Every time Spike Mendelsohn, the former reality star chef and owner of We the Pizza, says something about why he came
to DC to open a restaurant, I roll my eyes and make finger gagging
motions. This has nothing to do with the food at his restaurants.
Mendelsohn once told the Washington Post,
"I would like to be an ambassador of bringing young, hip restaurants
here. I'm looking at D.C. as a blank canvas where I hope to practice my
art form." And on NPR he told Kojo Nnamdi he came because "big fish in a small pond...you know." Listen up, people, DC is not the next great food city. It is a great food city now. Please stop.
Good news for Good Stuff Eatery: good food trumps asinine comments.
If I were to go on a burger date with, say... President Obama, and the options were a) Good Stuff Eatery or b) Ray's Hellburger I would try to convince Barak, an obvious fan of Ray's, to go to a. That's how much I like Good Stuff Eatery.
This is a long way to say that I was totally stoked for We, the Pizza. Totally. Stoked. My current food scene mantra is: less Neapolitan pizza and more up scale New York or New Haven-style pizza.
Since We, the Pizza opened about a month ago, I've nibbled on a number of slices. Here's my quick take: Spinach and Artichoke (doesn't taste like either), Buffalo Mozz and Roasted Tomato (an underdog that is surprising runner up), Forest Shroomin (solid front runner, even if I can't taste any truffles), Buffalo Chicken (not good, at all, should be called MAYO Chicken), White Pie (winner!).
Overall, the pizza is solid. The toppings are high quality, the sauce is balanced, the cheese goes beyond mozzarella. So why only solid? It's the crust. Spike says he created and tested 50 recipes while perfecting his crust, but, unfortunately, that's where I find room for improvement. I was looking for a chewy, flavor packed crust, but what I tasted was bland and airy. The crust here doesn't compare to what remains my favorite pizza place in DC.
In fact, the most memorable bite I've had at We, the Pizza wasn't the pizza; it was the meatball sub. Nona Colletti's meatballs taste just like an Italian grandmother's meatballs should: light and meaty. The sub, served on crunchy french bread, is topped with tomato sauce, generous amounts of parmesan, and a handful of basil. It's a sandwich worth ordering and it makes me want to visit We, the Pizza again to try the other subs, the Italiano and the vegetarian Fresco.
