Following the delightful progressive lunch at Chef José Andrés’ five restaurants, my levelheaded blogging companions headed back to the hotel for a nap and explored Julia Child’s kitchen at the Smithsonian. While both of these activities appealed to me on some level, I decided to do the unthinkable.
After meeting up with my cousin Kristine at Dupont Circle, we hightailed it to 2 Amys for pristine pies. Even though my belly was filled nearly to the brim, leaving D.C. without a meal here would’ve been a travesty.
2 Amys serves what is arguably the best pizza in The District. The restaurant is a member of the Verace Pizza Napoletana Association, which was established “to protect and promote authentic Neapolitan pizza and defend its Neapolitan origins and traditions.” This means that the restaurant only uses soft-grain flour, fresh yeast, water, and sea salt in its dough, and only Italian plum tomatoes, mozzarella di bufala, extra-virgin olive oil, fresh basil, and dried oregano for toppings. Furthermore, all pizzas are cooked in a wood-burning oven.
The folks at 2 Amys have been rewarded for their serious pizza making efforts with legions of devoted fans and lots of great press.
We arrived at the restaurant sometime after the Saturday lunch rush and were seated immediately at a table by the window. Kristine insisted that we sample some small bites before diving into pizzas, and I wholeheartedly agreed.
The pork rillettes ($6) arrived in chunk-form, dressed with a bit of olive oil and flaky salt. A few snappy cornichons were served on the side for balance. We slathered the pork onto some bread and savored the creamy fat embedded with shredded meat. Try as I might to stuff more than a bite of this into my system, it was too rich for my current state. My cousin stepped up to the plate and manhandled the decadent plateful of pork.
The smoked swordfish with olive and fennel ($6) was lighter, fresher, and thus more to my liking this afternoon. The fish was thickly cut and wonderfully smoky. I loved how the curing process transformed the meaty flesh into something completely supple.
For our main entree, Kristine and I shared the vongole (clams) pizza with garlic, capers, parsley, hot pepper, and grana cheese ($12.95). The pizza smelled and looked absolutely fantastic. The oven’s blistering heat charred the crust just right and toasted the toppings beautifully. The thin slices of garlic emitted a most lovely aroma. I was surprised to see the clams still nestled in their shells, but had high hopes for the pizza nevertheless.
A little chewy and a touch complex, the crust met my expectations completely. The toppings were great as well, but I couldn’t help but wonder if the clammy flavors would’ve been more pronounced without those pesky shells soaking up the delicious juices. Between the two of us, we managed to polish off two-thirds of the pie. Lucky Kristine got to walk away with the leftovers.
After our meal at 2 Amys, we caught a bus to Georgetown in search of a sweet finish…
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2 Amys
3715 Macomb Street Northwest
Washington, DC 20016-3868
Phone: 202-885-5700
wait….where was I for this!? 🙂
Olga – You were napping, silly!
That clam pizza is calling my name. I might just buy a train ticket and head back to DC, buy a pizza, and gather my patience to wait in line for a cupcake…
Gastronomer – I hear that Pepe’s Pizzeria Napoletana in New Haven, CT makes a world class clam pie. That’s close to your ‘hood, right? For a Georgetown Cupcake, you’ll have to return to D.C.
oooh i like the name of the restaurant! the swordfish looks divine.
I’ve always thought DC would be an exciting city to roam about, grazing or feasting. I must say, 2 Amys just looks like my kind of place!
Never had smoked swordfish before! Sounds yummy. And what to do about those pesky shells…
That crust looks so good. I wish I could reach into the screen and eat it! Must put this on the list for my next visit to DC.
Even at 7 am, the pork and the clam pizza look great!
Closely taking notes as I’ll be going there myself in 3 weeks, huzzah! Will you be checking out El Pollo Rico and/or A. Litteri?
How strange that they serve the clams still in the shells! Do you think it’s a presentation thing? It certainly looks pretty, but I agree that those precious clam juices should not be wasted!
Nice eating, Gastronomer! You certainly lived up to your name out in our nation’s capital. 🙂
Tsz – I didn’t get the chance to check out either of those spots. I did hit up the Native American Museum food court though! Great place for unique eats if you have time.
Yummy Clams and Pizza…Never had them with shells on a pizza. But it looks delicious.
that rillette looks soooooo good
Since I don’t live in LA (hope to soon), I will eat at every place in DC that you reviewed. Eating your blog…Nom Nom
Thanks for this… I’m heading to DC for work and got stuck with the middle shift so I was looking for good lunch places.
Their pizza is so delicious, I strongly recommend to everyone without any hesitation. But i also want to highlight how great people they are. Once I went to 2 Amys with my 2 sons (2 and 6 years old). The younger one was giving me a difficult time. One of their employees saw that. She kindly approached to us, talked to him, play with him for a few minutes and his anger was totally gone.
We love 2amys, their pizza, and their great pizza. Simply, the best