A Meal's Moving Parts
A wood-burning oven and a conveyor belt play starring roles at two local eateries
* 1/2 Mia's Pizzas
4926 Cordell Ave., Bethesda
301-718-6427
Open: Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Friday and Saturday 11:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. Closed Monday. All major credit cards. Smoking on the patio. Metro: Bethesda. Street parking. Prices: appetizers $3.75 to $9.75; pizzas $7.95 to $12.95; entrees $13.95 to $16.95. Full dinner with wine or beer, tax and tip $35 to $45 per person.
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** Wasabi
908 17th St. NW. 202-822-2005
www.wasabisushi.com
Open: takeout Monday through Friday 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.; lunch Monday through Friday 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.; dinner Monday though Friday 5 to 9 p.m. Closed Saturday and Sunday. All major credit cards. Street parking. Metro: Farragut West or Farragut North. Prices: $2 to $5 per dish. Full dinner with wine or beer, tax and tip about $35 per person.
THE WOOD-BURNING, igloo-size oven in the back of Mia's Pizzas in Bethesda seems familiar, and so does the baked dough that emerges from it. The crust is thin, with a fine yeasty flavor, and a top and bottom that show signs of having been gently licked by flames. When I close my eyes and chew, my thoughts turn to Georgetown's Pizzeria Paradiso, which is where the owner and namesake of Mia's Pizzas, veteran chef Melissa Ballinger, worked for about a year before venturing out on her own.
Squeezed between a sports bar and a Vietnamese restaurant, the new pizzeria is somewhat hidden. But that hasn't stopped the masses from descending on the place, which might be the most cheerful pizza parlor in the area. The room is trim and tidy, with floors of knotty pine and walls painted in soft shades of yellow and green. Daylight pours through the broad front windows and an overhead skylight. If you're considering Mia's for a cheap date (and you should), you might want to visit later in the evening,
after the families who like to eat early have left. (Their presence explains the crayon-crafted pictures on display near the bar.)
