Inferno Pizzeria Napoletana

August 5, 2016February 22, 2017Leave a comment

We were feeling adventurous on Sunday so we spent the day biking and walking around Rockville and Gaithersburg. We used Bikeshare to go from the Rockville Metro to the Medical Center area then explored Downtown Crown. Downtown Crown is an award-winning New Urbanist community in Gaithersburg, located near the Washingtonian town center. All the biking and walking that we did got us hungry, so when 5:00pm rolled around we were ready to eat.

Inferno Pizzeria Napoletana is the new Neapolitan pizzeria from former Oval Room chef Tony Conte. Although he has a fine dining background, he opened the pizzeria so that he could be closer to his family in Gaithersburg. We chose to sit at the chef’s counter right in front of the Marra Forni oven. Marra Forni ovens, which are made in Beltsville, MD, are internationally known as probably the best Neapolitan pizza ovens in the world. The menu and kitchen are small, meaning that the restaurant has a short and simple list of small plates, pizzas and desserts. It also means that the restaurant can focus on what it does well. And Inferno does a lot well.

We have a format when we go to Neapolitan Pizzerias: one to two small plates and then one pizza. It’s a format that we have stuck with almost everywhere, including some places reviewed on this blog. Blown away by the pizza options at Inferno, however, we decided to do the once unthinkable: order one small plate and two pizzas. The small plate we ordered was prosciutto Americano with melon caponata, slices of cantaloupe and an herb salad. The herb salad in particular was fantastic and included peppery, flavorful arugula.

We were torn between three different pizzas and trying to decide which to get. We were about to abandon the corn and shrimp sausage when our server stepped in and strongly suggested that we get it. Boy, are we glad that we listened to her. The shrimp sausage pizza came with corn, basil and smoked parmesan and was incredible. It definitely seems like a pizza that would be best in the summer time, because of the fresh sweet corn. The smoked parmesan had a ricotta-like taste and consistency. As we were eating, I actually thought it was ricotta. The shrimp sausage was a bit lighter than traditional pork sausage and the corn brought a pleasant sweetness to round things out. I honestly cannot pick my favorite topping because they were all in perfect harmony.

Our second pizza was the DOC Margherita, with the traditional Neapolitan ingredients: buffalo mozzarella, San Marzano tomatoes and basil. The char on the pizza from the Marra Forni over was out-of-this world. For a traditional Neapolitan pizza like we had, you want a lot of char.

We were certainly full from our two pizzas, but we could not leave Inferno without getting dessert from the soft-serve machine. The soft-serve of the day was sweet corn with blueberry compote and crumbled cookies. A sweet way to end an excellent meal.

Best Bite
Paul and Marnay: Shrimp Sausage and Corn Pizza

Address
Inferno Pizzeria Napoletana: 12207 Darnestown Road, Darnestown MD 20878
Closest Metro: Shady Grove, then taxi or Uber

Ultimate Jersey Shore Weekend

July 11, 2016February 22, 2017Leave a comment

Saturday

It seems like we travel somewhere at least every weekend during the summer. It’s either to see family or to a wedding or, occasionally…for fun! On Saturday morning, we took an Amtrak train to Philadelphia on our way to visit Marnay’s Mom in Margate, NJ. Margate is on the same barrier island as Atlantic City, just two small towns to the south.

It takes about 2 hours to get to 30th Street Station in Philadelphia. We grabbed a bite to eat in the station and then sat outside at The Porch at 30th ( @theporchat30th ) while we waited for our NJ Transit train. The Porch at 30th is an urban oasis on the formerly barren sidewalk outside the train station. It is a beautiful example of placemaking. They transformed the sidewalk by adding swinging porch chairs, public art, things for little kids to climb and some impressive plants. I would hang out there on my own even if we weren’t waiting for a train.

When we arrived in Atlantic City, we met two college friends and went to Barrels of Margate, your standard Jersey Italian red sauce joint…the kind of place that we grew up with.

Afterwards, we headed to the Ocean City boardwalk. We walked almost the entire thing and made sure to get some famous frozen custard from Kohr Brothers. The ice cream definitely made up for a so-so dinner. We walked some more but at 11:00pm everything shuts down in Ocean City, so we knew it was time to head home.

