery
orders. Such is city life.
Next, the delivery
area will be limited to the following rectangle:
* 16th Street to the west
* Upshur Street to the north
* Georgia Avenue to New Hampshire Avenue to Sherman
Avenue to the east
* U Street to the south
Confused? GoogleMap
it -- you'll see what we're talking about. And to
whomever
lives in this
area, we are very, very jealous of you. Even
if you have
to follow
the rules and the fees and all that.
Granted, Pete's
hopes to soon expand to the Petworth and Mount Pleasant
neighborhoods.
Still not in our neck of the woods, unfortunately,
but once
they start delivering
to the NBC offices, we'll be feeling a lot better. Dear
Mr. President,
Washingtonian Magazine (July 2009)
So
far, so good on your dining out choices. Here are ten other places
you should try:
"Pete's New Haven Style Apizza. Everyone knows you like pizza, and I know
your favorite spot in Chicago is a thin-crust place. I think you'll
fall hard for Pete's, which is serving the area's best pizza. Big,
crispy thin-crust pies with a balance of sauce, cheese and topping.
Take the girls and get the Sorbillo's Original (a glorious turnover)
and the
clam pie, which is better than the one at
Manhattan's legendary Lombardi's.
Cheap Eats 2009:
Pete's New Haven Style Apizza
Washingtonian Magazine, June 2009
"Great Food, Low
Prices, Lots of Fun"
Why go: The New
Haven‚style slices and pies are not only the best
in town; theyíre worthy of comparison with the best
in the country. And the wine list is almost as savvy
as the rest of the menu.
What to
get: Peteís Original (tomato and mozzarella) and New Haven style (with
chopped clams); salumi-and-ricotta-filled calzone-like sorbillo; ìragsî of pasta
with Chianti-braised short ribs, cremini mushrooms, cipollini onions, and chard;
crispy-goat-cheese salad.
Best for: Families
looking for a kid-friendly yet thoughtful approach
to pizza, pasta, and panini; folks with food allergies,
who can opt
for gluten-free and soy-cheese-topped pies; and anyone who loves a great
slice (though itís billed as New Haven pizza, New
Yorkers will feel at home, too.)
Insider
tip: Even
when crowds huddle at the dooróand they often doóthe
order-at-the-counterpolicy makes things move at a
fair clip. During happy hour (Monday through Friday
4 to 6:30), a slice and a Moretti beer go for $5 and house wines are half
price. Open daily for lunch and dinner.
Pizza + Veggies
+ Beer + Espresso = Awesomeness
The Food Scribe (aprilfulton.com, 2 March 2009)
As my regular readers
know, I heart pizza. In a BIG way. But good pizza
and craft beer and interesting salads and an Illy
espresso for dessert is just this side of heaven,
as far as I'm concerned.
Maybe I'm the
last person in town to discover the newish Pete's
APizza, but when we went to the new Target in Columbia
Heights (can't get out of that store for under
$200 and neither can anyone else -- what recession???)
yesterday, we walked over to check out Pete's.
In
a phrase borrowed from Kung Fu Panda: Pure awesomeness.
Pete's
has a warm, communal and casual dining room that
can get crowded but not overly-loud. Kids are happy
here if they have something to play with at the table.
Luckily, we had a mini robot.
The drill is, you
go to the counter, read the chalkboard for the specials,
and order what you want. Slices, special pastas,
and even whole pies appear at your table in a few
minutes.
Yesterday's antipasti plate consisted
of a cold green lentil salad studded with tiny chunks
of salty cheese, pink beets and grapefruit and microgreens
salad, roasted sweet potatoes with balsamic glaze,
and some sort of sweet Italian fried rice squares.
Texture, color, and intense flavor were all there.
For $4.95, we tasted them all while waiting for the
pizza.
The pies, crispy
and thin dough, New Haven-style, were topped sparingly
with quality ingredients, just
the way I like it. The clam pie is a specialty, sweet
and garlicky, but the sausage and mushroom shined,
too. The sausage was crumbly and crisp, not soggy.
The
list of about a dozen craft beers and suggestions
for pairings with pizza was tempting. I went with
Dogfish Head 90-Minute I.P.A., and ordered Illy coffee
to boot. Pete's offered several tempting desserts
ranging from a mini chocolate cake with chocolate
glaze to traditional tiramisu and cannoli, but I
had no room left.
I will be back very
soon.
