After enjoying so much of the D.C. traffic on the way in, our plan
to try some Laotian cuisine at Thip Khao began to waiver. Then we
remembered the two all American outposts of Top Chef contestant
Spike Mendelsohn were just over a half mile walk from our hotel, so
we hoofed it and decided on pizza instead of burgers. We The Pizza
is loud and hopping with slices and pies landing on the tables and
headed out the doors. |
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The service is a little confusing for first timers but the staff is
friendly amidst all of their energy. The 70’s and 80’s blast out of
the speakers while people toss dough, jerk sodas (much more on that
in a minute), and reheat individual slices in the deck oven ala the
style of NY. One of the cooks(?), bakers(?), pizzaiolo(?) stepped
out front to refill his beverage from the fountain and stopped to
pick up a couple small pieces of trash and tidy some other things up
without attention or fanfare. Certainly didn’t seem like it was “his
job” but in good places it’s everyone’s job. |
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The pizzas slices all had an outstanding foundation of thin and crispy crust which gets just close enough to cracker to add texture and support toppings without leaving the realm of crust. It’s spectacular and out of the oven the slices have wee bursting bubbles of some kind of fat clinging to the bottom and boosting the crispitude. Downside, I think they rushed our whole pie by just a smidge and the crust didn’t quite make it into the hall of Valhalla the way the slices did.
As far as varieties, the only one I didn’t really care for was
Colletti’s Notorious BBQ Pie with pulled pork, sauce, cheddar and
crispy onions. There were so many onions Jimmy Hoffa could have been
under there. If the sauce is indeed award winning, it certainly
wasn’t for topping this pizza unless the award is for Q sauce least
likely to fight its way through a pile of onion straws. |
Wings Were Much Sweeter Than Expected |
Thin, ala N.Y. |
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Oil & Heat Make For Crispy Tasty Foundation |
The BBQ Slice Tastes Of Onions & Onions & Too Many Onions |
Realistically, it seemed the more there was on
the pizza the less I enjoyed it; this is NOT the Tao of Tom. Pile it
up, then add another handful, this is typically my way. The
antithesis to the Big Apple and the Boot. I understood it here. Less
can simply be more. The Cajun Chicken and Andouille was fine with
the onions and seasoning but again was not going to compete with the
clean and beautiful. The Honey Ham and Pineapple was much better
than the last few pig fruit pizza’s I’ve had, tangy fruity sweetness
and salty Virginia ham brought noticeable quality to the slice.
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Cajun Pie Was Alright |
Nice Ham Helped The Pineapple Slice |
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Our whole round disc was the Forest Shroomin’ Pie with shrooms, mozzarella, parmesan, and thyme. Earthy fungus freak-out, so much mushroom flavor with both silky and salty cheese…excellent…beside the just under crust that is…oh…and compared to the single slice I wished we had ordered as a whole…the Artisanal Four Cheese. So simple, that stupid crust, thin spread of tomato sauce, and then: melty earthy, shroomy, Fontina; smoky, nutty, butterscotch, smoked Gouda; lightly spicy and salty Asiago; and the King of salty nuttiness, Parmesan. That’s it. And That’s IT!
If I ever scoffed when I heard Spike had opened a burger and pizza
joint after Top Chef, I actually can’t remember, that single slice
condemns me. Not everything else was as successful but this was a
masterpiece. |
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Shroom Pie Was Much Better But Needed Another Couple In The Deck Oven |
Simply Stunning Slice |
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While the pizza was good, I expected it to be. I did not expect the
list of Sodas to be what they were, which was extraordinary. Made by
hand with real chunks of whatever goes into them…so freaking good.
The long strips of ginger gave the Don’t Forget Your Ginger Roots
some real bright punch against the sweet bubbles. My first soda
(that’s right, we went back and ordered two more, delicious) was the
Very, Very, Sour-ry Cherry was by far my favorite and seemed to
distill the very essence of sweet and sour actual, real, genuine,
cherry. The second round I ordered an Egg Cream (Ubet Manhattan Egg
Cream to be precise), ain’t never had one before and got something
tasty but akin to a weak milkshake with chocolate…probably perfect
for an egg cream, I wouldn’t know. Steph's second was Dreams Are
Made of Strawberry Lemonade and was loaded with the remnants of both
fruits, tart as the day is long. If you find yourself in D.C. for a
slice, go simple, and don’t skip the sodas. |
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The Fountain... |
...Where Magic Comes From... |
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...Would Literally Have Tried All Flavors |
Good Thing Our Hotel Room Has Huge Fridge |
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Ratings | |||||||
Food |
Service |
Ambiance |
What's Best |
What's Worst |
Overall |
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B- | B | B | A+ | D | B | ||
Cheese, That Is All. Oh And Drinks! | Onion Avalanche |