Believe it or not, I've been in DC for nearly 2 years and never eaten at 2 Amys until a few nights ago. This neapolitan-style pizzeria has been a subject of discussion on nearly every DC foodie blog that I've ever read. So it only seemed appropriate, now that I've started a blog of my own, and because my husband has been pestering me about it for months, to finally visit 2 Amys to see what all the fuss is about. Conclusion? It's a solid pizza joint, no doubt, but I'm not quite convinced it will replace Pizzeria Paradiso as my go-to pizza parlor anytime soon. Here's what I thought:
The salt cod croquettes were pretty good, but the exterior shell was a bit tough. I think the problem was that they were rolled in cornmeal/polenta that was too coarse and left in the fryer too long. The result was an overly hardened crust that left my jaw worn out even before the main course. Fortunately, the interior was precisely the opposite, creamy and nicely seasoned.
The pizza was very good, though I prefer Pizzeria Paradiso's rendition of sausage and peppers because of the ingredients: (1) they use mozzerella instead of fontina cheese (a little less greasy, which is nice when paired with sausage); (2) the peppers are fresh instead of roasted (it makes the whole pizza taste fresher and feel a lot lighter); and (3) the sausage has more complex seasoning. 2 Amys does win out, however, in terms of dough --- just the right amount of chewiness and char and a little softer/moister than Pizzeria Paradiso's dough. I would imagine that the actual dough recipes are quite similar; it just seems like 2 Amys cooks its pizzas on higher heat for a shorter period of time, which creates a crunchy crust that is still tender.
My favorite part of the meal was the almond cake --- moist, nutty, and absolutely scrumptious. As you can see, the restaurant serves it with a small scoop of vanilla ice cream and smothers it with sour cherries soaked in liquor. My biggest complaint about desserts in general is that they're too sugary, but this cake was not like that at all. In fact, most of the sweetness from this whole ensemble comes from the ice cream.
As for everything else . . . the beer selection is more limited than Pizzeria Paradiso's and the ambiance is so-so --- there were screaming children and the acoustics in the room made it particularly difficult to have a conversation (Pizzeria Paradiso is also loud, but more so because of the number of people and less so because of the room itself). I also found myself wanting a booster chair to reach the table because the chairs were too short. All-in-all I felt very satisfied after the meal, but didn't find myself super excited to go back.
