Little did you know, but I just blew a silent whistle that only people from New York and New Jersey can hear. They will soon descend on this blog like an angry mob. Every time I discuss pizza, it is required by law I blow this whistle. Don’t blame me.
Last Friday, I went on a bit of a pizza and beer tour with Belmont Medina. Yes, a tour. It was an extensive workout. How do you think I keep such a svelte figure?
One of the stops was Red Rocks in Columbia Heights. The day was gorgeous so we decided to enjoy the weather and sit on the patio. We got a seat as it was 2 pm on a Friday, but I can imagine it is some prime real estate on a Saturday night. I was a little put off my the couple who had two dogs with them at the table, but I dealt with it. (Yeah, yeah. I am a big meanie animal hater, but I truly think it is a bit unsanitary to have a strange dog in a restaurant, even if it is outside.)
The beer list was impressive. I was excited to see they had Allagash White on tap, but I went with a bottled beer that piqued my interest. Sadly, I forgot the name and the Red Rocks website is a bit wonky. Note to restaurateurs: It is 2009. Get your shit straight with your online menus.
Now to the pizza: some good stuff. I went super basic and ordered the quatro formaggio. The pie came topped with Fontina, fresh mozzarella, parmesan, ricotta, and olive oil, ie everything that is right with the world. I did find myself wishing there was some sort of gorgonzola on there to add depth in flavor. It was a little oily, but seeing as it was drowning in cheese, this is to be expected; nothing a little bit of blotting couldn’t remedy. The crust was chewy and blistered, as seen in my crappy picture taken on my blackberry. The one weird thing, especially given all the cheese? It needed salt. Perhaps the crust needed to be seasoned better, but something was amiss.
Service was good; our server was a bit quiet but completely capable if not totally engaging. Our water glasses were never empty and the check was delivered promptly. I had a nice time, though I don’t really see anything setting the place apart from other pizza places in DC. While my pizza was good–a solid B+–I think Pizzaria Paradiso’s quatro formaggio is superior. I don’t know if it had to do with high expectations, as everyone has absolutely raved about Red Rocks to me, but I left feeling a bit underwhelmed. I will definitely give it another go, but I will enter with a bit of trepidation.
5:58 am on July 9th, 2009
I’ve tried Red Rocks, and came away underwhelmed. The pizza tastes serviceable, but virtually everyone I went with complained of a stomachache afterwards. The service and beer list were both excellent, though.
[Reply]
Lemmonex Reply:
July 9th, 2009 at 7:05 am
Oh man, I am sorry to hear about the stomach aches. Not good at all.
[Reply]
6:00 am on July 9th, 2009
Troegenator Dreamweaver was the beer (I think.) And I will be happy to pizza tour with you anytime darlin’!
[Reply]
Lemmonex Reply:
July 9th, 2009 at 7:06 am
That was the beer–thanks, friend. It was really good.
[Reply]
6:09 am on July 9th, 2009
mmmmm quatro formaggio…mmmmmmm. me hongree
[Reply]
Lemmonex Reply:
July 9th, 2009 at 7:08 am
So am I…pretty much always.
[Reply]
6:32 am on July 9th, 2009
Weren’t you the one making funny of me because I salt my cheese pizza?
Salt makes everything better.
Except for my cholestrol.
[Reply]
Lemmonex Reply:
July 9th, 2009 at 7:11 am
I am sorry–I was making fun of you. I deserve to be called out.
[Reply]
6:33 am on July 9th, 2009
making fun of me. Not making funny of me.
Obviously I need to finish my coffee.
[Reply]
Lemmonex Reply:
July 9th, 2009 at 7:11 am
Yes you do.
[Reply]
6:36 am on July 9th, 2009
I’m trying to cut back a bit lately, especially on the cheese intake…and that picture is killing me. And yet, I cannot look away…
[Reply]
Lemmonex Reply:
July 9th, 2009 at 7:11 am
Look at it! Savor it!
[Reply]
6:38 am on July 9th, 2009
wait, you got a bb?
[Reply]
Lemmonex Reply:
July 9th, 2009 at 7:12 am
I did. It is pink.
[Reply]
6:38 am on July 9th, 2009
and mmmm…. ricotta. love.
chewy crust is never good.
[Reply]
Lemmonex Reply:
July 9th, 2009 at 7:13 am
Interesting…how do you like your crust?
