For those of us who are old enough to recall Seinfeld being the most groundbreaking comedy to hit the tube in the 90s, who could forget Kramer's brilliant idea of pitching a business where one makes their own pizza pies customized to their own particular whim and fancy?
Kramer: I'm telling you, people really want to make their own pizza pie.
Jerry: I can't imagine anyone, in any walk of life, under any circumstance, wanting to make their own pizza pie -- but that's me.
Kramer: One day, you'll beg me to make your own pie.
Folks, that day has arrived @ &pizza, with its seventh location in the DMV in Springfield Town Center and several more locations slated to pop up. While I tend to approach semi-fast food joints focused on customizable dishes with caution since it's easy to label them as a "[insert ethnic cuisine] version of Chipotle", I don't think that label quite does this place justice since &pizza goes the extra mile with little touches in quality without compromising value and efficiency. Located at the front entrance of the mall, it is easy to access and even though the dining space is not too large, the long communal tables provide ample room to pack in more people and encouraging smells of everyone's personal pizza creations to be wafted amongst each other.
Onto more important things, namely the pizza. One has the choice of 3 types of dough including a gluten-free option, 8 sauces including standards such as tomato and pesto while also veering into innovative ones such as mushroom truffle and red chickpea, and choice of 3 cheeses (housemade mozzarella, 4 cheese blend, and a vegan mozzarella) which can be mixed together on request. There is a plethora of fresh toppings that can then be added at this point including the usual suspects as well as farm fresh eggs, falafel crumbles, and shrimp. The pizza passes through a conveyer belt oven and one then has the option to apply finishing touches ranging from the traditional (parmesan reggiano, arugula, capers) to more adventurous drizzles of fig marsala, pineapple salsa, or tsasiki yogurt. I'll admit that pizza purists may shun this place and argue these pies tiptoe dangerously on the border of being mediterranean flatbreads, but if one were to close their eyes and take a bite, the crust can easily be mistaken for a decent Neopolitan crust with blistery pockets of dough and charred edges and a nice toothsome texture with just the right balance of structure and bite. For those who have traveled to Seattle, I would compare these to a poor man's Serious Pie. My advice for first-timers is to keep it simple rather than going crazy with too many toppings paired with finishing touches that may not necessarily harmonize together. For the indecisive, they have some signature combinations to keep one's head from exploding. Bonus points for their fountain drink section with homemade sodas including pear/fig, mango/passion fruit, burdock/anise rootbeer, and ginger/berry lemonade as well as a downloadable app that incentivizes loyal customers.
Fortunately one does not have to shove one's own arms into a six hundred degree oven or worry about the guy pounding the dough not washing his hands, but @ &pizza one can make some serious artisanal pies for under 10 bucks that would garner Cosmo Kramer's "giddyup" of approval. read more