Restaurant: We the Pizza (http://wethepizza.com/)
Location: Capitol Hill
Total Rating: 3.1
Food: 3, Price: 3, Service: 3, Ambience: 3, Accessibility: 5
Summary: The newest pizza place to hit Capitol Hill from Top Chef alum Chef Spike is conveniently located right next door to his first place, Good Stuff Eatery. Boasting real Italian style pizzas, sandwiches, salads, and sodas using fresh ingredients, We the Pizza is a casual spot to walk in a grab a slice or a whole pie. Closest Metro is Capitol South.
After reading the mixed reviews and hearing all the local buzz about the place, we decided to try We the Pizza one night a couple weeks ago, only to find the place randomly closed. Just a paper sign hung on the door, forcing many who came to try the pizza to walk next door and have a burger instead. So when we went back I was happy to see that they were indeed open and the line was not that long. Surprisingly crowded outside on the front patio, there is plenty of seating upstairs, where you can wait with the buzzer until your order is ready. For our first visit, we wanted to sample different flavors, so we ordered 4 slices to share. At $4 a slice, it is much more economical to order a whole pie for $16. The mushroom pizza definitely stood out from the rest. The sausage and peppers was a cloase second, but the plain cheese was just ok. Even though the dough is perfectly thin and crisp, the crust is way too large and poofy - almost as if they used too much dough to begin with and kneaded only the middle parts leaving the extra pillows on the edge. Kind of a waste in our opinions. The sauce was tasty, but the herbs were lacking on most of the red pizzas - yet very prominent on the white pies. We also tried the fresh ginger root soda for $3 and it was ok, most likely would not order it again. Their menu also lists gelato, but I did not see it or anyone with it, so not sure what the deal with that is. Overall, Chef Spike has started to monopolize this little strip along Pennsylvania Avenue SE and is a smart decision on his part. The two casual dining spots aim to the younger Intern crowd as well as to the local cops who need to grab something to eat while on shift. I would be happy to see Chef Spike challenge himself more though and open an actual fine dining restaurant in our Nation's Capitol - now that would be a true Top Chef elimination challenge!
What I ate:
Simple Cheese
tomato sauce, mozzarella, fresh Italian oregeno
Sausage and Peppers
tomato sauce, mozzarella, homemade Italian sausage, oven-roasted peppers, fennel seed, fresh basil
Salami
tomato sauce, mozzarella, bianco di oro salami, fresh oregeno
Forest Shroomin
Wild forest mushrooms, truffles, mozzarella, fresh thyme
