2Amys

I took both kids to lunch at 2Amys Neapolitan Pizzeria to eat with my friend Lauren and her two daughers on 2-11-2017. We were quite the crew and while for any other Michelin Guide restaurant that might seem odd, we fit right in at 2Amys. I assume people must go there without kids but it is definitely not at noon on a Saturday.

The food was good, the staff was very accommodating and the decor reminded me of Louis Restaurant in the Godfather (where Michael shot McClusky and Sollozzo, but alas I digress).

Atmosphere: 3 out of 5
Food & Drink: 3 out of 5

I know I’m biased, but how awesome is this picture? Don’t worry, it only took about 30 tries. I’m sure the people in the window loved me.

Note the crayons, paper and cups with lids. 2Amys knows what’s up.

If you have kids make sure to get a booster like they suggest. The chairs tip easily and after a near-miss we promptly took them up on their offer.

Suppli a telefono (fried risotto balls, stuffed with mozzarella, tomato sauce). These felt a little overdone and weren’t that flavorful. I got them for the kids but they weren’t into them. The sauce was the best part.

Orange, red onion, olive and chives. How colorful is that? This salad seems like it shouldn’t be good and yet it’s oddly delicious. The orange wasn’t quite as citrus-y as I expected and, combined with the olive oil and red onion, it turned out to be really fantastic.

Margherita (mozzarella di bufala, basil). This is D.O.C. (Denominazione di Origine Controllata) and it’s what 2Amys is known for. I used to live in Italy and, yes, this pizza is exactly like the pizza in Italy. That being said, I don’t think that means it’s automatically the best tasting pizza ever, just that it’s molto autentico. The taste and the texture (sort of falling apart, need a knife and fork) are on point. However the flavors are so subtle they’re almost lacking. It was good to try this but I don’t think I’d order it again.

Norcia (tomato, salami, grilled peppers, fresh mozzarella, grana). This on the other hand, I’d order every time. The first thing you tasted was this bright bell pepper flavor, followed by the saltiness of the salami. It was so good I brought some home to my husband and then was secretly mad I didn’t eat it all myself.

Santa Brigida (tomato, fresh mozzarella, cherry tomatoes, arugula). We were afraid it wouldn’t be that exciting so, at the waiter’s suggestion, we added prosciutto. It still wasn’t that flavorful, not to mention that amount of arugula is actually really hard to eat on top of pizza.

Just 2BFFs enjoying 2Amys.

Cookie plate (ginger snaps, lemon biscotti, chocolate chip walnut). I love the little fingers in this picture because the kids devoured the chocolate chip cookies before the adults could even try them. So assuming those have the toddler seal of approval, the kids were less into the ginger snaps or biscotti. That’s understandable as both were pretty hard (obviously) but also dryer than expected. If I were to order this again I’d probably ask for six chocolate chip.

Almond cake (wine soaked cherries, ice cream). Holy moly. The cake itself was fine but oh my god those cherries. Imagine you took black cherry ice cream, melted it and then took out all the cherries. That’s what these tasted like and I mean that in the absolute best way possible. I wish I could buy those and put them on yogurt every night for the rest of my life. If these could somehow use these to top the rasmalai at Rasika I might literally die.

And clearly others enjoyed this dessert as well, although that was mainly because of the ice cream.

Overall this was a tasty meal but besides the cherries (clearly) and maybe the orange salad nothing was absolutely amazing. I think the Michelin Guide likes to reward restaurants that were the first of their kind and no one would dispute 2Amys is the O.G. of D.C. wood-fired pizza. However that kind of pizza is so common now, with so many worthy competitors, it’s hard to stay on top.

The other drawback for me, and this is going to sound weird, was how kid-dense this place was. I’d finally get my kids settled with all the crayons/drinks/iphones/whatever they needed and then someone at the next table would start crying. At one point Lauren made a comment that everyone in the restaurant was having a tantrum and that I had to turn around. When I did so there were no fewer than four parents standing, cradling and soothing crying children. It’s great that they’re that kid-friendly but between my kids and all the others it was a bit cacophonous. I suppose I should be appreciative but if I were there without kids I’m not sure I would have been able to handle it.

*Photo credit for about half of these go to Lauren, and for every picture I take in life she gets credit for teaching me how to use filters (#TransferForLife).