To the Local Pizza Scene, Add the Argentine Accent of Zero

Sunday night. Not yet 5:30. At Pizza Zero (4925 Bethesda Ave., Bethesda; 240-497-0751) that means a swarm of young families with offspring in tow (watch out for the strollers!), plus a few senior citizens who seem surprised to spot empanadas on the bill of fare.

The newcomer's look is trim and sleek: a narrow, apricot-colored dining room that opens with a picture window and a small bar and ends with a shiny exhibition kitchen in the rear. The modern art on the wall competes for our eyes with a plasma screen; a leatherlike black banquette encourages lingering.

Before we try the main event, we dig into some of those empanadas. One of the two owners, Gonzalo Di Laudo, is from Argentina, and having visited Buenos Aires recently, I understand how the snacks have found their way onto the list of appetizers here. The braided pastries are fattened in multiple ways. Beef is punched up with green olives. Corn is brighter for bits of red bell pepper in the mix. They're both pleasing, although a little more time in the oven might improve their blond, slightly limp wrappers. Another starter, a juicy grilled pork sausage, offers nice bite in its seasoning.

Grilled over mesquite and oak, Zero's pizzas ($7.50-$12) are nothing like Papa John's, Uno's or even Two Amys'; instead, the crust resembles a cross between pita bread and lavosh. "People aren't used to it," concedes co-owner Felix Ayala, who nevertheless is betting that he can win them over. The toppings are as mild as tomato sauce, mozzarella and olive oil and as wild as the aptly named Molotov, which gets its firepower from jalapeño peppers and Argentine sausage, among other ingredients.

The empanadas and the pizza dough are not made here, but the flan is. Just don't ask for it too early in the evening. "It's still setting," our vivacious server apologized.