100 Very
Best Restaurants, 2009
Washingtonian Magazine
(January 2009)
Cuisine: Few pizzas
are as refreshingly unpretentious-or as large-as
the 18-inch versions at this Columbia Heights eatery.
The New Haven-inspired, thin-crust pies also
can be had by the slice.
Mood: Floor-to-ceiling windows bring the urban bustle
into the dining room, but the space is softened by
butter-hued walls and wooden furniture.
Best for: Grabbing a slice to go; a quick meal with
friends before or after a show or movie.
Best dishes: Seasonally
inspired antipasti, which have included a quinoa
salad with beets and walnuts and
grilled summer squash; white-clam pie; pizza topped
with pepperoni or fennel-scented sausage; Sorbillo's
Original, a turnover filled with cured meat, ricotta,
and mozzarella; gelato from Georgetown's Dolcezza;
amaretti cookies.
Insider tips:
During weekday happy hour, 4 to 6:30, a pint of
Peroni beer plus a slice of cheese pizza
is $5. If you're customizing a pie, stick to
a couple of toppings-the pizzas can get too heavy
when they're loaded.
Service: •• Open
daily for lunch and dinner. Inexpensive.
Best
Bet 2009: Best Pizza
washingtonpost.com's Going Out Guide
From
washingtonpost.com staff: "Pete's
New Haven Style Apizza was selected from hundreds
of
local
restaurants
and bars and is currently featured in our 'Best
Pizza' category. The Going Out Guide hosts
hundreds of thousands of visitors each month
so being selected as a 'Best Bet' is a
huge achievement."
Great Takeout:
Pete's New Haven Style Apizza
Washingtonian Magazine, 11 December 2008
Pete's Apizza
(1400 Irving St., NW; 202-332-7383) takes its cue
from New Haven: Thin, crispy crusts are topped
with a perfect balance of shredded mozzarella and
fresh, zesty sauce. Nothing beats the southern-Connecticut-style
white pizza studded with clams ($22.95). For an
alternative to a slice or an 18-inch pie, try the
Sorbillo's Original, an elongated pizza turnover
filled with salumi, ricotta, and mozzarella and
topped with tomato sauce and a basil leaf ($7.95).
Slice of cheese pizza $2.50, 18-inch pie $18.95.
Dining on a Shoestring:
Pete's New Haven Style Apizza
Washingtonian Magazine, 16 September 2008
"A heavenly slice
of pizza"
Washington may
never have a pizza to call its own-nothing
like Brooklyn's blistery rounds or Chicago's
overstuffed pan pies. But thanks to the pizzeria
boom, there are more places than ever to satisfy
a craving, whether for organically topped Neapolitan-style
rounds (2 Amys, Bebo Trattoria, Mia's Pizzas),
fanciful Wolfgang Puck-conceived creations
(the Source), or Argentinean pies topped with chimichurri
(Pizza Zero).
You'll find a little of everything-well,
everything except chimichurri-at Pete's
Apizza, a mom-and-pop shop in the shadow of the
new Target in Columbia Heights.
You order at the
counter but sit at polished wood tables set with
cathedral candles. The place crawls
with kids but features an all-Italian wine list
and a nice lineup of craft beers. There's
a thoroughly average Caesar salad ($3.95) but an
utterly surprising antipasto plate ($4.50) offering
lovely grilled shavings of carrot and grapefruit-spritzed
beets with fresh goat cheese.
And then there's the pizza. You'd never
call it fancy-no moons of buffalo mozzarella
here-but you'd never peg it as sloppy.
The tomato sauce, spooned sparingly, has a spicy
kick. Shredded mozzarella is carefully spread.
Neither taste predominates. At its best, the
crust, baked in a gas-fired stone oven, is both
nicely crunchy and a little bready:
Hold up a slice and it shows no signs of flopping.
It doesn't quite survive a topping overload,
however. Each ingredient on the Down the Hill pie
($23.95 for a massive 18-incher)-house-made
meatballs, fennel-scented sausage, fire-roasted
green peppers, caramelized onions-is good
on its own. Piled together, they make the pizza
sag and the flavors blur.
Perhaps Pete's
greatest appeal is pizza by the slice-a rarity
in Washington, apart from the after-hours grease
bombs slung along Adams
Morgan's 18th Street. The ingredients are
well chosen; seldom do you find such good sausage
on a $2.75 slice.
