First Look: Pete's Apizza
New Haven-style pizza is now at a Metro stop near you - well, just one, off of the Green line. Located a stone's throw from the Columbia Heights metro station, Pete's Apizza (pronounced Pete's "ah-BEETs", not like those Little Caesar commercials) is the latest addition to the neighborhood's housing and retail revival/explosion. Pete's serves up the trademark thin, chewy-crispy crusted pie, along with a selection of salads, paninis, pastas, and gelato from Dolcezza in Georgetown.
For those unfamiliar with New Haven-style pizza, an introduction on the Columbia Heights News website by co-owner Mark Wilkinson offers some background:
Short version: New Haven Apizza is an outgrowth of the Italian-American community that settled in the New Haven area in the early 20th century. It reveres the Italian food culture of fresh ingredients, simple construction, and unpretentious presentation.Many people think New Haven pizza is all about coal as a heat source. Not entirely true, although the most famous New Haven pizzerias do use coal-fired ovens. Our absolute favorite New Haven pizza is actually found in East Haven in a restaurant named Grande Apizza, where they fire the pizza in a gas-fired oven, like we do ...
On opening night this past Monday, Pete's was handling brisk sit down and take out business. All orders are placed and paid for at the counter, which provides guests with a clear view of the open kitchen and gigantic metal pizza oven. Pizza is available by the slice ($2.50 to $3.25) or you can order a whole 18" pie ($18 to $24). Patrons can get creative with a dazzling selection of seventeen different toppings. Some of the more unusual choices include fried eggplant, grilled artichokes, asparagus, and house-made sausage. Most notably, Pete's allows diners to not only design their own pizza, but also design their own slice. Unfortunately, the menu in Pete's is so small, it is nearly impossible to read the list of toppings unless you are standing directly under the sign. Diners lacking 20/15 vision should grab a take out menu at the door and read it while in line.
Pete's also features four signature pizzas, plus a gluten-free pizza (celiacs rejoice!). The Sorbillo ($8) is much like a cross between a pizza and a calzone. Puffy, rectangular slabs of dough are stuffed with salami, ricotta and buffalo mozzarella, and topped with tomato sauce and an extra cheese. The Down-the-Hill ($24) is an upscale take on several classic toppings: meatball, house-made sausage, caramelized onions, roasted peppers, wild mushrooms, and Kalamata olives. Pete's also has two white pizzas, including the New Haven signature: clam pizza, which we ordered as a full pie over the individual slices that had been sitting out on the counter for a few minutes. We also ordered a small Olivada salad ($4/$8) upon the recommendation of the cashier.
Within five minutes, a confused-looking server arrived at our table holding the salad and a single slice of clam pizza, which may have been a mistake, because it took another half hour before receiving the New Haven pizza. However, the Olivada salad tied us over very well. The dressing, a mixture of Kalamata olives, garlic, and oil, was earthly and faintly pungent. This paired nicely with the sweetness of oven-roasted tomatoes, creamy Caprino (a very mild, soft goat cheese), and crunchy toasted pine nuts. Overall, a very well balanced salad despite being the most adventurous of Pete's salads.
After much anticipation, our giant New Haven clam pie arrived at the table. Big, crusty triangles were loaded with bits of sea salty clam. Combined with the bracing Pecorino Romano, this pizza is not recommended for those with high blood pressure. The flavor is bold, and the texture is a bit dry, chewy and pleasantly burnt, particularly along the crispy edges. The crunchy edges are so tasty that we wish the oven were hotter. The center of the pizza pales in comparison; it is a little too chewy and without more browning, the saltiness of the cheese and clam overpowers the oregano, garlic and olive oil. However, the tables at Pete's come equipped with shakers of Parmesan, red pepper flakes, and herbs, and we discover that the pizza is much improved with the addition of extra herbs.
For dessert, Pete's offers several classic Italian treats, including cookies, about a dozen different flavors of gelato or sorbet, tiramisu and a chocolate hazelnut bar. The bar ($4.25) is a decadent layer of dark chocolate with cookie and nut bits, follow by chocolate mousse, and topped with white chocolate ganache and hazelnuts. The deeply intense chocolate flavor is enhanced by a light sprinkling of sea salt. While the flavors of this dessert are sophisticated, the construction and presentation leave a little something to be desired. The bar is prepared in advance and refrigerated, arriving at the table on a cold plate. Left to its own devices in the fridge, the ganache congealed into a semi-solid mass that is, ironically, reminiscent of melted mozzarella cheese. Meanwhile, the bottom layer was so hard that I had to grip my fork with both hands and drive it into the chocolate like I was wielding a medieval weapon. While very tasty, the bar should not go straight from refrigerator to table. Rounding out their selection, Pete's also has a full espresso bar and serves high quality Illy coffee, as well as Harney and Sons tea.
Pete's motto is "It's not just pizza, it's 'ah-BEETS.'" Indeed, Pete's is more than just tasty pizza. It is clear that the owners have put careful thought into the food. The other courses are genuinely good and thoughtfully conceived; they are not throwaway dishes that have be tacked on to round out a lop-sided menu. Although there are already several well-established pizza restaurants in the area (including Red Rocks, located only a few blocks away), nearly all of them specialize in traditional Italian brick oven pizza. By specializing in New Haven-style, Pete's brings some variety to the D.C. pizza landscape, and, unlike Jumbo Slice, their pizza by the slice is worth ordering even when sober.
Pizza by the slice is $2.50 to $3.25; whole pizzas are $18 to $24. Starters are $4 to $9, entrees are $8 to $11, and desserts are $4 to $6. The owners also note that beer and wine are soon to come.
Pete's Apizza
1400 Irving Street NW
Washington, DC 20009
202-332-PETE (7383)
Metro: Columbia Heights
Hours
Sunday - Thursday: 11 a.m. - 10 p.m.
Friday - Saturday: 11 a.m. - 11 p.m.