Last Sunday, Gary and I ventured to a Dupont Circle studio to take a photography class. After practicing our shutter priority and aperture priority and ISOs and other stuff I don't remember the name of, we decided to take a stroll through "the Pont" and find some dinner.
Actually, I knew exactly where I wanted to go. Every time we drive down Connecticut Avenue for some reason-or-another, I always say to Gary, "I want to try out that Circa place." With its outdoor seating and cute sign, it looked so cozy and inviting. So try it we did.
We were seated immediately at a table near the window. The seats were big and comfy. Bonus points for Circa!
I also appreciated that the dining room had a ceiling. Why is it that so many restaurants make you feel like you're eating in a warehouse? Exposed duct work in the ceiling might have been cool and unusual at one time, but in my humble opinion that design element has played out. Way out. Another point for Circa for not making me look at their ventilation system.
But the ultra-super bonus points came when I ordered a glass of wine, and our sweetheart of a waiter carded me. Considering I was in high school when Flock of Seagulls were cool, I was quite taken aback. But happy ... Oh so happy.
We didn't come to Circa with the intention of getting pizza. In fact, we didn't even know that pizza would be on the menu. But it was ... and as dedicated pizza bloggers, we felt it was our sworn duty to our readership to try it out. We ordered a standard margherita pizza.
Our wine was served in giant wine glasses. They made a nice little twinkly sound. We had a lovely salad and waited anxiously for our pie. We watched several dishes come out of the kitchen that looked delicious. We were excited. This was gonna be good.
Unfortunately, the pizza could not have been more disappointing.
The pizza arrived and it looked like a pizza I would get from a box at the supermarket and bake at home. The sauce had almost no flavor and no spices, which is unforgivable for a restaurant that serves primarily Italian food. The crust was flat and undercooked.
I had the distinct impression that the crust was pre-made and they just threw on the sauce and cheese and tomato slices and tossed it in the oven. It tasted like something you would get in a stadium or in an airport.
No love went into making that pizza.
It's a shame because Circa seems like a nice place overall. But sadly, they may have one of the worst pizzas in D.C.
Liza's rating: 1.0 stars
Gary's rating: 0.5 stars
3 comments:
that's how i felt about coppi's organic on U.
My time at Circa was like a date that I kept trying to like even though I knew better in the first five minutes. She was lazy with conversation and made very little effort because men had always told her how pretty she was and that was enough for her. She left me feeling like I had wasted my evening and the $70 I spent on drinks and a pie for what was a foregone conclusion so early into the evening.
Liza and Gary, we love your blog! We haven't read all your entries so we don't know if we have different oppinions about pizzas. We have to check previous messages until we get to our favorite pizza places in DC to see how you rated them. Anyway, Pedro fully agrees with you about the celings of many restaurants. That old-fashioned design is not modern anymore. As for me, I haven't tried the pizzas in Circa, but I have tried other dishes and they have been very good. So give it another try and order other menu items. This doesn't excuse a bad pizza in an Italian-influenced restaurant, however.
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