Co-owner Alicia
Mehr hails from New Haven, a pizza mecca, and Pete's
bills its pies as New Haven-style "apizza." Although
the coal-fired slabs at New Haven landmarks such
as Sally's and Pepe's don't quite
jump to mind here-they're thinner,
smokier, more brittle-one pie in particular
does its forebears justice. The New Haven ($21.95),
an homage to Pepe's most famous pizza, is
a sauceless 18-inch crust laden with chopped clams
and pecorino cheese. It's salty, briny, garlicky-and
it stays beautifully crisp.
Another terrific
tribute is the Sorbillo's
Original ($7.95), a darkly baked turnover filled
with salami and topped with ricotta, fresh basil
leaves, and a slick of red sauce-it's
named for the pizzeria in Naples where the calzone
was invented.
The tastiest desserts
are borrowed from elsewhere, too. Twelve flavors
of gelato and sorbetto ($4.50),
including Virginia peanut butter and a satiny
Sicilian pistachio, arrive daily from Dolcezza
in Georgetown.
Pete's
'apizza' lures diners away from the disgraceful
jumbo slice
The Hill, 19 June 2008
Sooner or later,
everyone who eats out in Washington confronts certain
baffling food mysteries: Why
do most street pushcarts sell nothing but bad
hot dogs? How has the Spanish concept of tapas
been translated into every other ethnic cuisine?
The
food custom that keeps me up at night, however,
is the jumbo slice. Slung onto paper plates in
neon-drenched dishonor, barely tasty even at 2
a.m., it is too disappointing to truly count as
pizza.
Now that Pete's
has opened next to the Columbia Heights Metro,
urbanites have one
more reason to
resist the call of the jumbo.
Pete's technically
serves not pizza but apizza - pronounced "a-beets" - a
charred, thin-crust tomato pie perfected before
World War II by Italian immigrants in New Haven,
Conn.
Purists in search
of the perfect Chicago deep-dish or New York pepperoni
may be disappointed with
a crust that snaps instead of yielding upon first
bite.
But to try Pete's
is to appreciate the value of a pie that uses nothing
but flour and
yeast,
its only sweetness coming from a deliriously light
mozzarella and fresh toppings.
The apizzeria
was opened by veteran caterer Alicia Mehr, her
husband
Joel, and business partner Tom
Marr, formerly in charge of the National Gallery's
kitchen. The trio eschewed the coal and wood that
fire some New Haven ovens in favor of gas power,
keeping their slices a bit under-cooked to ensure
that every order emerges fresh.
The method is
a smashing success. Sausage apizza manages to feel
delicate on the palate in the hands
of Pete's cooks, with the herbs on the meat
teased out by the addition of velvety wild mushrooms.
Artichokes added appealing sourness to a light
spinach pie, and the sorbillo is an interesting
twist on the traditional filled calzone.
Underwhelming
was the white clam pie, a New Haven staple that
is a point of pride at Pete's.
The absence of sauce heightens the drama of the
pie's heavy garlic, but the lost moisture
makes for a dry bite dominated by burnt aromas.
The arugula apizza suffers a similar fate, coming
out all bread and bitter greens.
For those more
partial to Domino's than a
charred New Haven slice, the menu at Pete's
offers more to like.
Salads are simple
but deeply satisfying, thanks to locally sourced
ingredients
such as creamy gorgonzola
and toasted pine nuts. The juicy oven-dried tomatoes
that crown the Olivada salad are not to be missed.
The
panini sandwiches are also tasty and unexpectedly
refined, served on a fluffy focaccia bread made
in-house. Pete's has mastered the secret
to a grilled Italian sandwich, scrimping on the
cheese to let the ingredients sing.
Carnivores won't
miss the meat in the "Little
Pete" panini, which uses just enough silky
green olive oil to bring out the earthy flavors
of thinly sliced fried eggplant and roasted bell
peppers.
Thick mortadella cold cuts and buffalo mozzarella
make the "Big Pete" sandwich almost
too stomach-coating to finish in one serving.
In
truth, the menu is perfect for sharing, with each
apizza pie sized to suit groups of four or
more and a clever antipasto plate that features
a rotating cast of four seasonal salads.
On a sweltering
summer day, the antipasto is liable to upstage
the hot slices of apizza. Roasted beets
in grapefruit vinaigrette with ricotta salata and
grilled shrimp with delicate Tuscan white beans
are worthy picks.
No discussion
of Pete's
would be complete without dessert, where quirky
sorbets and gelati
from local provider Dolcezza are the biggest draws.
