Visiting 2 Amys Pizza means you must learn the dreaded P word – patience. This place is packed from open to close. My wife and I stopped in for lunch last Saturday and there was a line at 1:30 pm. However, since we were able to grab two seats at the bar and nosh on olives and some delicious almonds, roasted in their brick oven, the wait wasn’t too painful. 2 Amys is a member of the Verace Pizza Napoletana Association and follows D.O.C. standards for several of its pies. Regarded by many as the best pizzeria in Washington, DC, I would have a hard time disagreeing. In my opinion, it is better than Matchbox and Ella’s two other restaurants with wood-fired ovens.
I ordered their Margherita Extra which follows the DOC standards and is made with tomato, mozzarella di buffala, basil, cherry tomatoes, extra virgin olive oil, and sea salt. My wife had a pizza with fresh mozzarella, procuitto di parma and olives. Both were delicious (pictures below). The crust on both pizzas was terrific. Thin in the middle, nice char, and a good cornicione in the crust. Toppings were great too. On the Pizza Margherita, the buffalo mozzarella was creamy and the cherry tomatoes were nice and sweet – very tasty for this time of year. The procuitto was very good, and if you like smoked meats, 2 Amys has a variety available every day. We finished off our lunch with a panna cotta and lemon cookie desert which was also delicious.
I was surprised to see that the oven was only 600-630 F according to the thermostat on the deck. And, while this seems low for Neapolitan style pizza, they sure were good. The oven may get hotter later in the day, again were there at lunch. Because the place was slammed, I didn’t try to talk to the pizzaioli. I asked the waitress what type of flour they used for the dough, but I couldn’t understand what she said due to her heavy accent (Spanish) and the background noise in the restaurant. In terms of ambiance, 2 Amys isn’t fancy and it is a bit on the loud side. The real downside to the restaurant is the the crowds. Because the restaurant is popular, it is busy all the time – but it’s worth a wait.
