Pupatella

Pupatella the Neapolitan pizza cart is an otherworldly experience.  Then again, how else can you explain the authentic street foods of Naples making an appearance in the urban village of Ballston?

The street cart is only open two days a week, and luckily I was home from work in order to make the much needed lunch-time pilgrimage.  I received my prize and began a mad dash home mumbling to myself Sméagol style about my precious.  After bolting the door, I pried open the box, fully expecting a Nazis in Raiders of the Lost Ark type moment, the pizza my Ark of the Covenant.  Fortunately, I basked in the sweet smells of sauce and buffalo mozzarella whereas *spoiler* the Nazis had their faces melted.  (Pretty sure I got the better end of that one.)

When I bit in, the world was zen.  The sauce was perfectly balanced, sweet, but not so sweet that I wouldn't be willing to drink it straight from a jar.  The crust was crunchy and crisp with just enough salt.  And the mozzarella?  I don't know what's left to be said.  All I know if there was such a thing as a pizza zombie, feasting on Pupatella instead of brains, I'm pretty sure I'd sign myself up to become one.
Evan: A

Mama Palma's

More than a month may have gone by since our last post, but don't worry--we still have been eating plenty of pizza!  This past weekend, Evan and I visited my friend in Philadelphia.  Although Evan had a cheesesteak craving on Saturday afternoon (we'll hit up "Jim's Steaks" next time, Evan; I promise), we followed our friend's recommendation and ended up at Mama Palma's, a small, casual Italian restaurant around the Rittenhouse Square neighborhood.  

Specializing in gourmet wood-fired brick oven pizza, Mama Palma's features an nice listing of pie varieties.  Unfortunately, we didn't have too much time to decide on our order, so Evan and I decided to split a margarita pizza.  While the pie was definitely over-priced ($15.00+), the thin and crispy crust, chunky and sweet tomatoes, and fresh slices of melted mozzarella hit the spot for a late lunch.  

Other than the questionable price value, my only complaint with this basic pizza was the cheese.  The cheese was definitely fresh and tasty; however, in my opinion, there was a little too much of it (or maybe the slices were too thick?).  No weekend is really complete without a good pizza pie, and I was happy that Mama Palma's was part of our Saturday Philadelphia excursion!
Caitlin: B+   Evan: B

Flippin' Pizza

A few Saturdays ago, Evan and I joined my parents at Flippin' Pizza, the winner of the 2009 Washingtonian pizza contest.  Interestingly, Flippin' Pizza first started in California but now boasts several locations in the D.C./Maryland/Virginia area. Flippin' Pizza brags that its pies offer diners "a slice of New York," and as a native New Yorker I was interested in (and admittedly a bit skeptical of) this brazen claim.


Although FP occupies a modest location off of Broad Street in Falls Church, VA, the small shop was busy on a Saturday evening with feasting families and hungry customers stopping by for carry-out.  Due to FP's ordinary interior, take-out seemed the more popular method for enjoying this store's cheesy pies; however, we chose to absorb the full experience by eating at one of the tables and watching the pizza-makers stretch, flip, and toss balls of dough into thin, eighteen inch rounds.


We decided to order two pies for the four of us: an artichoke white pizza and a margarita pizza with sausage.  First up came the artichoke, my favorite of the two pizzas.  Generously sized and foldable, the slices were covered with mozzarella cheese and bite-sized, mild artichoke hearts (one of my favorite pizza toppings).  The best part of this pie was clearly the dough, which provided a chewy, slightly sweet, and doughy yet crispy base for the toppings.  Unfortunately, the sauce on this pizza was all wrong.  Instead of sprinkling the pizza with fresh tomatoes or spreading a memorable sauce all over the pie, the pizza-makers at FP decide to top each slice with a salty marinara that tasted like jarred spaghetti sauce.  The sauce on the sausage pizza seemed more palatable and was spread out over the pie.

Overall, I enjoyed my first trip to Flippin'; however, I am not so sure that what I tasted was worthy of the "Best Pizza" award by Washingtonian.  I do look forward to returning (perhaps for a $3.50 slice and soda) and sampling another pie.

Caitlin:  B+

Evan:  B

Washington, DC Pizza Pool Heads Up For the Title

Washington, DC.  Usually, you think of presidents and their monolithic memorials.  Maybe you think of hogs, whether you find them on the football field, in a half-smoke, or rammed into Congress's most recent midnight bill.  But there are more sides to our nation's capital than just politicians and Redskins football, and since you're reading this blog, you can surely guess what's coming - pizza.  Whether you favor NY-style thin crust, fantasize about gourmet pizza, or spend your weekend nights feasting on the Adams Morgan specialty jumbo slice, Washington has a well-rounded (unless you partake in Ledo's) pizza scene.


