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Classy -- and Classic -- Pizza in South Arlington
Apart from New York- and Neapolitan-style pizzas, Cafe Pizzaiolo's owner/chef Larry Ponzi serves sandwiches and pasta. The South 23rd Street eatery is an homage to his Neapolitan grandmother, whom he calls "an awesome cook."
(Photos By Dayna Smith For The Washington Post)
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A Neapolitan pizza ordered with sausage, green peppers and onions was slightly soggy in the middle, the peppers and onions were barely cooked, and their flavors didn't have time to marry. The sausage also was tamer than I expected and didn't have much taste.
There are lots of other good things on the menu: The meatball sandwich's tomato sauce and mozzarella combine beautifully, and its meatballs were flavorful without being cloying. The restaurant's steak-and-cheese sandwich is one of the area's better efforts. The pita-piadina (the piadina is basically pizza dough baked into a flatbread that is used as the base of the sandwich) is vegetarian and includes hummus (tasting a bit too much of tahini), cucumber, lettuce, tomato and roasted peppers.
It wouldn't be Italian without a panino, and here it includes proscuitto, arugula, roasted tomato and Parmesan cheese hot-pressed on ciabatta bread.
The restaurant also features a hot pasta dish daily, as well as pizza slices.
And it serves breakfast, with a menu that includes omelets, breakfast sandwiches, bagels and biscotti.
There is a broad selection of unusual soft drinks and beers in the cooler and a small, but well-edited, list of wines, which are available by the glass or the bottle, to drink there or take home. There is a small list of desserts, including gelato, which was served much too cold. But the coffee is Illy, and it's Italian good.
Ponzi said most of his patrons work or live nearby, some of them coming in several times a week. But this is pizza worth making a trip for. And although parking on the street is a problem, there is a commercial parking lot at the rear.
Cafe Pizzaiolo, 507 S. 23rd St., Arlington, 703-894-2250. Metro: Crystal City. Hours: 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Appetizers, $2.75 to $4.25; pizzas, $6.50 to $11.75, plus toppings; sandwiches, $4.50 to $7.50.http:/
If you have a favorite restaurant that you think deserves attention, please contact Nancy Lewis at lewisn@washpost.com.
