What: Homemade Pizza Co.
Where: 1522 14th St NW, Washington, DC
When: April 30, 2014
For our April meeting of Pizza club we decided to pick up two pizzas from Homemade Pizza Co. and bake and eat them at my apartment a few blocks away. Jenn and Becky arrived early to gossip about pizza and drink wine. Catherine swooped in just in time for pizza.
I had two bottles of wine in house (ok apartment) and we decided they would do. I pulled out my wine opener, which is a tiny travel opener that has always worked in the past (even though I usually have to put the bottle of wine between my legs and pull with all my might). Well this time I just couldn't get the wine open. Becky always the strong one tried and also couldn't get the cork to budge. As this being a very important pizza club situation, Becky set off down the hall knocking on doors for someone with a more substantial opener. Luckily one of my neighbors opened their door and opened our wine.
Per usual we ordered a margherita pizza and their specialty pizza. Homemade Pizza Co. is like a Papa Murphy's and if you've never been to either... its like a take and bake. When you order they assemble your pizzas and you take them home to bake them. Jenn was nice enough to pick up the pizzas and we just slid them off the cardboard and on to my oven racks to bake.
The instructions were straight forward and the pizzas turned out great.
But this wouldn't be Pizza 'Pinions if our criticism ended there...
Our crust opinions ran the gamut, Jenn thought it was "pretty good actually, it cooks up nicely, still gives me a chewy factor in the middle". Catherine was more reserve saying it "was fine. It was average to me. i usually like to dip my crust in olive oil but this crust just didn't seem dip worthy." and I wasn't impressed, it was thin and crispy, but a little floppy.
Through this journey of pizzaploration I've learned that most places do not put enough into their sauce. Where sauce could be a place for flavor explosion many just taste like canned tomatoes. Thats what Catherine and I felt about Homemade Pizza's sauce. Jenn had a more positive spin, saying she liked it on the Margherita, but thought the specialty pie didn't have enough.
The Specialty pizza was a white cheesy pie, it was supposed to have some other toppings but they were very sparingly applied. Jenn summed the toppings up best- "The specialty pizza seriously lacked in toppings - if it's your specialty, make it special. C'mon guys. You're better than that. Plus, it was WAYYY to cheesy. I felt kinda ill after one slice and only wanted the Margherita after that."
Pizza 1: Margherita Pizza
Catherine- Two slices
Jenn- Half pie
Courtney- Two slices
Pizza 2: Specialty White Pizza
Catherine- One slice
Jenn- One slice
Courtney- One slice
We all loved the atmosphere of my apartment. Everyone saying it was fabulous, comfy and cozy (aww thanks guys!). Its best for movie night or when you are to tired to cook. Its a great substitute when you want something quick, but better than frozen pizza.
Post script: Almost exactly a month after we 'pinionated about Homemade Pizza Co. they closed all of their outlets. I discovered this while strolling by one evening and its been verified. So sadly even if you wanted to try the specialty pie... you can't.
Thursday, July 10, 2014
Red Rocks
What: Red Rocks in Columbia Heights
When: 05/27/14
Where: 1036 Park Rd NW, Washington, DC 20010
For our May meeting of pizza club we went to Red Rocks in Columbia Heights. Jenn was sick and unable to come. It was DOWN POURING but I found a rock star (right in front) parking spot. I was surprised because usually finding parking is tough. That area of Columbia Heights is one of my favorite spots. It is tucked away from the hussel and bussel of the Columbia Heights Metro area where the retail shops are. It is home to Wonderland (a must for all DC residences), Meridia Pint, El Chucho and one of my personal all times favorites Room 11. It sets the perfect atmosphere for a lovely, relaxing evening with friends. The Red Rocks in Columbia Heights has outdoor seating, which would have been perfect if it was not raining. Inside there is dim lighting (as you can tell from the pictures) and the atmosphere was inviting. For me, it felt like I was sitting at the table of a friend family's log cabin in the Shanendoah's.
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Our waiter was terrific. He was attentive and helped us out when we did not know what to order. He sold us on the beet salad appetizer. FYI, this is after we ate half of it. It comes out looking more professional
We were there on a Tuesday and it turns out that every Tuesday they have 30% off Belgium ales. The waiter helped me choose one based on other beers that I like. The beers listed were ones that I had not heard of.
Okay now to the pizza. We got two pizzas and it was perfect for the three of us (along with the beet salad as an appetizer). We ordered our usual Margherita pizza and we decided on the Fungi Pizza for our specialty pizza.