Sunday

We woke up and walked to get some bagels from Margate Hot Bagels and coffee from Wawa, which are right next to each other on Ventnor Avenue. Ventnor Avenue is the “Main Street” of Margate, Ventor and Atlantic City. I got a sesame bagel with nova and Marnay got an everything with an egg.

Fueled by our bagels, we took a 3 mile walk on the beach to Longport, the next town south. I need to mention how incredible the weather was all weekend. Low 70s with a sea breeze and not too much sun. We could have stayed outside the entire day in this weather.

We decided to have lunch at Aversa’s, an Italian Deli on Ventnor Ave. I got an Italian sub which had amazing housemade bread, but otherwise bland ingredients. The others had meatballs and said that they were not great, either.

After relaxing, we headed for dinner at the Greenhouse, mainly a spot for pizza and drinking. Greenhouse is next to the most famous attraction in Margate, Lucy the Elephant…a 65 foot tall elephant! Lucy was built as a tourist attraction in the 1860s and as a way to generate interest in the area. Today, she is a National Historic Landmark.

Margate is very narrow and has the ocean on the east and the bay on the west. We got delicious ice cream from the Margate Dairy Bar and then walked over to the bay side to enjoy it. We sat on the dock long after we had finished our ice cream and watched an incredible sunset, along with fireworks from the towns on the other side of the bay. It was well after dark when we headed home to the apartment.

Monday

On Monday morning we headed home. We made a quick trip to Wawa for some coffee on the way to the Atlantic City train station and then took NJ Transit to Philadelphia. Once again, we had lunch on the swinging chairs at the Porch at 30th. Then, we took Amtrak back to Union Station. Miraculously, there was no track work on the Red Line and we got a metro to Silver Spring immediately.

The food on our Ultimate Jersey Shore Weekend was only OK. But the scenery and the walks were certainly made it an ultimate weekend! There’s no denying, however, that we were happy to be back in Silver Spring.

Places we visited
The Porch at 30th: 2955 Market St, Philadelphia, PA
Barrels of Margate: 8409 Ventnor Ave, Margate City, NJ 08402
Kohr Brothers: Wonderland Pier, Ocean City Boardwalk North End, Ocean City, NJ 08226
Margate Hot Bagels: 9414 Ventnor Ave, Margate City, NJ 08402
Wawa: 9300 Ventnor Ave, Margate City, NJ 08402
Aversa’s Bakery: 9309 Ventnor Ave, Margate City, NJ 08402
Ventura’s Greenhouse Restaurant: 106 S Benson Ave #106, Margate City, NJ
Margate Dairy Bar: 9510 Ventnor Ave, Margate City, NJ 08402

Ultimate Silver Spring Weekend

July 1, 2016March 20, 2017Leave a comment

Thursday

On Thursday, we headed to one of our favorite bars in Silver Spring, Scion, for their Right Proper Tap Takeover. The event was to celebrate Right Proper’s entry into the Montgomery County market, which is certainly a big deal. The Shaw brewpub just opened up a much larger production brewery in Northeast DC.

The bartender at Scion, Matt, is extremely knowledgeable about beer and a good guy in general. Scion has a huge beer list and I will usually ask his opinion on what to get. The bar is a relaxed place, and the atmosphere was still relaxed even though there was a good crowd for the event. Another thing that Scion has going for it is that it has one of the best patios in Silver Spring, on the large sidewalk fronting East-West Highway. The food at Scion proper is good, but at the bar you can also order bao (Chinese steamed buns) from their sister restaurant, Nainai’s. I think that Nainai’s may be one of the best restaurants in Silver Spring for both quality and value.

Friday

As you know, we are both huge foodies. About three weeks ago, I (Paul) saw one of my favorite food writers mention on twitter that she was at The Classics. I tweeted back and told her that we’ve lived in Silver Spring for two and a half years and had never even considered it…we’re not really into steaks and it didn’t seem like the kind of place we would like. She strongly recommended it, though. She said that she and her husband, who is also a food critic, used to go there every Friday until they moved.

