Monday, October 31, 2011

Citi Pizza - H Street NE, Washington, DC

Never order pizza on Halloween. That's today's lesson from your favorite pizza blog.

Liza and I took lil' Molly to Eastern Market for "Hill-oween," fun for Capitol Hill families to congregate with their little goblins, superheroes, princesses and football players. Molly was a cute little ladybug -- thanks to Grandma for the costume! It was appropriate because Molly loves watching Sesame Street's "Ladybugs' Picnic"! At the end, she always shouts out "12".

For dinner, Liza and I planned to get pizza from Seventh Hill but were alarmed to see that it was closed. Turns out it's not open on Monday. Boo!

So we went home and ordered take out -- a large pizza with mushrooms and spinach from Citi Pizza, a joint on H Street NE, not too far from our home. We've ordered there before so we knew we were probably not getting 4-star fare. Still, we expect the best when we eat pizza. Standards, people!

Citi Pizza claimed they would have the pizza delivered in a half-hour, but 30 minutes passed and still no pizza. One hour passed and still no pizza. Meantime, we had to keep our lights on outside our house so that the delivery man could see our address. The result was that our house attracted dozens of trick or treaters but we were out of candy.

Ninety minutes after ordering, our pizza finally arrived. The delivery man said he was slowed due to so many trick or treaters out on the streets. As they say on ESPN, "C'mon man!" I'm not buying that excuse and neither is Liza.

Our pizza was lukewarm when we opened it, unfortunately. Boo!

Citi Pizza's offering is rubbery, but it manages to keep together. No droop, even with two toppings. The mushroom and spinach toppings were generous enough, but they could have put on a little more sauce. In any event, the pizza was so rubbery that it just seemed to slide down your throat. So much for enjoying the flavor.

Maybe that's for the best, though. The spinach topping was strangely overpowering and dominated every bite. Liza didn't like it at all, she actually removed the pieces of spinach and ate her slices without them.

The crust wasn't anything special and there were quite a few air pockets to chew through.

Simply put, Citi Pizza is serviceable. Quality it is not. Order it only if you're in a pinch and you've completely sworn off chains such as Domino's and Papa John's. And let's hope Citi Pizza's delivery drivers are more timely on non-holidays.

Gary's Rating: 1.5 stars
Liza's Rating: 1.5 stars
Molly's Rating: Dreaming of "Ladybugs' Picnic"

Monday, October 17, 2011

Pizzeria Paradiso is Turning 20!


Pizzeria Paradiso is a DC pizza institution.  They've been serving up traditional wood-fired pies since their opening day in Dupont Circle on November 8, 1991.  In honor of their 20th birthday, Pizzeria Paradiso will be celebrating with a week-long celebration of ‘20 Something’ events, specials and contests November 7-13, 2011


Monday, November 7 – $20 Take Out.  Get one large and one small pizza for $20 on take-out orders only.
Tuesday, November 8 – 20th Anniversary Beer Glass Giveaway (one complimentary beer glass with beer purchase)
Wednesday, November 9 – $20 All You Can Eat Pizza & Beer (2 drink max)
Thursday, November 10 – $20 Small Special Pizza paired with an Anniversary Beer
Friday, November 11 – .20¢ For Your First Beer
Saturday, November 12 – .20¢ Topping (Dine In Only. 3 toppings max)
Sunday, November 13 – “20 Free Pizzas” Family/Kids Day. 1-4PM. Kids can participate in a Make Your Own Pizza demonstration with Chef Ruth Gresser; first 20 kid’s pizzas are free.  (Old Town location only)

For more information visit www.eatyourpizza.com.