2 Amys - WOW
Hi all,
This 4th of July weekend, I had a couple of friends from New York in town (I recently moved to D.C. a couple of months ago myself).
I thought it might be dangerous to take New Yorkers to a pizza place, but my boyfriend had been trying to get me to try this establishment for years and I had heard good things about it.
I wasn't starving, so my plan was to split a pizza with my boyfriend, each getting our own toppings on our side, as we have done at Pizzeria Paradiso many times.
I was disappointed when the server told us that we could not do this - one pizza, one set of toppings. With that, I decided that I liked Pizzaria Paradiso better. I reluctantly ordered one of the pizza specials (tomatoes, capers, sardines and hot peppers), knowing full well that I would only be able to eat half, if that. My companions each ordered a pizza as well.
About 10 minutes later, we were presented with 4 gorgeous pies. One bite into my first slice and I was hooked. The sardines were the largest I had ever seen, tasted extremely fresh and had delicious, slightly charred skin. The crust was perfect: very doughy with a few brown and black spots on various portions of the crust. One of my New York friends proclaimed it the best pizza she's had in the U.S. to which we all emphatically agreed. Needless to say, we all polished off our pies, making my initial irriation about the prohibition of splitting pizzas disappear completely.
Total for the 4 pies was $50 without tip. A bit pricey for pizza but well worth it. I will certainly be back and can now understand what all the hype is about!
Melanie
Jul 07, 2008 02:27PM
It is good, I agree! I took my friend there one Sunday afternoon, and she was hooked. We had to go back recently--twist my arm!--because she kept dreaming about the pizza, lol.
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Sardines? SARDINES? FRESH SARDINES? I wanna try it. this restaurant has been much maligned by CH posters but I haven't had the chance to experience it for myself.
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I'm pretty sure she means anchovies. Unless this is something new, 2 Amys doesn't serve sardines on their pies.
The anchovies aren't fresh; they're salt cured and soaked in milk to remove the saltiness. MUCH better than the canned stuff in oil, BTW. I'm not a fan of their pies, but I highly recommend the anchovies. Nothing like what you usually get in pizzerias.
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Hmm....she said sardines and tasted fresh....
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not maligned by all on CH. If you like Neapolitan pizza, you'll love 2 Amys. Almost as good as Pizza Neopolitano in NYC.
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As someone who has crapped on 2 Amys after a recent visit, let me say that at one time it was one of my favorite restaurants in D.C. However in the past couple years the quality of the pies have gone down as the wait time for a table remained high. I want to like 2 Amys, I really do, but after the last couple miserable visits, I have to say the place has turned a bad corner.
All that being said, it's good to hear that someone went there and had a great meal. I only wish that was consistently the case.
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Hi Ericandblueboy and monkeyrotica. Yes, I do mean sardines and not anchovies. However, to monkeyrotica's point, it was one of the 'specials' and I am bummed to see that sardines are not on the menu as one of the regular toppings!!! Go now, until it's no longer offered, I beg you...and while you're at it, as them to add the sardines to the menu. Maybe if enough of us beg and plead, they'll honor our requests!
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Where do you see much maligned? I think there's a loud minority that complains about inconsistency, the ridiculous waits for tables at prime meal times, and the decibel level from screaming kids. But the (silent?) majority recognize the world-class pies and other kitchen specialties that make 2 Amy's a can't-miss destination. Even if you have to go at 3p on Saturday to get a seat.
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I love 2Amys. A Norcia add arugula (a "Norciarugula") is a beautiful thing. The "suppli a telefono" are wonderful, and on a sweltering DC summer day, a slightly chilled bottle of Gragnano is perfect. All that said, however, the lines are preposterous. Paradiso P St. only seats 1/8 the people, and he pizza is 100% as good. Hell, I proposed to my wife there. Ultimately, on the basis of quality of pizza, wine list and value, general dining experience, and the very possibility of being able to enact dinner without a theme-park ride quality line, we end up going to Mia's in Bethesda all the time. Melissa is a Paradiso alum, and the passion for pizza and management ability really show.
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I like Mia's too, and since it's closer (and no lines) I'm there waaay more often than 2 Amy's. But I wish someone would whisper "throw another pinch of salt in the dough" to her more often - I've had too many bland crusts there.
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Two Amy's has the best ice cream in the greater D. C. area.
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2Amy's never disappoints! We get the fried risotto balls, the green salad and the standard pizza + spicy pepperoni and it's a great dinner and great value ($30.00 we split everything, no leftovers) Also their cannoli's are the best I've ever had - orange zest accent and light not heavy!
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Loving their meatballs too these days.
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