Capitol City Brewing Company-- Capitol Hill

Liza's middle school holds an annual Faculty and Board vs. 8th Grade basketball game every spring. So on April 18, she joined her spirited co-workers at Gonzaga High School in Washington, D.C. for the pivotal matchup.

Now the Faculty team consisted of fully grown men and women, including one gentleman who had to be 6-5 and 220 pounds. The 8th Graders were challenged in size, but they had speed and a few sharp-shooters. It's the classic matchup of size vs. speed!

It was the 8th Graders who rushed out to a 21-6 lead, nailing down three pointers to the delight of the parents in attendance. Finally, the Faculty figured out that if they walked the ball down the court and passed it to the big dude underneath the basket, this would be "Cupcake City, Baby!" (Dick Vitale homage.) The Faculty settled down and came back to take a 53-48 lead late in the fourth quarter.

But in the last few minutes, the Faculty collapsed and the 8th Graders scored the final nine points to win 57-53. Students and parents rushed the court in celebration! "Unbelievable, Baby!"

Ah, but this was all in good fun. After the game, Liza and I, plus three members of the Faculty, headed to nearby Capitol City Brewing Company on Capitol Hill, right across from Union Station, for a beer and a bite.

In terms of beer, we ordered as per our heritage. I had a Dark Irish Stout, while Liza ordered a Hefeweizen, a fine German beer.

Pizza was on the menu, and we decided to split a 12-incher. They only had three options for pizza, and we opted for the Vegetarian with 'shrooms, tomatoes, cooked onions and cheese.

I had low expectations for this pizza, as I figured it would be typical bar food.

I was right. This was sub-par pizza.

First of all, they had cut the round pizza into four big slices--which I hate. No matter the size, I like my pizzas to have more than four slices. Eight is normal, six is fine. But four? I feel ripped off, somehow.

In terms of quality, let's start with the crust. It was terrible. It was tasteless. This was an extra thin crust reminiscent of crust in store-bought pizza. (Elio's, anyone?)

I picked up my first big slice and the whole thing drooped, with the pizza toppings falling off. Arrrrgggghhhh!

The pizza had a good tangy taste courtesy of the tomatoes. But the carmelized onions didn't really add any flavor, strangely enough. And I could barely taste the 'shrooms. All in all, it was a very bland pizza topping on a terrible crust.

Liza agrees that "the crust of the pizza was horrible."

"It was like eating pizza on a tortilla," she said.

'Nuff said. Go to Capitol City Brewing Company for beer, not pizza.

Gary's Rating: 1.5 stars
Liza's Rating: 1.5 stars