2 Amys

good buddy of BOOF, eh and I had been trying to get together for some time now. we finally found a saturday when both of us were free, so I threw out the idea of grabbing lunch and she agreed.

being a new yorker, i am very picky about my pizza to say the least. being that pizza is my favorite food (group), i am once again very picky about my pizza. so when people tell me, that these restaurants in DC have "GREAT" pizza, i politely nod my head but really i am thinking "these people have no idea what GREAT pizza is". needless to say, it is common knowledge to DC foodies that 2 Amys serves up some of the best pizza in DC, so I was a little excited to check out what all the rave is about. eh agreed to meeting at 2 Amys for lunch as she also had never been there before.

2 Amys is Washington Top 100 restaurant along with a Washingtonian Top 100 Cheap Eats, so you know that you are supposed to be getting a lot of bang for your buck. It is located a little up from the national Cathedral so Kinda Tenleytown/Glover Park area. So the neighborhood is pretty lovely and perfect for a nice sunny afternoon stroll after lunch.

It is not located right on Wisconsin which I think adds a little bit of more character to the restaurant. it is filled with large windows, pretty open seating and it also features some outdoor seating out back. the decor is simple with just nice clean hardwood floors and tables giving it a very warm feeling when you walk in. you are automatically met with the wondrous scent of brick oven pizza when you walk in and you know you are definitely in for something tasty.

we started with the bruschetta with tomato fondattu which was absolutely delicious. although you might say well, bruschetta is super easy to make...which it is but this was more than just bruschetta. under the bruschetta was perfectly toast garlic bread with butter and it appeared that the bruschetta was place on right at the perfect moment that the bread wasn't too soggy but just the flavor had permeated through the bread the right amount. so good. get the bruschetta with tomato when you go. you won't be dissapointed.

another side comment is that i ordered the lemonade as my drink and man o man, it was so good. i didn't realize how long it had been since i had a nice tasty glass of lemonade but you can tell that this was freshly squeezed, perfectly tart with a nice sweet undertone. so good.

for our meals, eh ordered the marinara which is just simply topped with marinara tomato sauce, garlic and oregano. she also added onions and anchovies to the mix.

i ordered the simple marghertia which is topped with a tomato sauce, mozzarella di bufala, and basil.

we were both extremely pleased with our pizzas. the ingredients were super fresh and the crust was so delicious. eh was pleasantly surprised how much flavor her pizza had despite having no cheese and i was just happy to have a well made pizza with a crust that has some taste and doesn't taste like cardboard. the pizza is neapolitan style so it is very distinct from NY pizza, if DC wants to be the experts on neapolitan style, i definitely think they are on their way with 2 Amys and Il Canale (post soon to come). although it is not the most amazing pizza i have ever had, 2 Amys did a really great job. the flavors were spot on, the ingredients were good and the crust was delectable which all in all makes for a good pizza. the restaurant is also a really nice and warm set up, so you can definitely go with either a large group, a good friend or a sig other. it is definitely bustling on weekends but they get people in and out pretty quickly, so you should not have to wait too long if there is a wait.

the restaurant also features a winebar with meats and cheese accompaniments but i think that would have to be its own special trip.

Grade: A-

Things to do: 1) you should go right across the street for dessert at Something Sweet. 2) Take a stroll to the National Cathedral, sit in on a mass or just visit. it is beautiful. Some of the embassy row is also in the same area so you can also take a gander at many of those.