Throughout August, Washingtonian Magazine let readers vote for their favorite metro area pie, and now we're down to two finalists: Neapolitan-style RedRocks Pizzeria and California-based upstart Flippin' Pizza.  You have until noon, September 10 to cast your vote.


Sadly the finest pizza cart in all of the DC area, Pupatella, was not included in the tournament brackets, but I wonder if that has something to do with their recent vacation or their two day a week schedule.  Pupatella, come back!

Gina's Pizza Traditional Veggie

For our last vacation post, I wanted to mention Gina's Pizza, a bustling pizzeria off PCH in Laguna.  Particularly popular with the younger crowd (what am I, 80 years old?), the physical restaurant is nothing special, but the traditional veggie pizza Evan I picked up to-go one night was definitely satisfying.  What was most pleasantly surprising about this pie had to be the whole grain crust, which was neither dry nor heavy and provided the pizza with a nice satiety factor.  According to Gina's menu, the traditional veggie is built with a whole grain crust, homemade sauce, mozzarella, mushrooms, roasted peppers, fresh roma tomatoes, black olives, and onions. 
While my ideal veggie pizza would include a lot more color and variety (definitely artichokes and zucchini), this pie won me over for its tasty sauce and filling crust.  Granted, Evan and I could have opted to "create [our] own" pizza by choosing from a comprehensive and unique list of toppings including avocado, bacon, breaded eggplant, and pineapple chunks.  We actually left off the mushrooms on our traditional veggie and, not being a fan of olives, I meticulously removed the offensive onyx orbs.  Evan and I purchased a small 12 inch pie, and devoured the pizza back at Casa Laguna in about 10 minutes (it had been at least two hours since the Inn's complimentary daily wine and cheese, and we were starving :) ).  If you're ever in Laguna Beach, it's worth checking out Gina's Pizza for a quick and good lunch or dinner.

Caitlin: B
Evan: B+

Beach Cities Pizza Sun-dried Tomato

At the tail end of our trip, Caitlin and I stayed in Dana Point, a city off the Pacific Coast in Orange County.  Not surprisingly, we developed a powerful craving for cheese, tomatoes and dough, so I hopped on Yelp.com to search for a local pizzeria.  On account of some good user reviews and a desire to explore the Dana Point Harbor, we selected Beach Cities Pizza, "the best pizza on earth".  Maybe we ordered the wrong pie, but claiming Beach Cities as the best pizza on earth is as wrong as calling the Vin Diesal/Paul Walker Fast and Furious better than The Godfather.

Unlike zpizza or Gina's, which use the crust and cheese as a delicious canvas for the toppings to come, Beach Cities' cheese was a gloppy mess that couldn't even stay attached to the pizza long enough for the trip from tray to mouth.  Beach Cities features some interesting pizzas (a Thai-style pizza and a pizza with clams) and it is open 24 hours, but there's something out of a whack when a basic pie comes out of the oven so wrong.  The only things placing Beach Cities above subpar chain pizza were the crunchy crust and the buried sun-dried tomatoes.

Caitlin: C
Evan: C-

Zinc Cafe Potato & Arugula Pizzette

Also during our Southern California vacation, Evan and I tried another, very different pizza from Zinc, a cute little cafe located on a side street in the town of Laguna Beach. Although on the pricey side, the food at Zinc is simple yet scrumptious and ranges from grilled sandwiches and fresh salads to interesting drinks and baked goods.

Evan and I visited Zinc for lunch a few times, and one particular afternoon, we decided to share a pizzette (a personal-sized pizza). We chose the potato and arugula variety and brought our snack down to Main Beach to enjoy. Neither of us had ever tasted a potato pizza, and Evan and I were both happy with the flavor and texture of Zinc's variety. Thinly sliced and cooked just enough to be tender while maintaining a firm bite, the potatoes were sprinkled with a little cheddar cheese and topped with a large handful of arugula. We poured the side serving of balsamic vinagrette over the lettuce and created a kind of salad pizza that could still be eaten with our hands. The warmth of the potatoes wilted the spicy arugula slightly, and I appreciated all the fresh flavors and textures of this diminutive pie.  I did wish, however, that the crust had been slightly thinner and crispier.  Nevertheless, I will definitely be returning to Zinc Cafe on my next trip to Southern California.

Caitlin: B+
Evan: B