What: Pizzeria Paradiso
When: 10/15/13
Where: 2003 P Street NW Washington, DC
For our second meeting of pizza club we went to an oldie but goodie of The District, Pizzeria Paradiso. I remember going 10 years ago to the Georgetown location and enjoying their sangria with a specialty pizza. Ten years later, I was excited to see if anything had changed. We decided to go to the Pizzeria Paradiso right off of Dupont Circle. All four of us were able to make it this time so, I guess we can say that this is the FIRST full member pizza club experience. Courtney and I arrived first and put our name on the list. We sat at the bar and decided to each get a beer. There were a wide selection of beers and the bartenders were helpful in guiding us on our beer selection based on our perferences. Courtney and I were both pleased with our selection and quickly started catching up on our week. Soon, Jenn and Becky arrived and we were able to sit at our table right away. The bar area was small so it was hard to move around and get by. Becky stated that taking the bus from Columbia Heights was easy and there was a bus stop right across the street from the restuarant. Courtney, Jenn and I live in the Dupont area so it was a quick walk to the restuarant. The atmosphere was friendly with dim lighting. They had an outdoor space with heaters which was packed despite the cold. Courtney wrote, "Dark intimate lighting. Friendly host who remembered us from earlier. Helpful bartender and friendly people at the bar while we waited." The entire staff was nice and helpful, but the waiter seemed very busy and did not check in on us very often. We decided to order their seasonal pizza, which was the Autumn Special, and a margherita. The Autumn Special had pumpkin pesto and smoked bacon.
Courtney's thoughts: The crust was, "sturdy, I liked that it didnt get soggy under the sauce. You could hold it with one hand. It kept flavor and had the perfect brownness without any charring." The sauce was, "not very standout in a good or bad way. Did it's part but no special flavor." Toppings, "the cheese was underwhelming. The pumpkin puree and bacon was delicious."
Jenn's thoughts: The crust was, "a good thickness...not too thick/not too thin. it was soft, cooked through well and easy to chew." The margarita was good, the specialty pizza's bacon pieces really overpowered the other flavors, but it tasted good, just not what I expected." Jenn was sick and stated that her taste buds were off but she liked the pumpkin/garlicy spread on the specialty pizza. "The margherita sauce seemed okay, I guess, but I didnt think there was enough of it in the ratio with the toppings."
My thoughts: "The crust was good. I dipped it into olive oil with parmesan cheese and ate it all. I was not wowed by it but I didn't hate it. I do not like tomato chucks so this sauce was not my favorite. After I took the tomato chucks off I felt like the tomato sauce did not have any flavor. The basil on the cheese pizza was the perfect touch and I welcomed every bite that had basil, wish there was more. The bacon on the speciality pizza was great, cooked perfectly and had the right amount of smokiness."
Pizza 1: Margherita Pizza
Catherine- Quarter Pie
Jenn- Half Pie
Courtney- Half Pie
Pizza 2: Autumn Specialty Pizza
Catherine- Two Slices
Jenn- Half pie
Courtney- Pizza Pie oh My!
Best for:
Catherine-Girl Talk
Jenn-Meet up with a group of friends
Courtney-Great pizza with friends or a low key date
IT factor:
Catherine- the beer list and helpfulness of the bartenders
Jenn- Great selection of beers!
Courtney- Beer selection
**Seems that the beer selection was more of a hit for us than the pizza**
Thinking back to my opinions of Pizzeria Paradiso from ten years ago I have realized that there were not too many pizza restaurants in DC to compare Pizzeria Paradiso too. I think that is why I thought so highly of it back then. Now that there are pizza restaurants everywhere in DC (Im pretty sure there are enough in DC to keep our pizza club going well into our 90s!). Overall I think Pizzeria Paradiso is a place where you can go if you want to catch up with your friends and have average pizza with a great beer. I didn't hate the pizza but not rushing to go back there.
When: 10/15/13
Where: 2003 P Street NW Washington, DC
For our second meeting of pizza club we went to an oldie but goodie of The District, Pizzeria Paradiso. I remember going 10 years ago to the Georgetown location and enjoying their sangria with a specialty pizza. Ten years later, I was excited to see if anything had changed. We decided to go to the Pizzeria Paradiso right off of Dupont Circle. All four of us were able to make it this time so, I guess we can say that this is the FIRST full member pizza club experience. Courtney and I arrived first and put our name on the list. We sat at the bar and decided to each get a beer. There were a wide selection of beers and the bartenders were helpful in guiding us on our beer selection based on our perferences. Courtney and I were both pleased with our selection and quickly started catching up on our week. Soon, Jenn and Becky arrived and we were able to sit at our table right away. The bar area was small so it was hard to move around and get by. Becky stated that taking the bus from Columbia Heights was easy and there was a bus stop right across the street from the restuarant. Courtney, Jenn and I live in the Dupont area so it was a quick walk to the restuarant. The atmosphere was friendly with dim lighting. They had an outdoor space with heaters which was packed despite the cold. Courtney wrote, "Dark intimate lighting. Friendly host who remembered us from earlier. Helpful bartender and friendly people at the bar while we waited." The entire staff was nice and helpful, but the waiter seemed very busy and did not check in on us very often. We decided to order their seasonal pizza, which was the Autumn Special, and a margherita. The Autumn Special had pumpkin pesto and smoked bacon.
Courtney's thoughts: The crust was, "sturdy, I liked that it didnt get soggy under the sauce. You could hold it with one hand. It kept flavor and had the perfect brownness without any charring." The sauce was, "not very standout in a good or bad way. Did it's part but no special flavor." Toppings, "the cheese was underwhelming. The pumpkin puree and bacon was delicious."
Jenn's thoughts: The crust was, "a good thickness...not too thick/not too thin. it was soft, cooked through well and easy to chew." The margarita was good, the specialty pizza's bacon pieces really overpowered the other flavors, but it tasted good, just not what I expected." Jenn was sick and stated that her taste buds were off but she liked the pumpkin/garlicy spread on the specialty pizza. "The margherita sauce seemed okay, I guess, but I didnt think there was enough of it in the ratio with the toppings."
My thoughts: "The crust was good. I dipped it into olive oil with parmesan cheese and ate it all. I was not wowed by it but I didn't hate it. I do not like tomato chucks so this sauce was not my favorite. After I took the tomato chucks off I felt like the tomato sauce did not have any flavor. The basil on the cheese pizza was the perfect touch and I welcomed every bite that had basil, wish there was more. The bacon on the speciality pizza was great, cooked perfectly and had the right amount of smokiness."
Pizza 1: Margherita Pizza
Catherine- Quarter Pie
Jenn- Half Pie
Courtney- Half Pie
Pizza 2: Autumn Specialty Pizza
Catherine- Two Slices
Jenn- Half pie
Courtney- Pizza Pie oh My!
Best for:
Catherine-Girl Talk
Jenn-Meet up with a group of friends
Courtney-Great pizza with friends or a low key date
IT factor:
Catherine- the beer list and helpfulness of the bartenders
Jenn- Great selection of beers!
Courtney- Beer selection
**Seems that the beer selection was more of a hit for us than the pizza**
Thinking back to my opinions of Pizzeria Paradiso from ten years ago I have realized that there were not too many pizza restaurants in DC to compare Pizzeria Paradiso too. I think that is why I thought so highly of it back then. Now that there are pizza restaurants everywhere in DC (Im pretty sure there are enough in DC to keep our pizza club going well into our 90s!). Overall I think Pizzeria Paradiso is a place where you can go if you want to catch up with your friends and have average pizza with a great beer. I didn't hate the pizza but not rushing to go back there.
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