Fans of the burgers at Spike Mendelsohn’s Good Stuff Eatery in Crystal City can now take a few steps down the street and see what the “Top Chef” alum does with pizza.
Earlier this summer, We, The Pizza opened on Crystal Drive, joining a Capitol Hill location in bringing pizzas, wings, and homemade sodas to the Washington, D.C. area masses (with a region-appropriate nod to the U.S. Constitution). You can resist a “perfect union” pun, if you like, but there’s no denying that this pizzeria combines dough and toppings most admirably.
At the Crystal City spot, you can order an entire pie ($18 for a medium and $20 for a large) or a jumbo slice ($3 for plain cheese and $4 for everything else). On a recent visit, many of the menu’s nearly 20 pizzas were available by the slice, with the giant pies resting on round wooden cutting blocks at the counter on full (and tempting) display.
For the traditional pizza eater, there’s the Pepperoni Pie. Here, giant discs of pepperoni, with edges curling like ribbon from the heat of the oven, cover a bed of mingling melted mozzarella cheese and tomato sauce; the whole pie is sprinkled with green flecks of fresh oregano. You can go gourmet with the Forest Shroomin’ Pie, a true delight for the truffle lover as that flavor is bold but not overpowering. It’s accented with wild forest mushrooms, mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses, and some fresh thyme. The Colletti’s Notorious BBQ Pie is simply a show-stopper, topped in tender slow-roasted pulled pork in barbecue sauce and cheddar cheese, with a salty, crunchy layer of crispy onion on top. Whatever the ingredients on these hand-tossed pies, the crust is firm at the bite and then light, chewy, and flavorful. For a denser, thicker crust, the menu has two Cast Iron Pie options.
The jumbo wings here are about a dollar apiece, depending on the size of the order, and come in five flavors. The Sriracha Hot & Honey Sweet sauce is more the latter than the former, with straightforward honey flavor, not just sweetness, and the perfect little bite of heat to contrast it. And honest flavors from good ingredients can be found elsewhere on the menu, and it’s refreshing to find. Try a Don’t Forget Your Ginger Roots Soda ($3) and you’ll taste the ginger without cloying sweetness. Order the Jupina Pineapple Soda ($3) and you’ll get actual pieces of the fruit, making for a bubbly drink with a fun texture. Those are just two of the dozen Italian sodas made fresh here (with even more fun names like I’ve Gotta Orange Crush on You and Heard It Through the Grape Soda).
In the four years since the original We, The Pizza debuted, the pizzas there have been named among top District pies and the spot has carved out a place of note for itself among D.C. pizzerias. Now We, The Pizza is serving those lauded pizzas outside of the nation’s capital, and We, The Diners (of Northern Virginia) can rejoice.
We, The Pizza is located at 2100 Crystal Drive, Arlington. For more information, call 703-415-7992 or visit wethepizza.com. Restaurant hours are Monday – Sunday: 11 a.m. – 11 p.m.
