Margherita Wars Recap

Gary and I had a great time meeting up with the pizzablogger for the Margherita Wars on October 24! . All photos below are courtesy of the pizzablogger.

We started off at one of our favorite DC pizza places, 2 Amys. As usual, they did not disappoint. Great crust texture, a little bit of sauce, and fresh cheese. Yummy.

Next we went to my personal favorite, Red Rocks. The crust was a bit more charred, and there was more sauce and it was a bit sweeter.

We finished our leg of the journey at Coal Fire Pizza in Howard County. Honestly, I did not care for this pizza at all. A little too thin for my taste and way too burnt.

The verdict? Gary and pizzablogger definitely preferred 2 Amys. For me, Red Rocks and 2 Amys were neck-and-neck, with maybe a slight advantage to Red Rocks.

In other words, we confirmed what we've known for a long time now-- we have some mighty fine pizza here in Washington, DC! The pizzablogger went on to two more establishments in Baltimore. His full recap can be found here.

Gary and I have been pretty busy recently and haven't been able to get out much to try new pies, but we have a couple restaurants on our radar for future reviews. If you have any suggestions, please write them in the comments. Thanks!

Red Rocks-- Columbia Heights

We're nothing if not trendy, so when we saw Red Rocks reviewed in the WaPo, we had to try the pizza at this new hotspot. We're also nothing if not geographically challenged-- when I told Gary we were going up to Columbia Heights, he looked at me strangely and said, "Is that in DC?" Yes dear, that is in DC.

Red Rocks really is a cute little place. It's in a converted rowhouse. We sat upstairs, and Gary mused that "we're eating in what used to be someone's bedroom." Indeed. I suggest asking to be seated upstairs; the downstairs was LOUD and crowded. They have some great happy hour specials, which we just barely made under the wire (we had the $4 house wines).

Service was a little slow, but friendly. I was a bit put off by the fact that every piece of dishware on the table had a chip or crack in it. But I digress. The pizza...

... was fabulous. I had my usual margherita, and Gary had a pesto pie.

The margherita was perfection. The crust was thin, light, chewy; the sauce had both a tang and a sweetness to it, and the cheese was SO fresh. The pesto pizza was good too, but that margherita... I am getting hungry just thinking about it.

Liza's rating: 4 stars, yes, 4 stars, people!
Gary's rating: 3.5 stars

As an aside, we went to Wonderland, a bar just down the street, for a drink afterwards. THEY HAVE MS. PACMAN. This makes Wonderland the best bar ever.