[Reply]
6:38 am on July 9th, 2009
I’ve never blotted my pizza. Sometimes I think my arteries and I look upon it as a challenge.
Misguided and delicious.
[Reply]
Lemmonex Reply:
July 9th, 2009 at 7:14 am
Eating as a challenge. I love it.
[Reply]
6:43 am on July 9th, 2009
I lived across the street when they were building it but never actually went back once I moved to Logan. I, too, have heard great things, but I’ve never really believed the hype. Your synopsis just sealed the deal for me – I’ll stick to 2 Amy’s, thanks.
[Reply]
Lemmonex Reply:
July 9th, 2009 at 7:14 am
2 Amy’s is amazing, just such a huge pain in the ass to get to.
[Reply]
6:50 am on July 9th, 2009
Have you been to the two amy’s in DC? That is one of my favorite pizza places.
[Reply]
Lemmonex Reply:
July 9th, 2009 at 7:15 am
I have been and it is probably my favorite.
[Reply]
6:50 am on July 9th, 2009
That pizza looks amazing, but I’m not going to head to the city just for pizza.. especially since it was underwhelming. It looks so good though.
[Reply]
Lemmonex Reply:
July 9th, 2009 at 7:15 am
Go to 2 Amy’s or Matchbox if you come in.
[Reply]
6:52 am on July 9th, 2009
But does it beat Matchbox? My favorite in DC, so far. But I haven’t been to many.
[Reply]
Lemmonex Reply:
July 9th, 2009 at 7:16 am
You need to check more out…Matchbox is pretty great.
[Reply]
6:54 am on July 9th, 2009
It is so hard to find a nice chewy crust here in Chicago. The pizza here is either deep dish, which is good like, once every six months, or ‘thin crust’ and the thin crust is dry like a cracker. I have found 2 pizza places that make pizza with a thin, chewy blistered crust… and neither of them deliver! Whic, I suppose, is a good thing in terms of my ever expanding ass.
[Reply]
Lemmonex Reply:
July 9th, 2009 at 7:17 am
I love deep dish but it does hit you like a ton of bricks. Also, I like your ass!
[Reply]
6:58 am on July 9th, 2009
Heard great things before going and was … to coin a phrase, merely satisfied. Not saying it wasn’t good, it was, but it wasn’t all that and a bag a chips. (Personally, I too lean toward Paradiso.) I got a pie with peppers, buffalo mozz and sausage and ate the whole thing with no complaints except the crust coulda been done a little more. The tiramisu that joined the pizza in my tummy was also pretty good.
But, when you get right down to it, (and here’s something you didn’t expect when throwing down your gauntlet to the jokers from NY/NJ) the only real pizza is the kind that comes from … wait for it, wait for it … CHICAGO baby! Gimme a deep dish any day of the week and twice on Sunday.
[Reply]
Lemmonex Reply:
July 9th, 2009 at 7:18 am
I need to go to Chicago and have real deep dish. My experiences have not been authentic.
[Reply]
7:32 am on July 9th, 2009
“I will enter with a bit of trepidation.”
Really? You’re just going to set me up like that?
Too easy.
[Reply]
Lemmonex Reply:
July 9th, 2009 at 10:03 am
Thanks for showing restraint…took courage.
[Reply]
7:33 am on July 9th, 2009
This is a DC-based blog, right? So no one from Jersey or NY will see me admit that I have, on more than one occasion, blotted oily pizza, right? I actually like the oil. I just don’t like when I pick up a slice and oil pours out into a puddle.
[Reply]
Lemmonex Reply:
July 9th, 2009 at 10:04 am
Your secret is safe here.
[Reply]
7:58 am on July 9th, 2009
I hear you when you say you were overwhelmed, but I’m somehow still craving pizza anyway. My guilty drunk/hungover pleasure is stuffed crust pizza. I clearly have no standards.
[Reply]
Lemmonex Reply:
July 9th, 2009 at 10:05 am
Stuffed crust…wow. I haven’t thought about that in ages. Good call.
[Reply]
8:00 am on July 9th, 2009
Many people just can’t comprehend the idea of ‘za without tomato sauce, but in fact it can be very good.
[Reply]
Lemmonex Reply:
July 9th, 2009 at 10:06 am
It is wonderful.
[Reply]
8:09 am on July 9th, 2009
The best NY-Style pizza in the DC area is actually in Tysons I, second level, Lord & Taylor wing.
