Thursday, May 19, 2011

Red Rocks Pizzeria - Columbia Heights 2/20/2011

Red Rocks Pizzeria is a local pizzeria chain that sells pizzas cooked in a wood fired oven. The Columbia Heights location was the first, housed in a renovated townhouse that is tight, but comfortable. Waits can be long, and uncomfortable since the front of the house is cramped and the bar is usually packed.

When we got seated, I ordered the margherita (buffalo mozzarella, basil, tomato sauce) while my friend ordered the Sunrise pizza (fried egg, breakfast potatoes, and a dusting of parmesan). The crusts were correct: they had some chew with just enough char to lend some pleasing bitterness to the pizza without being ashy. The toppings were also solid...the sauce tasted fresh and wasn't tinny, which is a problem I run across quite frequently in DC. But...for whatever reason, it just really didn't come together for me. Everything was correct, but kind of uninteresting. For example, a pizza from New York, New Haven, or even Chicago or California (bastardized forms as the latter two may be) are distinctive and instantly recognizable. Red Rocks, on the other hand, just seemed to be imitating what they thought a Neopolitan pizza should be without attempting to leave their own particular stamp on their interpretation. It was like there was no "there" there. Maybe I should give them another try, but this place definitely did not inspire me to go out of my way to dine here again in the future. But, if I'm in the neighborhood, I wouldn't object to eating here again.

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