Three years ago, Timber Pizza Company was just two guys and a pizza oven hitched to a pickup truck. Now, it’s a brick-and-mortar pizzeria that has become the cornerstone of the burgeoning dining scene on Upshur Street — and was named one of Bon Appetit’s 50 best new restaurants of 2017. One of those two guys, co-owner Andrew Dana, grew up in D.C., so he’s more than qualified to create the day of his dreams in this city. Dana has two reasonable ground rules: First, calories don’t count. And second: “Now that I’m 31 years old and I get tired very easily, on my perfect day I want to have tons of energy so I’m able to stay up past 10:30 p.m.”
I live in Petworth across the street from my business. First thing I’d do is walk over to Yes! Organic Market. I’ll get coffee and some frozen waffles. I’ll invite Dani [Moreira, Timber’s executive chef], because we’re BFFs. We’ll toast waffles and put some peanut butter and blueberries on top and eat them on the Timber roof garden.
Next stop: Yoga Heights. Gotta take in a Michelle Mae class. She has also read my tarot cards, so she’s my de facto life coach whether she wants it or not. It’s very easy to be all over the place when running a business, but yoga keeps you focused.
I grew up in Mount Pleasant and there’s nothing like a walk down memory lane, so I’m headed to Don Juan: the best Salvadoran food in the city. I’m gonna get two bean and cheese pupusas, [a] side of rice and beans, a big platter of bean and cheese nachos and a side of fried plantains.
I’m gonna walk past my childhood house on Kenyon Street to say “what’s up” to my mom and dad. Then I’m gonna stroll down Kenyon, which leads right into the National Zoo. I’ll see my good buddies the elephants, check in with them. I have mixed emotions on zoos, but this one gives the elephants plenty of space to roam and be their nomadic selves.
It’s time for Vace, the best pizza in the land. Get five or six slices, then go find a bench outside the Cleveland Park Library, pop a squat. You gotta get the classic plain cheese, with sauce on top — some slices you want to eat just the typical way, some you eat by licking the sauce off and then eat like a white pie, so it’s like the best of both worlds.
I’m all carbed up so I’m gonna head to St. Albans School, where there’s a pickup adult basketball game that I’ve played in my whole adult life. I used to watch my dad play in this game in third grade, and now I play in it.
My favorite musical artist is The-Dream. He calls himself the greatest and most underrated of all time and I would agree. I saw him at 9:30 Club this year and it was a life-altering experience, so I would like to see another Dream concert at the 9:30 Club.
I love my life, so I’d go to Timber Pizza, just to say “what’s up” to my friends who happen to work there. Then I’d walk across the street to Ruta del Vino for a couple small plates, maybe the smoked octopus.
Back in the day, I would tear up the dance floor at Wonderland Ballroom. I would cut a rug, see what’s crackin’. On my walk back to my apartment, I’d stop at Manny & Olga’s for pizza Round 2. If you’re really feeling it, you can put chicken tenders on top — I call that a fried-chicken pizza. You gotta really be in the know to pull that off.
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