Because of her recommendation, we decided to include it in our #ultimatesilverspringweekend. Boy, are we glad we did. The bartender is this friendly yet curmudgeonly man and he is absolutely perfect for the place. He’s an old fashioned bar tender….the service was amazing, but he also just let us do our thing and didn’t bother us unless we wanted his attention. We ordered a New York Strip Steak, cooked to a perfect medium. As I mentioned earlier, we are not big steak eaters, but we devoured this. It was just the right amount of food for two people to be full afterwards.

We were finished up dinner, getting ready to leave, when guess who walks in? M. Carrie Allan, the Washington Post spirts columnist who I had tweeted at three weeks ago! I froze, starstruck. She came and sat at the other end of the bar. We had already gotten the check at this point but I told the bartender that we had a change of plans. We ordered another drink and who walks in but Tim Carman, the Washington Post food writer who sometimes fills in for Tom Sietesma as head food critic! Alas, we did not get a chance to talk to them. But it just shows what an interesting and fun place Silver Spring is!

Saturday

On Saturdays, first thing upon waking up we like to walk across the street to Bump ‘n Grind. We will normally get two drip coffees to go as well as two biscuits, which are made at La Mano in Takoma Park. We then take the biscuits and make sandwiches with them at home. Bump ‘n Grind has recently starting showing soccer games on a large projector screen, which has drawn crowds the last few times I was there.

Later in the afternoon, we went for a walk to focus on the parks of Silver Spring. We actually went on part of my running route and it was nice to be able to appreciate the scenery instead of flying by. First stop was the surprisingly large Woodside Park, just on the edge of downtown at the corner of Spring and Georgia. Next, we made our way through the Woodside neighborhood to connect with the Sligo Creek Trail, an incredible resource to have so close. We walked all the way to Kemp Mill, basically to the northern end of the trail. Exhausted and hungry, we sat in the parking lot of a shopping center and ate food from CVS, the only thing open. Kemp Mill has a large Orthodox Jewish population, so almost everything was closed on Saturday.

We took the 9 Ride on Bus back to downtown and got some delicious black bass from Whole Foods to cook for dinner. Whole Foods is another great resource to have in walking distance.

Sunday

Sunday was our Pete’s New Haven Apizza day. We ordered three personal pizzas to share so that we would have lots of leftovers for dinner on Monday. We got the Staven, with pepperoni, hot sausage, roasted garlic, caramelized onions and hot cherry peppers, the Margherita and the Merritt Parkway (named after the highway in Connecticut), with prosciutto, Kalamata olives, caramelized onions, basil and olive oil. Mmm, my mouth is watering right now just thinking about the Staven! The Silver Spring food scene is embarrassment of riches. We went to a lot of different restaurants on our Silver Spring weekend, but it would take a lot longer than a weekend to visit all of the good spots.

After we finished, we went home to drop off the pizza and then walked on the Sligo Creek Trail again, this time towards Takoma Park. At Maple Ave, we started walking towards Philadelphia Ave and then hopped on the F4 Metrobus back to Silver Spring. We got off at Veterans Plaza to pick up a few more things at Whole Foods.

We had a lot of fun on our Ultimate Silver Spring Weekend. We learned about some new things, like the Classics, but it also helped us appreciate the things we have nearby and that we may take for granted. Silver Spring is an incredible place and we are happy to call it home!

Places we visited
Scion: 1200 East-West Hwy, Silver Spring, MD 20910
The Classics: 8606 Colesville Rd, Silver Spring, MD 20910
Bump ‘n Grind: 1200 East-West Hwy, Silver Spring, MD 20910
Woodside Park: 8800 Georgia Avenue. Silver Spring, MD 20910
Whole Foods: 833 Wayne Ave, Silver Spring, MD 20910
Pete’s New Haven Style Pizza: 962 Wayne Ave, Silver Spring, MD 20910

Vin 909 Winecafe

May 23, 2016March 29, 2019Leave a comment

On Sunday morning we got a Zipcar and took a day trip to Annapolis. After a day full of walking and light eating, were hungry. That is to say, there was no better place to be in Annapolis than Vin 909. Now, you will have to wait outside before the 5:00pm opening—the restaurant does not take reservations. Still, this is not a Rose’s Luxury type line either. It is very reasonable and it’s no place to shy away from just because there may be a line.

