The expensive price and considerable distance of 2Amys makes the restaurant not worth it for this university’s students.
Sometimes a restaurant can be like a movie; If it gets rave reviews, you expect something great, which often leads to disappointment.
2Amys, in Washington’s Cleveland Park neighborhood, has gotten quite a few glowing reviews over the years — from The Washington Post food critic and Yelpers alike. However, many of these positive reviews come from 2006 and 2007. In the last few years, along with the more overt cupcake and burger joint trends, was a more subtle wood-fired oven pizza fad. But the Washington area pizza scene has gradually evolved. Restaurants like Matchbox, Mia’s Pizza and Mellow Mushroom have moved in on 2Amys’ gourmet thin crust niche, giving diners alternative options and a more discerning pie palate.
Venturing into wood-fired pizza territory can be dangerous. If the pizza is left in too long or too close to the heat, you risk a burnt crust. If the pizza is taken out too soon, the middle can be undercooked and soupy. Unfortunately, on a recent trip to 2Amys, one of my pies was somehow burnt and soupy. The other pizza was perfectly paper-thin and unblemished. Of course, it was the more expensive pizza that met with disaster.
2Amys’ menu offers D.O.C. (Denominazione di Origine Controllata) pizza, which is prepared with the specific methods and ingredients decreed by the Italian government as the correct way to prepare authentic Neapolitan pizza. Unfortunately, the extra cost is not worth the fancy label. The plain, tasteless mozzarella was nothing like the rich, fresh, creamy buffalo mozzarella I have had at other gourmet pizza restaurants, and even occasionally at chains like Buca di Beppo.
2Amys does hit the right note with the strong, flavorful salami, but no other toppings or ingredients jumped out at me. I left the majority of the dense, salty meatball appetizer sitting on the plate. Between the expense (a $50 lunch charge for an appetizer and two personal sized pizzas) and the distance from any metro stop, 2Amys is too disappointing to make the effort.
I would recommend turning to other, closer thin crust options. Pizzeria Da Marco in Bethesda knows how to turn out a quality pie as well as huge Nutella-filled calzones. Mellow Mushrooms’ creative toppings (like those on the Thai Dye pizza or the Magical Mystery Tour) will appeal to the more adventurous. If you’re going to the Eastern Shore, stop by Specific Gravity in Salisbury for a pie weighed down by fresh hand-cut fries or else a General Tso’s style pizza. Whatever you do, don’t settle for a pizza joint willing to serve you charred, bitter crust (I mean you, Matchbox).