Now that I’ve established my Jersey street cred by giving you proper mall directions, let me further say that I’ve been in this area since 2001, and this is the first time I have been truly happy with a slice of plain cheese pizza.
[Reply]
Lemmonex Reply:
July 9th, 2009 at 10:07 am
In Tysons? Why have they not taken over the city?
[Reply]
8:33 am on July 9th, 2009
I haven’t eaten today, so even underwhelming pizza sounds awesome, but if I’m not going for the quick fix (Pizza Hut – I know, I know!), it has to be really good. I actually got some pretty decent plain cheese at The Tavern the other night (local bar) which surprised me. The girls next to us had margherita and it looked amazing.
[Reply]
8:38 am on July 9th, 2009
*raises hand* South Jersey here but I did not come because of the whistle. There are a few high end pizza places in the area, I agree about Paradiso, it is the ordinary, take out, served to you by a guy in an undershirt who speaks mostly Italian that I miss. I also agree that a puddle of cheese grease in the middle of a pie is not so appealing.
[Reply]
Lemmonex Reply:
July 9th, 2009 at 10:10 am
Yeah there is a lot of grease at PP…sadness.
[Reply]
9:04 am on July 9th, 2009
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again:
Pizza is like sex. Even when it’s bad, it’s still kinda good.
[Reply]
Lemmonex Reply:
July 9th, 2009 at 10:17 am
This is completely true.
[Reply]
9:23 am on July 9th, 2009
I shouldn’t of read this post so close to lunch… and you are right you do attract quite the crowd when you talk about pizza…
[Reply]
Lemmonex Reply:
July 9th, 2009 at 10:18 am
They always appear.
[Reply]
10:35 am on July 9th, 2009
Blackberry photo?!
No fair! Mine has no cam’ra.
Damn cheap employer.
[Reply]
Lemmonex Reply:
July 9th, 2009 at 10:48 am
SD!! There you are. I have missed you.
[Reply]
10:45 am on July 9th, 2009
There are 2 Amys
But they have no possessions.
No apostrophe.
[Reply]
Lemmonex Reply:
July 9th, 2009 at 10:49 am
They are shoeless even.
[Reply]
11:38 am on July 9th, 2009
That kind of greeting
Will keep a man coming back.
You have been missed, too.
[Reply]
11:44 am on July 9th, 2009
But the real question is are they open during drunk hours? Who cares if its good in the daylight.
[Reply]
12:30 pm on July 9th, 2009
Red Rocks is a constant source of disappointment to me–so near, and yet so dreadfully mediocre. (Though in fairness, I haven’t been back in about 2 years–which, considering how near it is, tells you something about how dreadfully mediocre my pizza was).
Coppi’s Organic on U St, though. Om nom nom nom nom. And to all of this New York/New Jersey/Chicago nonsense, I will say only this: St. Louis Style Thin Crust. Mmmmmm.
[Reply]
2:30 pm on July 9th, 2009
Have you had their sunrise pizza that they keep on their brunch menu? It’s got a fried egg, breakfast potatoes and parmesan. I asked them to add their fennel sausage and it was delicious.
Can’t complain about the $9 bottomless mimosas either.
[Reply]
4:53 pm on July 9th, 2009
The only pizza I think is actually almost AS GOOD as NJ or NY pizza (being a Jersey girl) is Mama Lucia. Seriously. Its just delicious plain old good NY style pizza. No grease puddle and perfect consistency of sauce, cheese, bread.
The rest…umm…I just won’t go there.
You already know how we Tristate area people are about our pizza…although we are just as protective of our bagels.
Rightfully so.
One day I will try 2 Amys. I’ve heard its good…but whenever I think “good for DC” in regards to pizza…that isn’t saying much.
There you have it–like a moth to the flame!
[Reply]
5:43 pm on July 9th, 2009
I would definitely try something like that. Very nice review.
[Reply]
10:18 am on July 10th, 2009
[...] I just tell you how happy I am that Lemmonex is back to blogging? This week she reviewed Red Rocks in Columbia Heights and was underwhelmed. Still, I may check it out – after all, I need to explore my new [...]
10:38 pm on July 10th, 2009
hah, now thanks to your article i feel like pizza somethin’ fierce; thank goodness my favorite place near where I live delivers
[Reply]
9:47 am on July 23rd, 2009
By the way:
thinly chopped arugula on white pizza with a drizzle of olive oil is amazing.
just in case you wanted an upgrade. Also good with margherita pizza.
[Reply]