In D.C., non-circular pizzas are nothing new. Thick, saucy, square pies are on the menu at Sonny’s Pizza in Park View, and thinner slices come out of the kitchen at Ledo’s Pizza (which famously “never cuts corners“). And then there are the oval-shaped options at fast-growing homegrown chain &pizza.

Emily Hyland also doesn’t discriminate when it comes to pizza shape. Her first NYC restaurant, Pizza Loves Emily, specializes in round pies with thin crusts, and at her most recent, Violet, asymmetrical pizzas are cooked on the grill and divvied up with scissors. But at her chain Emmy Squared, which arrives in D.C. this month with a location in Shaw, the pizzas are quite different. Served up as high school yearbook-sized slabs, they’re topped with off-the-wall flavor combinations layered on an airy, focaccia-style crust.

“There’s no right or wrong in pizza land,” Hyland tells DCist. “Those, I feel, are arbitrary social constructions that were designed to believe in.”

When Emmy started in 2016, Hyland and her then-husband were just trying to recreate the pizza they grew up with: thick-crust, square pies cooked in pans. Only later did they learn that they were mimicking Detroit-style pizza (a style that’s been in vogue in D.C. for the past few months). Their restaurant came after a long period in which the spare Neapolitan pie had reigned in the public consciousness, and earned instant acclaim. The chain has since ballooned to seven locations in New York, Nashville, and now D.C. (with another set to open in Navy Yard sometime this year). It joins a series of recent NYC exports to the District, including Mexicue, the forthcoming Vin Sur Vingt, and the short-lived Meatball Shop and Beetle House.

Though D.C. has more square pizza options than it used to, they’re not all created equal. Like the grandma-style pizza, a Detroit pie like Emmy’s is baked in a pan, and boasts a fairly thicker crust. Unlike nearly all other pizza styles, Detroiters fill the toppings all the way to the edge, for a cheesy, caramelized crust that crisps up in the oven. They also do things toppings-first, followed by sauce draped on in parallel lines down the length of the pie.

At Emmy, those topping-sauce combinations range from the traditional (basil and burrata, or a sausage and peppers-topped pie) to the eyebrow-raising (a white pizza layered with green tomatoes, bacon, and dollops of pimento cheese is particularly indulgent). At $11-$20 each, they’re pretty hearty—a pie and a sandwich or appetizer could easily feed two. The bar is also relatively modestly priced: a small selection of signature cocktails are $10 each, beers are $7-$9, and glasses of wine start at $9.

Each city that’s home to an Emmy gets a signature dish: D.C.’s is a pie topped with, of course, mumbo sauce—or at least “a sweet and sour tangy sauce that is in the vein of mumbos,” as Hyland puts it—along with fried chicken, blue cheese, and red onions. (A wedge salad topped with Nashville hot chicken tenders also makes an appearance in D.C., imported from the chain’s two Tennessee locations.)

It’s not all pizzas: The mumbo-ish “EC Shaw” sauce comes slathered on wings, and a pile of waffle fries is topped with chopped cheese, a New York nod. Emmy also brings its beloved burger—which has won a handful of Best Burger titles—to this new location. The Big Mac-inspired Le Big Matt is crowned with American cheese, a special sauce, lettuce, and pickles on a pretzel bun. “Honestly, you can do very well eating at our restaurant without pizza,” Hyland says.

The food may be casual, but the space—inherited from now-closed French-Asian restaurant Kyirisan—is definitely not. The pizzeria inherits design elements of its former tenant: plush sapphire booths, angular ceilings (whose height can make nearby chatter feel deafening at times), and a central community table. “We are very much a restaurant as opposed to, like, a pizza place,” Hyland says. “We’re a sit-down, full-service dining experience. … We want the aesthetic of the environment to feel warm and welcoming and be a nice place to eat in.”

Shaw’s location is the first Emmy to offer late-night hours, much like its new night-owl neighbors Roy Boys and Gogi Yogi. There are also weekend brunch hours and a happy hour with half-priced drinks. Hyland is waiting to see how and when the pizza-hungry of D.C. come to her new restaurant.

“We have a vision in terms of what Emmy Squared is, but how it evolves and shows itself in each new neighborhood is unique, because of the differing demands of the folks who live there and what they seek,” Hyland says. “So perhaps this one will turn into crazy brunch service … or that our late night really is something that we’re noted for. And we’re totally cool with that.”

Emmy Squared is located at 1924 8th St. NW. Open Wednesdays and Thursdays 4 p.m.-11 p.m., Fridays 4 p.m.-1 a.m., Saturdays 11 a.m.-1 p.m., and Sundays 11 a.m.-10 p.m.

1.10.20 Dc Emmysquaredpizza by wamu885 on Scribd