We were one of the first people in line when we arrived at 4:40. As a result, we were able to snag two of the four stools at the chef’s counter, facing the open kitchen. (Interestingly, were seated next to two guys we had been sitting next to at the bar at Preserve a few minutes earlier). Vin 909 has a concise menu and is known for its small plates. In fact, there are no traditional entrée sized dishes on the menu. The choices are salads, small plates and pizzas. I am not sure that the tiny kitchen in this former Sears Craftsman home could handle much more than that.

We started with the local dayboat sea scallops from Cape May with hand ground polenta, pickled ramp puree and sea urchin sauce. The seared scallops were some the best we have ever had, golden on the outside and soft on the inside. The polenta was rich, made even richer by the sea urchin sauce. We had the added benefit of watching our scallops prepared right in front of us.

Vin 909 makes “Eastport” style pizzas, named after the neighborhood of Annapolis where the restaurant is located. This style of pizza is rectangular and extremely thin, with a nice char on the crust. It’s more than enough for two people. We ordered the “OMG”, which looked like the epitome of spring. It had local Berkshire speck, asparagus, spring onion, cumin spiced olives, three types of cheeses and chive oil. Despite seeming like an odd combination, all the ingredients went extremely well together.

Our busy server abandoned us for a while after we finished the pizza, but we were able to order our dessert from one of the runners who came for our plates. There was a lot of teamwork on display among the staff members. It seemed like they genuinely wanted the restaurant to succeed.

We finished up with a light and airy butterscotch pudding, served with homemade caramel cookies for scooping. A sweet end to a delicious meal.

Best Bite
Marnay: the the “OMG” Pizza
Paul: the “OMG” Pizza

Address
Vin 909 Winecafe: 909 Bay Ridge Ave Annapolis, MD 21403

2Amys

January 30, 2016February 22, 2017Leave a comment

We have been to many Neapolitan pizzerias in the regions–It’s easily one of our favorite foods. In fact, this is the third one that we are writing about for this blog. In our opinion, 2Amys is the best all-around Neapolitan pizzeria in the DC area. Relaxed, friendly service, authentic , VPN-certified pizzas and an incredible selection of gourmet small plates.

2Amys is in Cathedral Heights, roughly between Tenleytown and Cleveland Park. The easiest metro station to access it from is Tenleytown. The downstairs dining room gets pretty crowded, so we ate in the more subdued and smaller upstairs dining room. The wine list looked solid and the beer list was short but well-curated. We abstained, as this was a late lunch for us and we were planning on drinking later with dinner. On the flip side is what makes 2Amys special; an extensive list of gourmet small plates.

We chose the salt cured sardines with bread and butter, prosciutto san Danielle and smoked salmon with goat cheese crostini. The salty sardines had no fishy taste at all and they went beautifully with the creamy butter and the crusty bread. The salmon was paired with very mild goat cheese on toast, the same bread as the sardines. The salmon was thicker than normal smoked salmon which gave it a nice chew.

The pizza was a quality Neapolitan pizza, although it was overshadowed by the small plates. That is more a comment on how good the small plates are than a knock on the pizzas. We ate the prosciutto with the pizza, at times together. The prosciutto is not housemade, but it was among the better that we’ve had.

The server gave us absolutely no pressure to order a certain amount of dishes. I wish 2Amys was a little closer, because I have a feeling we will be back very soon!

Best Bite
Paul: Salt cured sardines with bread and butter
Marnay: Smoked salmon and goat cheese crostini

Address
2Amys: 3715 Macomb St NW, Washington, DC 20016
Closest Metro: Cleveland Park

Menomale

November 7, 2015February 22, 2017Leave a comment

On an unseasonably warm Friday night, we dined at Menomale in Brookland. We sat on the restaurant’s sidewalk patio, which can be enclosed but was open on this mild night.
When we first got to the restaurant, we noticed that Ettore, the owner, was there. We watched him the whole time through the window while we sat on the patio. He was so focused, so methodical–we could tell that we were in good hands. Menomale, like Pizzeria Orso, has a VPN certification. For what it’s worth, Menomale got their’s about 2 years before Pizzeria Orso. It takes a strong determination to keep up with all the requirements that come along with making DOC pizzas.

