Radius

What: Radius Pizzeria
When: 1/14/2014
Where: 3155 Mount Pleasant Street NW, Washington, DC

Mount Pleasant St. is a cozy neighborhood stretch of businesses tucked just enough out of the way that I just recently realized it was there. Fellow club members however were well accustomed to Radius and suggested we go there for our January meeting. The restaurant is on the second level of a row house and immediately warm and welcoming. It felt more casual and neighborhoody than some of the other joints we have visited.  There is a small bar in the back of the restaurant and several tables and a counter area in the front towards the windows and the street. Catherine pointed out liking the rustic and simple decorations, including the mason jar lights hanging down from the ceiling.

The waiter came to take our drink orders, we each ordered a glass of beer, till he asked if we would like a pitcher instead. A PITCHER? Why of course! Thats the type of pizza place I'm used to. Radius was also the first pizzeria that had large pizzas, but we were up to the challenge and still ordered our mandatory two samples. 

The waiter was very helpful and described many of the pizzas for us. When we asked him which were the best he replied, "It's all Gucci" and then later "What you need is Jesus".

We ended up deciding on the Harvard and Ingleside. 

HARVARD
Truffle/Shiitake/Enoki/Mozzarella $19 $22


INGLESIDE
Fresh Mozzarella/Roasted Tomatoes/Roasted Garlic/Basil
$18 $21


We decided the Ingleside was our Margherita pick. 

As again, we were starving we ordered an appetizer of roasted cauliflower, which unfortunately came after the pizza, but they gave it to us free for the delay.

The Pizza turned out to be a tale of two taste buds.

On Crust...
Courtney: "Crust was crispy and stiff, great for eating with our hands. Flavor wasn't a stand out but it did its job of delivering toppings to my mouth."

Jenn: "I didn't really care for their crust, it reminded me of a cracker in a lot of ways...it was a little dry and crackly, not doughy enough for me."

On Sauce…
Catherine: "I loved the sauce. It is exactly the way I like my pizza sauce. Not chucky but smooth. They had enough sauce on the pizza that you knew it was there but it was not overpowering."

Jenn: "Sauce was also just ok, there may have been a little too much of it."

On Toppings…
Catherine: "I thought the roasted garlic was the perfect touch to the Ingleside. It was not overpowering but enough touch to taste it in every bite."

Courtney: "The Ingleside had chopped tomatoes instead of sliced. I liked the added dimension and flavor that added. There was plenty of basil that was sliced. There was ton of roasted garlic all over the pizza, which added a light garlic flavor, but it was not overwhelming. The Harvard had three types of mushroom flavor, including truffle oil which added a delicious taste. The shitake mushrooms were also delicious."

Jenn: "The margherita was more like a cheese pizza, it didn't taste that fresh to me and was super salty. The specialty pizza was better, a little more interesting at least."

Pizza 1: Margherita Pizza (Ingleside)
Catherine- Pizza pie oh my!
Jenn- Quarter pie
Courtney- Half pie


Pizza 2: Harvard
Catherine- Half pie 
Jenn- Half pie 
Courtney- Pizza pie oh my!


We all agreed that it is best for hanging out on a weeknight with friends, but couldn't put our finger on an It Factor. I say the pizza size!