Courtney's comments on crust, toppings and sauce:
Catherine's comments on crust, toppings and sauce:
"The crust was very thin. When I went to pick up the magharita pizza the cheese fell right off because the crust was so thin. The crust that you pick the pizza up with on the other hand was soft and fluffy. It was perfect for dipping into olive oil and parmesean cheese. The funghi pizza was a white pizza so there was not really a sauce. The margarita's sauce had a great texture. it was smooth and I felt like they also put the perfect amount on. It could have used some garlic. I am new to the mushroom thing. I am starting to like mushrooms but I never liked the texture of mushrooms. I felt like these mushrooms had a tough texture. The onions were the best part. They were very flavorful and complimented the cheese well."
Pizza 1: Margherita Pizza
Courtney- One slice
Catherine- Two slices
Pizza 2: Specialty Funghi
Courtney- Half pie
Catherine- Half pie
Overall- I think that we were underwhelmed. I wrote in my notes that the best part of the whole experience, minus being in the company of friends, was the onions on the funghi pizza. When you start talking about a single topping as the selling point to a pizza place you know that it is a place that you will not be recommending to other or going back to.
*side note-I moved to NE and there is a Red Rocks on H street that delivers. I keep wanting to like Red Rocks but at the end of the day it is not great for the price and size of their pizzas. They do have a great roof deck on H street which is a plus. Onions and roof decks , if that is what you are looking for in your pizza place then Red Rocks is for you.
When: 05/27/14
Where: 1036 Park Rd NW, Washington, DC 20010
For our May meeting of pizza club we went to Red Rocks in Columbia Heights. Jenn was sick and unable to come. It was DOWN POURING but I found a rock star (right in front) parking spot. I was surprised because usually finding parking is tough. That area of Columbia Heights is one of my favorite spots. It is tucked away from the hussel and bussel of the Columbia Heights Metro area where the retail shops are. It is home to Wonderland (a must for all DC residences), Meridia Pint, El Chucho and one of my personal all times favorites Room 11. It sets the perfect atmosphere for a lovely, relaxing evening with friends. The Red Rocks in Columbia Heights has outdoor seating, which would have been perfect if it was not raining. Inside there is dim lighting (as you can tell from the pictures) and the atmosphere was inviting. For me, it felt like I was sitting at the table of a friend family's log cabin in the Shanendoah's.
.
Our waiter was terrific. He was attentive and helped us out when we did not know what to order. He sold us on the beet salad appetizer. FYI, this is after we ate half of it. It comes out looking more professional
We were there on a Tuesday and it turns out that every Tuesday they have 30% off Belgium ales. The waiter helped me choose one based on other beers that I like. The beers listed were ones that I had not heard of.
Okay now to the pizza. We got two pizzas and it was perfect for the three of us (along with the beet salad as an appetizer). We ordered our usual Margherita pizza and we decided on the Fungi Pizza for our specialty pizza.
"Eh. The margherita was forgettable. The crust was so thin it couldn't support the pizza. Then we got a Funghi, I liked it a lot more. It had caramelized onions which were delicious and the mushrooms had good flavor.
We got olive oil to dip the crusts in, which made them delicious too, but we all were using all the toppings, so you know that means there was something missing with the pizza dough, just didn't have much flavor."
Catherine's comments on crust, toppings and sauce:
"The crust was very thin. When I went to pick up the magharita pizza the cheese fell right off because the crust was so thin. The crust that you pick the pizza up with on the other hand was soft and fluffy. It was perfect for dipping into olive oil and parmesean cheese. The funghi pizza was a white pizza so there was not really a sauce. The margarita's sauce had a great texture. it was smooth and I felt like they also put the perfect amount on. It could have used some garlic. I am new to the mushroom thing. I am starting to like mushrooms but I never liked the texture of mushrooms. I felt like these mushrooms had a tough texture. The onions were the best part. They were very flavorful and complimented the cheese well."
 |
| Becky with Funghi pizza |
Courtney- One slice
Catherine- Two slices
Pizza 2: Specialty Funghi
Courtney- Half pie
Catherine- Half pie
Overall- I think that we were underwhelmed. I wrote in my notes that the best part of the whole experience, minus being in the company of friends, was the onions on the funghi pizza. When you start talking about a single topping as the selling point to a pizza place you know that it is a place that you will not be recommending to other or going back to.
*side note-I moved to NE and there is a Red Rocks on H street that delivers. I keep wanting to like Red Rocks but at the end of the day it is not great for the price and size of their pizzas. They do have a great roof deck on H street which is a plus. Onions and roof decks , if that is what you are looking for in your pizza place then Red Rocks is for you.
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