True,
a cup of Caribbean red papaya or Virginia peanut
butter is an excellent way to put out the
gustatory fires of apizza - but please consider
the cupcake.
Made from pistachio
brown-butter dough, topped with strawberry-mascarpone
icing, and filled
with
a dollop of decadent chocolate ganache, the cupcake's
looks are deceiving.
With microbrews
on tap and unfailingly friendly service, Pete's
already has the makings of a neighborhood hit.
But
if you prefer to mount a search for other compelling
alternatives to the disgraceful jumbo slice, here
are suggestions for the best pizza pie in the capital.
* Ella's Wood-Fired Pizza, 901 F St. NW, (202) 638-3434. The pies at this
Penn Quarter spot user lighter and less gooey cheese, leaving more room to appreciate
the fresh toppings. To counteract the abundance of overly sweet diced tomatoes
in the sauce, try the salty kick of the Verdura, loaded with black olives, artichokes
and basil. The best part: A small costs only $5 before 7 p.m.
* Pizzeria Paradiso, 2029 P St. NW, (202) 223-1245. The Dupont Circle location
of this mini-chain tends to give its fresh crusts more TLC than its bustling
Georgetown twin. And attention must be paid to the palate-tingling spice of the
Atomica, topped with smoky salami, black olives and a smattering of hot pepper
flakes.
* Two Amys, 3715 Macomb St. NW, (202) 885-5700. This is the temple of Washington
pizza, founded by a former Paradiso cook and packed with boisterous families
every night of the week. It's not the place for a romantic rendezvous,
but here you'll find the only pie in the city that also counts as a salad.
The Santa Brigida is topped with cherry tomatoes and an impressive mountain of
fresh arugula. Drizzle some balsamic on it to bring out the bitter, nutty tang.
* Comet, 5037 Connecticut Ave. NW, (202) 364-0404. Three words: soft shell crab.
When the crustaceans are in season, this parlor coats them in sweet warmed leeks
and plants them in the center of a truly unforgettable pie. They don't
keep well in the fridge, but you probably won't leave a single bite.
Word of Mouth: Pete's New Haven Style Apizza
Washingtonian Magazine (10 June 2008)
From Kliman Online's "Word
of Mouth"
Last year I wrote
an article for the magazine about the rise of boutique
pizza in the region, and the
resulting dust-ups over style and meaning.
Pete's
Apizza wasn't around then, but if it had been,
I would have grouped it with such spots as
Cafe Pizzaiolo and Moroni and Brother's, prole
pizzerias that put a premium on good ingredients
but swerve to avoid being tagged with such terms
as "boutique" and "artisanal." (The
latter group is big, and dominant: 2 Amys, Comet,
Pizzeria Paradiso, American Flatbread).
An order-at-the-counter
operation with bare floors, communal tables and
the bustling, unpretentious
feel of a by-the-slice operation in midtown Manhattan,
Pete's bids to create separation from the competition
by serving New Haven-style pies. In New Haven,
legendary pizzerias Pepe's and Sally's vie for
supremacy, each turning out a slightly different
take on the local pie. In general, the style consists
of a thin, crispy, misshapen crust that rarely
flops, minimal saucing, a tightly-knit integration
of cheese and toppings, and-the finishing
touch-a generous application of olive oil.
An array of by-the-slice
options await on the counter, but you can also
order a whole pie, like the gigantic
clam pizza. The last good clam pizza I ate was
at Lombardi's in New York, and this one is better-crispier,
zestier (although the ratio of garlic to clam ought
to be reversed). A calzone-shaped pizza called
Sorbillo's Original-filled with salumi, ricotta
and mozzarella-is just as good.
Pete's doesn't
champion its sourcing, but I was taken with a
remarkably fresh-tasting antipasti platter, topped
with smoky
curls of grilled carrot, a white bean-and-shrimp
salad, and cubed beets with goat cheese (a small
salad of quinoa and broccoli rabe was dull).
A good selection
of beers and wines, plus a complement of gelati
from Dolcezza, only deepens the appeal.
Pete's is a keeper.
First Bite: Pete's
New Haven Style Apizza (Tom Sietsema)
Washington
Post, 28 May 2008
Joel Mehr wants
you to know, upfront, what Pete's Apizza is not:
a "gourmet" pizza place.
"I have a
kid," explains the co-owner
of one of the youngest, and busiest, restaurants
in Columbia
Heights. "When we go out for pizza on a Sunday
night, we don't want to spend $80, or even $60." So
among Pete's charms is pizza by the slice for $2.50
to $3.25, depending on the number of toppings.
