2 Amy's d.o.c Spells Delicious

I finally made it to the District's foremost pizza joint: 2 Amy's.

For months since moving here 2 Amy's has been the place to go. "Oh it's good. Yeah, you've got to go sometime. Well be careful the wait can be exorbitantly long, but ya gotta go." They were right.

After the Jazz in the Garden on Friday, we headed over to the Cleveland Park spot for a nice snack and glass of wine. A simple glass door opened into a lively dining room packed with families and friends chatting about the week and enjoying the authentic Neapolitan pizza over natural wooden tables sitting atop of the black and white tile floor. Even at 10 pm there was a wait, an excited atmosphere, and a wooden-burning oven cooking as pizza at full capacity. A few minutes and we luckily snagged a table at the wine bar.

I order the Margherita pizze d.o.c. with mushrooms. D.o.c. stands for Denominazione di Origine Controllata; it essentially means certified by the Italian government as authentic - pizze d.o.c. uses only soft grain flour, fresh yeast, water, and sea salt for the dough (2 Amy's does a good write-up of what d.o.c. is.). But the bottom line is that 2 Amy's makes an excellent pizza - certified or not.

My pizza came out quickly. After it was situated infront of me, my eyes immediately sized up the pie - the center was genourously portioned with fresh mozzarella di bufala and basil and the crust was warm and raised along the edges. I started out eating the pizza with a knife and fork; however, after my first bite of the cripsy crust gave way to the warm dough hidden inside, I put down my silverware and just went for it. It was too good to wait around for all this cutting and preparing, it was there on the table, ready to be enjoyed!

I've been told that there's a lot more to be enjoyed there like the mussels, charcuterie, homemade ice cream, and a good wine list. Looks like I'll have to go back; the hard part will be ordering a different pizza.

Restaurant Week!

Summer Restaurant Week has been announced for Washington, DC.

Restaurant Week is August 11 - 17th.

You can make your reservations online at OpenTable.

Brasserie Beck

Early in the evening Monday, after disastrous service at M&S Grill, my friends and I switched locations. We fought the 98 degree heat and made our way through the sun and humidity a few blocks to Brasserie Beck, a French restaurant on K St.

Situated in a modern office building with a simmering glass facade, Beck's large double doors opened up into an expansive restaurant. With high ceilings and an art deco decor, I wondered if I walked into a Parisian train station to grab a quick lunch before my 12:47 to Brussels. The marble-and-walnut bar was lined with colorful and rare taps from Belgium and the space was filled with chatty young professionals enjoying the beer. Any place meant to enjoy beer finds a special place in my heart.

We grabbed a table outside to enjoy the evening as the sun went down and it began to cool. The first thing handed to the table was a beer menu. Listed out by style I carefully perused the menu and descriptions of the eclectic spigots from the bar like I was looking for the right bottle to go with dinner. Half liters of Hoegaarden were the special. Size and price won out; I order a Hoegaarden. Next time I'll be more adventurous but for the warm evening on the patio, a wit beer hit the spot.

Brasserie Beck is worth the trip.

In related news, InBev, has offered 46 Billion dollars to buy Budweisser, which would make it the largest beer company in the world.

Coffee Houses in DC

Since I've moved to DC, I've tried and tried to find a coffee house, and the struggle continues; as of now, I've only found coffee shops and cafes. 

Washington's culture lends itself better to happy hours with colleagues or after dinner drinks with power players at old presidential haunts. Downtown coffee shops exist during the day to serve fresh coffee, and close up shop around 3 pm slightly before the commuters make their mass exit to the suburbs. Residentially, Busboys and Poets or Kramerbooks & Afterwords , in U St and DuPont respectively, require food purchases and the packed tables encourage quick eats/drinks with a fast turnover. Sidamo, in the Atlas District, seems promising, but their limited hours and distant location restrict it to a weekend trip, so I haven't quite made it yet.

I've had several friends inquire as to what I consider a coffee house. I've struggle a bit when I've talked about it. I watch the confusion grow on their faces as I stumble through a bumbling definition, "It's almost a communal living room. You can go and sit. No pressure; won't be bothered. Quiet, read, know people, blog." Nothing seems to get across. I've taken moment to think about it, and here's my best shot.

A coffee house is a place you can go by yourself (or small group) for hours at a time to relax and enjoy a quiet activity over coffee or tea, and you'll never surprised to run into somebody you know.

This weekend you might run into me at Brewed Awakenings in Appleton.

If you have any suggestions of where to go or an alternate definition, please comment below.