We are in Washington D.C. for the serious business of remembering
the many debts we owe for all we have and to remember one in
particular in
1st Lieutenant Neil Keltner, recipient of The Distinguished
Service Cross and two Purple Hearts, as he is laid to rest in the
hallowed grounds of Arlington National Cemetery. While this little
project is all about food it would be remiss and disingenuous to not
realize or mention how insignificant this all is compared to the
sacrifices represented by the monuments in our Nation’s Capitol.
Think what you want of war, or politics past and present; walk past
the names on the Viet Nam Wall, the fountains and stars of the World
War II Memorial, the Tomb of the Unknowns or any of the other
touchstones and you realize how often and selflessly our fellow
citizens have put boots to ground to allow our lives to include
things like this silly website. To those who have served, my sincere
gratitude. There, I feel better. |
![]() |
|
Our first eats in D.C. were first seen on an episode of Diners, Drive-ins & Dives. The aptly but half named Comet Ping Pong has a tiny frontage on Connecticut Avenue. Walking in the door you are met by an arty industrial starkness with mostly bare walls and angular metal sculptures hanging from the ceiling. The harshness of the space allows for quite the buzz walking in the door but after a few minutes of not being able to hear without shouting I started wishing for something softer that might dampen the din.
The part of the buzz that I found more than
pleasurable comes from the reason behind the name…the ping pong. The
restaurant tables are ping pong tables and they have two rooms of
full tables set up which were constantly in action our entire stay.
Games of widely varied skill as a participant or spectator provide
entertainment while awaiting your meal. |
![]() Another Destination From Triple D |
![]() Waiting For Diner Is Actually Fun Here |
||
![]() Great House Made Ranch And Boring Breadsticks |
![]() Meatballs And Sauce Are Fabulous |
The most disappointing aspect of our visit was our server who was certainly friendly but didn’t seem to understand that his job entailed more that saying welcome with a smile. The kitchen appeared to be on the ball and we had to save most of the ping pong for after dinner as it was quickly on the table, delivered by someone other than our server BTW.
Comet ping pong has made a name from their house made and locally
sourced pizzas. We ordered bread sticks, meatballs, and three
pizzas…a tomato pie, a time-out and the drive. The breadsticks
weren’t anything to write about thin and crunchy without any flavor
to make them stand out, they were aided by the house made ranch
dressing which was thick and flavorful and would have been a boon to
better bread sticks. The meatballs were another story. Comet has a
local butcher who prepares all of their meats and the meatballs were
a refreshing surprise of meattasticness. A punch of sage wafted
through a serious and delicious meat concoction. These wonderful
tiny nuggets were also the first introduction to the Comet red
sauce. I loved their sauce. The first bite and those following seem
to progress through every iteration of what you might look for in
any sauce, sweet, tangy, acidic, spice and herb all take the front
of the stage without completely eclipsing the others. The definition
of balance. It was also the reason for my favorite pizza, much to my
surprise. |
|||
![]() Simple Genius, Scrumptious Genius |
![]() Best By A Mile, Surprise |
||
![]() The Drive With Spicy Broccoli Rabe |
![]() And Salty Prosciutto |
||
While I like lots of odd things on pizza or otherwise the best we
had, in my opinion, was the tomato pie with a thin crust, Comet
sauce and fresh Mozzarella. I don’t always agree with other folks
when they preach the simple is better approach to pizza. Sometimes
interesting or loads of ingredients make for a better slice. In this
case they are spot on. The brilliance of the sauce would only be
obscured on our other options. The Time-Out pizza featured Stan the
butcher’s Merguez Sausage, parsley, melted onions, potato, garlic
and Gorgonzola. The sausage like the meatballs was unique and tasty
and paired well with the onion and garlic. For some reason the
potato was distracting and the cheese never made an appearance. Not
a bad pizza but I wouldn’t order it again. The Drive was a little
better with broccoli rabe, garlic, a sunny side up egg, melted
onion, and Pecorino Romano cheese. We also added the upcharge crispy
prosciutto. While far outclassed by the much more simple tomato or
Scott Conant’s DOCG pizza it
was interesting. The rabe had a surprising kick of spice that kept
the whole thing from bogging down…and who doesn’t like crispy
prosciutto. All in all the pies were fair with many more untried. |
|||
![]() The Time Out Featured Great Sausage |
![]() But Wasn't Great Overall |
||
![]() All Things Ping Pong |
![]() Can You Find The Restroom? No One Can Without A Map & Secret Knock |
||
After his sabbatical, our server wanted to know if we wanted to up his tip by ordering dessert. Fortunately for him the desserts sounded better than his lack of function didn’t. There were a few desserts but for some reason two of them had superlatives attached to them unlike the rest. This is what the menu said…
Ice Cream and
The BEST Tiramisu EVER |
|||
![]() B- E -A-Utiful |
![]() Like The Red Sauce Some Items Are Perfectly Balanced Like The "Tear-a-My-Briefs" |
||
Whoever is writing the menu is apparently also eating desserts. Both of these were fantastic. The ice cream was exactly as promised, smooth with crunchy praline nuggets and just enough salt in the thickly sweetened caramel I think we regretted the single scoop. The only problem with the tiramisu was if two people are cutting spoonfuls off of opposite corners it ends up looking like underwear. That was all that could be critiqued. Much like the red sauce the balance was exceptional. Sweetness hugged the bitterness of coffee resulting in a singular blend of downright magnificent.
Comet Ping Pong is loud, fun and delivers pretty well to the table
if you don’t count on the person doing the delivery. With so many
pizzas to try I’m certain repeat business will keep them going
strong, even if not every pie is a homerun. |
Ratings | |||||||
![]() Food |
![]() Service |
![]() Ambiance |
![]() What's Best |
![]() What's Worst |
![]() Overall |
||
B | D | A | A | C | B | ||
Simple Pie & Dessert?!? | Small Misses |