There's
also no formal table service at Pete's Apizza (pronounced
ah-BEETS), which is modeled
after Apizza Grande in East Haven, Conn. Customers
place their orders at a counter overlooking the
pizza oven and take a number; someone brings the
food to the table when it's ready. Cream-colored
walls, bare wood tables and concrete floors make
a spare point, too.
That less-is-more
philosophy extends to the crusts, which are baked
on stone in gas ovens. The ingredients
are just "flour, water, salt, yeast. No olive
oil," and nothing to sweeten the dough, says
Mehr, who launched the pizzeria late last month
with his wife, Alicia, and three other partners.
One of them, Thomas Marr, previously cooked with
Joel Mehr at the National Gallery of Art.
Our early
verdict on the 18-inch pies: We like their crisp-chewy
texture and light char but not
their inconsistent execution. Even at the same
meal, diners might get two different crusts.
As for toppings, sausage is all but mute, while
white
clam packs a garlic punch. Welcome gestures:
onions that are caramelized, and peppers that are
roasted,
before touching the crusts. That soft crunch
on the bottom comes not from cornmeal but from
bread
crumbs.
Pizza isn't the
only attraction at this 42-seater, whose windows
face a Metro station entrance.
From the kitchen comes a handful of pastas
and from
Dolcezza in Georgetown come fine gelati, in
such intriguing flavors as Virginia peanut
and orange-honey-cardamom.
Like seemingly every other restaurant to open
these days, Pete's Apizza emphasizes recycling
and energy
efficiency. In other words, your pizza comes
on a glass plate.
Building Columbia Heights: D.C. USA
Express (22 May
2008)
WHAT DEFINES A
NEIGHBORHOOD can be as complex as its ethnically
and socioeconomically diverse residents and as
simple as good food. While Columbia Heights houses
a mixed population, it has not provided an abundance
of high-quality restaurants. But that is soon to
change. With the development of the Target-dominated
D.C. USA shopping complex - and the crowds
it will bring - this section of D.C, just
north of U Street and just east of Adams Morgan
is taking baby steps toward culinary definition. While
Rumberos, Logan @ the Heights and Mayorga already
have opened their doors, there is a whole
new strip of restaurants waiting to supply residents
with an international mix of cuisine just down
the block on Irving Street.
Already in operation
is Pete's New Haven Style Apizza (pronounced ah-beets).
The owners of Pete's
wanted to bring this lesser-known style of pizza
to the District. The crust, explains owner Thomas
Marr, has a "crispy bottom and chewy top." Although
it's barely newsworthy anymore when a restaurant
emphasizes local, seasonal and organic ingredients,
Pete's already scoops gelato from Georgetown's
Dolcezza and they plan to sell regional hero Dogfish
Head brews. Pasta, panini and salads round out
the Italian-American menu.
Those who enjoy
slurping oysters on the half shell at Hank's Oyster
Bar
will now have a new place
to relish in the cooking of Jamie Leeds. Due to
open in mid-July, CommonWealth, "the people's
gastropub," takes a page from Britain's historic
public houses, feeding the neighborhood fish and
chips, bangers and mash, steak and Guinness pie
and Welsh rarebit.
Another locally
owned place will focus on a tropical angle: the
Caribbean-themed
Zinnia. The tapas-style
lounge will be open from breakfast through late-night
cocktails, and dining options include eat-in, take-out
or delivery.
Woodley Park's
Sake Club clones itself for a new location on Irving
Street. The same sushi-and-sake-focused
menu will play out for its new crowd by late summer.
For
quick bites, there's the downtown lunch staple
Potbelly (already open) and the burger favorite
Five Guys. Mocha Hut, known for its sandwiches,
coffee and wireless, will open its third shop on
Irving, and it's the last establishment to grab
a spot in the Highland Park building, also home
to luxury rental apartments.
And this is just
the start for Columbia Heights. "We're
not really competitors" Pete's Marr assured, "we're
creating a destination." An Early Look
at Pete's Apizza
Washingtonian Magazine, 20 May 2008
Pizza is a sensitive
subject among many different groups-one misconception
about a region's style of pie can get you
chased out of town. Brooklynites swear by the thin
crusts at DiFara's, Chicagoans dig in deep
at Gino's East, Sicilians have their squares,
Napoleons lay claim to inventing the thing, and
Washingtonians just rely on Comet Ping Pong and
2 Amys.
By opening Pete's
Apizza in DC's
Columbia Heights, husband and wife Joel and Alicia
Mehr
and business partner Tom Marr have imported the
lesser-known-but just as fiercely defended-New
Haven style of pizza to the neighborhood.
