Pizzeria Paradiso and 2 Amys in Washington DC

On Christmas Eve Day I and my son-in-law went out to do some Christmas shopping and have some lunch. We went down to Pizzeria Paradiso on P Street right off Dupont Circle in Washington DC at about 2:00 PM. The place was full but there was no wait since took a couple of counter stools right in front of the pizza making operations.

Pizza Paradiso was established in 1991 and was probably the first boutique wood fired pizza place and is usually in competition with 2 Amys for best pizza in DC. There website is...

http://www.eatyourpizza.com/

This site is a good background on the pizza wars from the Washingtonian Magazine...

http://www.washingtonian.com/articles/restaurants/5640.html

Sitting at the counter we had a ring side seat watching the pizza operations. We ordered the Atomica pizza consisting of tomato, salami, black olives, hot pepper flakes and mozzarella cheese, and the Bosco consisting of tomato, mushrooms, spinach, red onion and mozzarella. Both were excellent in my opinion.

Approaching the unpretentious Pizzeria Paradiso walkup...


The small dining room seats about 32 plus there are 6 bar stools.


Dough from the dough proofer...


The wood fired pizza oven...


The Atomica pizza...


The Bosco pizza...

You would think I would be pizza'd out by now after Pizzeria Paradiso Monday and my own creations Tuesday... http://www.roadfood.com/forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=18588&whichpage=2 ...but No! Today we drove to 2 Amys Neapolitan Pizzeria in Washington DC on Wisconsin Avenue near the National Cathedral. 2 Amys is the off-shoot of Pizzeria Paradiso by one of the former owners and is the other pizzeria in competition for best pizza in Washington DC.

Their website... http://www.2amyspizza.com/

2 Amys is a little larger than the Dupont Circle Pizzeria Paradiso. Decor is plain and simple. The room is much louder and less personal. The pizza menus have some similarity. 2 Amys serves just one size as opposed to Pizzeria Paradiso's 8" and 12" choices. We ordered 4 pizzas. The pizzas seemed under done with the crust. This has been commented by others in reviews. The tastes were fine. The center of the crust seemed paper thin and soggy thus you could not pick up a piece and eat it. They came uncut so maybe that is why and it was assumed they had to be knife and forked. Their wood fired oven temperature gauge read 687degF. We thought the stuffed pizza would be a Chicago style. We were wrong. It was more like a calzone.

I have to give the nod to Pizzeria Paradiso between the two on this go around. Better pizza, better ambience, and better beer.

The Restaurant


The Dining Room


The small bar


The wood fired oven


Calabrese Pizza - Tomato onions, anchovy, fresh mozzarella, parsley, olives


Norcia Pizza - Tomato, salami,grilled peppers, fresh mozzarella, grana


Santa Brigida Pizza - Tomato, fresh mozzarella cherry tomatoes, arugula


Ripieno Extra Stuffed Pizza - Ricotta, grana, salami, proscuitto.pancetta, tomato

They look real tasty and, for DC, I guess these prices aren't out of line. pb

8 inch 12 inch
Margherita 9.95 15.95
Tomato, Basil, Mozzarella

Napoletana 9.95 15.95
Tomato, Basil, Anchovy, Capers, Mozzarella

Atomica 10.75 16.75
Tomato, Salami, Black Olives, Hot Pepper Flakes, Mozzarella

Genovese 9.95 15.95
Potato, Pesto, Parmesan

Bosco 10.75 16.75
Tomato, Mushrooms, Spinach, Red Onion, Mozzarella

Quattro Formaggi 10.75 16.75
Four Cheeses, Parsley, Garlic

di Mare 10.95 16.95
Tomato, Mussels, Garlic, Parsley, Parmesan

Bottarga 10.75 16.75
Tomato, Egg, Garlic, Parsley, Parmesan, Bottarga

Siciliana 10.95 16.95
Tomato, Zucchini, Eggplant, Peppers, Red Onion, Capers, Garlic, Oregano, Mozzarella, Pecorino

Paradiso 9.50 14.95
Tomato, Mozzarella

Aha, now I know where you went. Really just one style of pizza. I stay was from Dos Amys as much as possible. The line and the noise in there can spoil a meal. The pizza alone does not justify it.

quote:

Originally posted by divefl

Aha, now I know where you went. Really just one style of pizza. I stay was from Dos Amys as much as possible. The line and the noise in there can spoil a meal. The pizza alone does not justify it.

you can now sit upstairs, where it is quiter and no kids.

IMO, the pizza is better at 2 Amys. Real thin crust Neopolitan. Pizza Paradiso is good too, but it's a little thicker and doesn't quite have the same rustic crunch on the bottom of the pizza counteracting the soft top. (However, I've not been to the Dupont location, I've only been to the Georgetown location - yes, there are two locations)

But, it all depends on what you like. I certainmly wouldn't have expect anything like Chicago style at a Neopolitan style pizza shop.