On this warm night, I started the meal out with a Sonoma Anvil Bourbon Cider. The bourbon flavor was interesting, but I found the drink too sweet for my liking. Marnay had a Goose Island Sofie, a saison. Marnay liked it, but wished that it had a little stronger flavor. Neither of us had the Sofie before, and it was a little mild for a Saison.

We were hungry (!), so we started the meal with Prosciutto di Parma e Melone. The prosciutto did not appear to be made in-house, but that did not mean it wasn’t delicious. The salty, nutty meat went perfectly with the slightly cold, sweet cantaloupe. Prosciutto di Parma gets its nutty flavor from the Parmigiano Reggiano whey that is in the pigs’ diets. The dish was served with arugula, grapes and strawberries.

You can’t go to Meomale and not get pizza, so we shared the d’Ettore, or chef’s special. The pizza has fior di latte (cows’ milk mozzarella), cherry tomatoes, arugula, prosciutto di Parma, grana Padano and extra-virgin olive oil. Even though the pizza has a lot going on, it still tasted like one pizza. I can’t say that there was one topping that overpowered the rest. I think that part of this can be attributed to the soft crust on a Neapolitan pizza. New York style pizzas, for example, have lots crust and cheese and are filled with grease whereas Neapolitan pizzas taste cleaner and prevent the toppings from getting lost. Neapolitan pizzas are also healthier than traditional New York pizzas, for the same reasons.

While we were finishing our meal on the patio, it started to pour! Luckily, some employees came and rolled down the windows before we started to get wet. While the rain was unexpected (we didn’t even bother to bring umbrellas), it did not put a damper on our experience. Menomale is a great Neapolitan pizzeria and a very good restaurant overall.

Address
Menomale: 2711 12th St NE, Washington, DC 20018
Closest Metro: either Brookland or Rhode Island Avenue

Pizzeria Orso

October 17, 2015February 22, 2017Leave a comment

We met after work at Farragut Square and took the Orange Line to East Falls Church. After a pit stop at Dominion Wine and Beer to pick up some Cigar City Jai Alai IPA (no idea how Dominion got this stuff, Cigar City doesn’t distribute this far north) and Delirium Tremens, we walked to Pizzeria Orso. Pizzeria Orso is located in an office building in Falls Church City and it is one of our favorite Neapolitan pizzerias in the DC area.

Pizzeria Orso was celebrating receiving its Verace Pizza Napoletana certification. Getting the certification is quite an ordeal. We started the meal with beers. Marnay had the Lost Rhino Faceplant IPA, from Ashburn, VA. It’s October and I had yet to have a pumpkin beer, so I got the Smuttynose Pumpkin Ale. It’s brewed with actual pumpkin puree, which makes for a subtle flavor profile instead of an assault of spice and sweetness. The restaurant did put pumpkin spice on the rim of the glass and normally I would find that a little cheesy, but it was actually a fun touch based on the context of the meal.

Next, we got oven roasted olives with extremely fresh homemade sourdough bread. The olives had been roasted in olive oil and it was fun to dip the bread in the oil, or to make little open-faced sandwiches.

We also got a baby kale salad with pears, hazelnuts and white balsamic. The hazelnuts were our favorite part of this very simple salad, since we rarely see them. They brought a toasted flavor and a good crunch, but did not overpower the remaining ingredients. I think that as a general matter, the simpler the salad the better.

As part of the celebration, the restaurant’s DOC Margherita pizzas were half off! DOC pizzas must be made of 00 flour, San Marzano tomatoes, buffalo mozzarella (made from water buffalo milk), natural yeast and salt. Absolutely nothing else. The dough must be mixed by hand, be no more than 11 inches and then be cooked for 60 to 90 seconds in a 900 degree wood or gas oven. At the end, basil and extra virgin olive oil are added.

We have had lots of DOC certified pizzas over the last two years, but this was the richest, creamiest mozzarella we’d ever had. It made the pizza, in my opinion. The crust had just the right level of char and the middle was soft, as it should be.

We had a great time at Pizzeria Orso. I can see us going after work quite often.

Address
Pizzeria Orso: 400 S Maple Ave, Falls Church, VA 22046
Closest Metro: East Falls Church

Eat Now Run Later

Tag: pizza