A New
Haven pie, first of all, isn't pizza;
it's apizza, pronounced "ah-beets." You
better practice that a few times before you order
a slice in southern Connecticut. Apizza is considered
as such if the crust is thin with a crispy outside,
chewy inside, and black-and-tan mottling. New Haven
style usually-but not always, the Mehrs are
quick to point out-means using a coal oven.
(Pete's stone oven is gas-fired.)
The ingredients
are simple and natural and applied sparingly. Fresh
(or often canned or jarred) crushed
tomatoes stand in for tomato sauce. Although the
pies resemble a circle, they usually aren't
perfectly round. And most of all, don't even
consider New Haven style to be a derivative of
New York-style pizza. It's not.
Alicia Mehr
knows the New Haven rules well after spending the
first 22 years of her life in that
town. Before opening Pete's, she worked for
Occasions Catering here. Joel and Tom Marr ran
the kitchen at the National Gallery of Art. After
living in DC for ten years, the Mehrs decided to
open their own apizza shop.
It's been
two years since they wrote their first business
plan
and took off to research the
perfect pie, biting into slices as near as New
York City and as far as Naples, Italy. In January,
they spent a weekend at Grande Apizza in East Haven,
learning the tricks of the trade, including the
sacred dough-making process. (Joel and Tom make
the dough every day.)
In late April,
they served their first slices and pies at Pete's,
named for Alicia's
father and Alicia and Joel's nine-year-old
son. Slices are served on real plates, ingredients
are organic and sourced locally, and everything
in the place is biodegradable. Twelve flavors of
gelato come from Georgetown's Dolcezza. The
menu also includes salads, antipasti, pastas, and
panini.
The most popular
slice so far? The white-clam apizza-a
tomatoless version topped with garlic, pecorino
cheese, clams, and a dusting of oregano-was
inspired by famed New Haven pizza shop Frank Pepe's.
"I think
we are starting to educate people," Alicia
laughs, adjusting her baseball cap, which bears
a navy-blue Y for Yale, another New Haven institution.
Forget NY and
Chicago, This Apizza Packs a Crunch
WTOP Radio,
Neal Augenstein, 18 May 2008
WASHINGTON -
What kind of pizza person are you: New York, Chicago?
Another city lays claim to the best pizza and now,
you can try it in D.C.
You don't want
pizza in New Haven, Conn. -- you want "ah-beets."
Alicia
Mehr, co-owner of the recently opened Pete's New
Haven Apizza in Columbia Heights, is hoping
to bring some of her hometown to Washington, D.C.
"In New Haven,
every pizzeria is spelled Apizza -- 'ah-beets,'" Mehr
says. "New Haven
pizza goes a long way back. It's populated with
dozens of pizzerias around Yale, but most famously
Sally's and Pepe's and Modern."
The pizza mecca
in New Haven is Wooster Street, in the Little Italy
neighborhood, where hours-long
lines are common.
"I grew up
in New Haven," Mehr says. "This
is what I knew. Then, when I came here it was sorely
missing."
So Mehr decided
to open her own New Haven-style Apizza, at 14th
and Irving streets
in Northwest.
What differentiates New Haven pizza from New York
or Chicago styles?
"The biggest
difference is the crust," co-owner
Thomas Marr says. "It's a different style of
making a crust. It's not paper-thin like a New York
might be, it's not really thick -- it's the right
consistency for us."
While the original
New Haven pizzerias use coal-fired ovens, the pizzas
at Pete's
are cooked in a gas-fired
stone deck oven.
"The key
is having a lot of heat on the bottom and top,
so the bottom gets that crispiness, the top
gets those nice black spots, it bubbles the cheese
and browns it, so it ends up giving you a chewy texture
throughout," Marr says.
Marr uses his
fingers to spread the dough on a pizza peel, dusted
with
bread crumbs. He eschews pizza
pans.
"We cook
it directly on the stone deck. That's how you get
the crispiness. If you use the pan, you're
adding another layer that the heat has to transfer
through."
Unlike some doughs
with tastes that range from Bisquick to bland,
the ingredients in
Pete's Apizza's dough
is essentially what's in Italian bread.