Serioulsy though, if you return to 2 Amys, I suggest eating in the upstairs adult area rather than on the main floor.

I have heard of this area, but it has never been offered. My friends come across as very immature. Not me. My friends.

I didn't see where there was an upstairs at 2 Amys though I've read about it. We had a 4-1/2 year old with us so I suppose there would have been no chance for us to go upstairs. I did not see anyone else go upstairs (however you did it) while we were standing around back by the bar area waiting for a table. They were not super organized. When we were next (5 of us) they had put two tables together for us and a group of new arrivals just sat down at them. Had a nice corner table not opened up immediately after I might have complained.

Our next pizza venture in DC might be Ella's in the spring. Anyone know anything about that place? I know they do wood fired pizzas.

quote:

Originally posted by Davydd

I didn't see where there was an upstairs at 2 Amys though I've read about it. We had a 4-1/2 year old with us so I suppose there would have been no chance for us to go upstairs. I did not see anyone else go upstairs (however you did it) while we were standing around back by the bar area waiting for a table. They were not super organized. When we were next (5 of us) they had put two tables together for us and a group of new arrivals just sat down at them. Had a nice corner table not opened up immediately after I might have complained.

Our next pizza venture in DC might be Ella's in the spring. Anyone know anything about that place? I know they do wood fired pizzas.

I've heard about seating problems lately, and other recent chaos, so I don't doubt your situation. That wasn't an issue when they first opened a few years back. They do not seat families with young chilrden upstairs (I think 12yo is the cut off)- and, I think they only open it up at dinner time. You just have to ask for it. The noise volume was the complaint, and this was how they responded.

Georgetown's Pizza Paradiso also has two levels, then main dining room and a smaller downstairs room with a bar. The Downstairs is LOUD. Upstairs has a bit of volume too, but much better. I agree, that the atmosphere at Pizza Paradiso is better, especially in terms of volume. But 2 Amy's upstairs is a nice option when dining sans kids. Of course, I like kids, so sometimes the lunch chaos is neighborhoody too.

They're both good. If Pizza Paradiso is your slice, then you're in the majority - they keep winning best DC pizza place award (or favorite). I also felt their wine selection was better. So, there's no shame in backing a proven winner - and a heck of a pizza place. Sure beats the pants off of Pizza Bolis.

We were at 2 Amys about 2:00 PM in the afternoon the day after Christmas (Wednesday). It was busy then. If you look at the picture the upstairs looks dark so I imagine the upstairs was not open. As you can see we were at the Dupont Circle Pizzeria Paradiso. We drove by the Pizzeria Paradiso in Georgetown and from the outside it looked a bit fancier.

I've put my daughter and son-in-law to the task of finding some more good road food and pizza places when we return in the spring. My daughter already is set on Ella's. I know about Redrocks and that should take care of the wood fired competitors. I have a former business associate architect in DC hell-bent on finding me a pork tenderloin sandwich after I took him to Jerry's Woodsweather Cafe in Kansas City and introduced him to that finer cuisine. I'll be surprised if he finds one other than Corkie's in McLean but you never know.

I realize this was an old post, but I finally got a chance to eat at 2Amy's last Sunday(Father's Day). Arrived about 11:30 so before it was packed. The main dining room is very noisy. We sat at the bar in the back and had a great timje talking with the gal working there (an incredible dyanmo, who still would stop and chat as if she had no other worries).  The Pizza was very good..I would have liked my crust done a bit more, but the toppings and sauce were superb.  We (3 of us) also decided to pig out and ordered a number of tasting dishes as well.  I heartily reccomend you try a variety of them, especially the potato croqeuttes and fried rice balls.  It being Sunday morning, they also had donuts (with an extra donut hole on top) for $1.50.  Not cheap, but it was heavenly, along with their strawberry ice cream.  If you're in the mood for a lsightly sweet red wine, the owner has a vineyard in Calif and glasses/carafes can be ordered.
 
Expect a wait
Expect a lot of kids
Expect a lot...A LOT... of noise (the bar is slightly quieter; upstairs-if it's open - the best choice.or out on the small patio
Expect Good Food

Since the thread is re-opened I should add a third Washington, DC area wood-fired Neapolitan pizza I had just last Christmas. The place is RedRocks Pizza Napolentana in Old Town Alexandria. This one was a Margherita that faithfully emulated the Margherita pizzas I had in both Rome and Naples, Italy just two months before. I highly recommend this place.
 

all of those pizzas look like way more crust than there are toppings in the center.
what are the prices of those pies?

sk bob,
 
It is a style of pizza they serve, a wood-fired baked in under 3 minutes anywhere from 700F to 900F Napolentana. Simple ingredients, outstanding flavor. What you see is oven spring on the edges with a very light airy crust. It is not formed that way. The crust is Caputo 00 flour. This is definitely my favorite style. I went to Naples, Italy last fall and one of my goals was to benchmark this style for comparison purposes. I had a about a half dozen pizzas in Rome and Naples. Here is a Margherita from Naples.