"You couldn't
get simpler ingredients," Marr
says. "It's flour, water, Kosher salt, and fresh
yeast -- that's it."
Approximately
eight minutes after being slid into the oven, Marr
pulls out a
a browned, bubbly, 18-inch
pizza.
Unlike New Haven's
pizza palaces, Pete's Apizza does sell by the slice.
"We're trying
to pave a new way," winks Mehr. "It's
mostly New Haven, a little bit adjusted for Washington,
as well."
Editor's Note:
WTOP's Neal Augenstein is from New Haven and eats
at least one Pepe's Pizza
each time
he visits home.
For
Pete's Sake: Pete's
New Haven Style Apizza Opens
Daily Candy - Washington DC Edition (30 April 2008)
When the moon
hits your eye like a big pizza pie, that's
amore.
And when that
pizza pie is cooked to doughy, bubbly perfection,
that's apizza.
Pete's New
Haven Style Apizza, to be exact. The small, easygoing
joint
is now serving up whole
and by-the-slice pies.
What makes Apizzas
so special? The thin crust: chewy on the inside,
oven-scorched
on the outside.
Top one off with
options that include garlicky clams, fried eggplant,
grilled artichokes,
and
sliced meatballs, and you'll end up with
a pie unlike any you've had before.
Pete's
also features classic panini and pastas, including
egg- and gluten-free options. If you
have room left over, treat yourself to a scoop
of Dolcezza gelato. It should taste fun.
Because
it's clear: You're in love.
First Look: Pete's
Apizza
dcist.com (29 April 2008)
New Haven-style
pizza is now at a Metro stop near you - well, just
one, off of the Green line. Located a stone's throw
from the Columbia Heights metro station, Pete's
Apizza (pronounced Pete's "ah-BEETs",
not like those Little Caesar commercials) is the
latest addition to the neighborhood's housing and
retail revival/explosion. Pete's serves up the
trademark thin, chewy-crispy crusted pie, along
with a selection of salads, paninis, pastas, and
gelato from Dolcezza in Georgetown.
For those unfamiliar
with New Haven-style pizza, an introduction on
the Columbia Heights News website
by co-owner Michael Wilkinson offers some background:
Short
version: New Haven Apizza is an outgrowth of the
Italian-American community that settled
in the New Haven area in the early 20th century.
It reveres the
Italian food culture of fresh ingredients, simple construction, and unpretentious
presentation.
Many people think
New Haven pizza is all about coal as a heat source.
Not entirely true, although the most famous New
Haven pizzerias do use coal-fired ovens. Our
absolute favorite New Haven pizza is actually found in East Haven in a restaurant
named Grande Apizza, where they fire the pizza in a gas-fired oven, like we do
...
On opening night
this past Monday, Pete's was handling brisk sit
down and take out business. All orders are placed
and paid
for at the counter, which provides
guests with a clear view of the open kitchen and gigantic metal pizza oven. Pizza
is available by the slice ($2.50 to $3.25) or you can order a whole 18" pie
($18 to $24). Patrons can get creative with a dazzling selection of seventeen
different toppings. Some of the more unusual choices include fried eggplant,
grilled artichokes, asparagus, and house-made sausage. Most notably, Pete's allows
diners to not only design their own pizza, but also design their own slice. Unfortunately,
the menu in Pete's is so small, it is nearly impossible to read the list of toppings
unless you are standing directly under the sign. Diners lacking 20/15 vision
should grab a take out menu at the door and read it while in line.
Pete's also
features four signature pizzas, plus a gluten-free pizza (celiacs rejoice!).
The Sorbillo ($8) is much like a cross between a pizza and a calzone.
Puffy, rectangular slabs of dough are stuffed with salami, ricotta and buffalo
mozzarella, and topped with tomato sauce and an extra cheese. The Down-the-Hill
($24) is an upscale take on several classic toppings: meatball, house-made
sausage, caramelized onions, roasted peppers, wild
mushrooms, and Kalamata olives. Pete's
also has two white pizzas, including the New Haven signature: clam pizza, which
we ordered as a full pie over the individual slices that had been sitting out
on the counter for a few minutes. We also ordered a small Olivada salad ($4/$8)
upon the recommendation of the cashier.
Within five minutes,
a confused-looking server arrived at our table
holding the salad and
a single slice of clam pizza, which may have
been a mistake,
because it took another half hour before receiving the New Haven pizza. However,
the Olivada salad tied us over very well. The dressing, a mixture of Kalamata
olives, garlic, and oil, was earthly and faintly pungent. This paired nicely
with the sweetness of oven-roasted tomatoes, creamy Caprino (a very mild,
soft goat cheese), and crunchy toasted pine nuts.
Overall, a very well balanced
salad despite being the most adventurous of Pete's salads. After much anticipation,
our giant New Haven clam pie arrived at the table. Big, crusty triangles
were loaded with bits of sea salty clam. Combined
with
the bracing
Pecorino Romano, this pizza is not recommended for those with high blood
pressure. The flavor is bold, and the texture is
a bit dry, chewy and pleasantly burnt,
particularly along the crispy edges. The crunchy edges are so tasty that
we wish the oven were hotter. The center of the
pizza pales in comparison; it
is a little
too chewy and without more browning, the saltiness of the cheese and clam
overpowers the oregano, garlic and olive oil. However,
the tables at Pete's come equipped
with shakers of Parmesan, red pepper flakes, and herbs, and we discover that
the pizza is much improved with the addition of extra herbs.
For
dessert, Pete's offers several classic Italian
treats, including cookies, about a dozen different
flavors of gelato or sorbet,
tiramisu
and a chocolate hazelnut bar. The bar ($4.25) is a decadent layer of dark
chocolate with cookie and nut bits, follow by chocolate mousse, and topped
with white
chocolate ganache and hazelnuts. The deeply intense chocolate flavor is enhanced
by a light
sprinkling of sea salt. While the flavors of this dessert are sophisticated,
the construction and presentation leave a little something to be desired.
The bar is prepared in advance and refrigerated, arriving at the table on
a cold
plate. Left to its own devices in the fridge, the ganache congealed into
a semi-solid mass that is, ironically, reminiscent of melted mozzarella cheese.
Meanwhile,
the bottom layer was so hard that I had to grip my fork with both hands and
drive it into the chocolate like I was wielding a medieval weapon. While
very
tasty,
the bar should not go straight from refrigerator to table. Rounding out their
selection, Pete's also has a full espresso bar and serves high quality Illy
coffee, as well as Harney and Sons tea.
Pete's motto is "It's
not just pizza, it's 'ah-BEETS.'" Indeed,
Pete's is more than just tasty pizza. It is clear
that the owners have put careful
thought into the food. The other courses are genuinely good and thoughtfully
conceived;
they are not throwaway dishes that have be tacked on to round out a lop-sided
menu. Although there are already several well-established pizza restaurants
in the area (including Red Rocks, located only a few blocks away), nearly
all of
them specialize in traditional Italian brick oven pizza. By specializing
in New Haven-style, Pete's brings some variety to the D.C. pizza landscape,
and, unlike
Jumbo Slice, their pizza by the slice is worth ordering even when sober.
Pizza
by the slice is $2.50 to $3.25; whole pizzas
are $18 to $24. Starters are $4 to $9, entrees
are
$8 to $11, and desserts are $4 to $6. The owners
also note
that beer and wine are soon to come. Columbia Heights
Awaits Target, New Businesses
Express (5 February 2008)
AS THE DISTRICT'S
FIRST TARGET store prepares to open at 14th and
Irving streets NW in March, the new building across
the way - the Highland Park, pictured at
right - is getting ready to make its debut
this year, too. Construction on
the building is done for the most part, but crews
continue to work
on the ground
level, which will be home to an array of restaurants
and other businesses, just steps from the neighborhood's
Green and Yellow Line Metrorail station.
So far,
it's been known that the Highland Park would be
home to a Five Guys Famous Burgers and
Fries, a Potbelly Sandwich Works, Pete's Apizza
New Haven-style pizza (pronounced ah-BEETS), Zinnia
Caribbean Restaurant, Signal Financial and a new
gastropub from Jamie Leeds, who owns Hank's Oyster
Bar in Dupont Circle and Old Town Alexandria.
Now,
there are online stirrings that an import from
Woodley Park, sushi restaurant Sake Club,
will be moving in, perhaps as early as this summer.
And those rumors are true, Jody Montana, Sake Club's
manager, told Express.
The Highland Park's
street-level retail and restaurants are particularly
well positioned
to draw foot traffic,
since Irving Street is normally packed with pedestrians
walking between the Columbia Heights Metrorail
station and the adjacent Mount Pleasant and Adams
Morgan neighborhoods to the west. "I think
it's a good spot," Montana said.
|
