&pizza–the popular fast casual pizza place where you customize your pizza and have it made in under five minutes–will debut a few menu changes and improvements this Tuesday at its two locations on H Street and U Street. The vast majority of the menu will look the same; however, &pizza is adding a few new ingredients such as capers, falafel, a sundried tomato pesto, a tzatziki sauce, and a reformulated garlic puree sauce. They will also be changing their sausage that comes standard on the Maverick pizza. All of these items will be available on any customized pizza that the customer chooses but will also be incorporated into the signature pizzas they offer. The capers and the sundried tomato pesto will go on the Jenny pizza (shrimp, mozzarella, ricotta, spinach, and regular pesto), the falafel and tzatziki sauce will go on the Grecian Market (chickpea spread, mushrooms, broccoli, pickled onions, and feta cheese), and the garlic puree will be the base of the Gnarlic (garlic base with several different cheeses). The changes have already been incorporated into the online website, which you can view here. Continue reading
Six Months After Opening: A Few Interesting Notes on H &pizza
26 JanAfter opening in July of last year, H &pizza quickly developed into one of the busiest and most popular spots on H Street and around the Northeast region of D.C.. There is almost never a time when you walk into H &pizza and it does not have a line of some sort. H &pizza’s success has enabled it to announce its first expansion recently, a new location on U Street that will open sometime this year. Six months after the opening of its original H Street location, we were lucky enough to catch up with co-owner Steve Salis to ask him a few questions.
Overall he emphasized how pleased they were with the business and the H Street community, saying that their business has exceeded their expectations. He said that the top selling pizzas are the Maverick (District Cuisine’s favorite), Farmer’s Daughter, and Moonstruck. Interestingly, Salis says that when they first opened most people were choosing one of the pizzas listed on the menu board (like the Maverick, etc) but that now the majority of customers are choosing to build their own pizzas. He also said that we can expect to see a few new pizzas on the menu soon. H &pizza’s lunch business has exceeded their expectations (although dinner is their busiest time), and they believe that lunch will continue to grow as the neighborhood continues to develop. Sadly, H &pizza does not plan on doing delivery service in the future.
Exciting News Day for H Street Restaurants
5 DecToday was a big news day for two H Street restaurants that announced exciting expansion plans.
Newly Renovated Exterior at Taylor Charles Steak & Ice
First, Taylor Charles Steak & Ice (1320 H Street, NE), the new Philly cheesesteak place from the owners of Taylor Gourmet, announced that it will have its grand opening next Wednesday (December 12th). More details on Taylor Charles Steak & Ice from Washington Post.
Menu at Taylor Charles Steak &Ice
Second, H &pizza announced to the Washington City Paper that they will be opening their second location this spring on U Street. Our previous coverage of H &pizza.
H&pizza Opens on H Street (Photos)
13 JulH&pizza (1118 H Street NE)–next to Taylor Gourmet on H Street–opens for lunch and dinner starting Friday, July 13th, but tonight they had a soft opening to debut their new restaurant and food (opening menu). We were very impressed with both; the interior is completely rebuilt and redesigned from the previous tenant (Birdland) and the food was excellent. We were lucky enough to chat with the owners and the chefs for awhile and have very high hopes for the new place (you can see our previous interview with one of the co-owners for more background on the restaurant).
H&pizza During Its Soft Opening
Their goal is to allow you to make a fully customizable pizza that fits your tastes because you designed it (imagine a customizable assembly-line like a Chipotle). They have spent the past several weeks testing different sauces, doughs, cheeses, and ingredients in a test kitchen, and they offer a truly unique set of choices for your pizza (check out their opening menu here). In addition to letting you make your own pizza from scratch, they have several “Our Suggestion” pizzas that are predesigned by the owners and can be ordered right off the menu if you don’t feel like making your own.
Topping Selections at H&pizza
Once you’ve selected your toppings (or one of their suggestions), your pizza goes through their oven (90 seconds) and comes out ready for you to enjoy. The plan is for the whole process from ordering until when you get your pizza to take less than five minutes.
Pizza Assembly Line and Oven at H&pizza
H &pizza Ready to Open Next Weekend (July 13th)
8 Jul
Exterior of H &pizza
We’ve learned that H &pizza (1118 H Street NE) is ready to open next weekend for dinner. Check out our interview with the owner here and pictures of the newly renovated interior from their Facebook page. The pizzas sound great, and the new interior looks great from our peeks inside to look at it. Can’t wait to check it out!
New (Tasty) Details on H &Pizza
25 AprWe’ve known for several months that a new gourmet pizza place was coming to H Street (1118 H Street to be precise) and would add an important missing ingredient to the H Street dining scene. The new place will be called H &Pizza, and co-owners Steve Salis and Michael Lastoria have been slowly revealing the details of the restaurant in anticipation of the opening. Last week, Washington City Paper filled in some details by reporting (among other details) that H &Pizza plans to open June 1st, will allow customers to completely customize their pizzas by featuring an assembly line style format (and choosing from a variety of toppings, sauces, and crusts), and will be open late on the weekends.
This week we caught up with co-owner Steve Salis and were able to learn some exciting (and tasty) details. Most importantly, H &Pizza will not be any average pizza joint. Check out some of these sauces that diners will be able to choose from: Basil Pesto, Mushroom Tartufo (Mushroom Truffle spread) Ricotta, Red Chickpea spread, Classic Marinara, and Spicy Marinara. And how about these toppings: Smoked Bacon, Sopressata, Proscuitto, Hot Sausage, Caramelized Onions, Roasted Broccolli Rabe, Kalamata Olives, Artichokes, Arugula, Soy Cheese (lactose free) and mozzarella cheese they will make in house. If you don’t feel like designing your own pizza, H &Pizza will offer special pizzas that you can order right off the menu and they will make for you. In addition to pizza, H &Pizza will have several salads and deserts as well as a beverage menu featuring wine, beer, and specialty drinks.
District Cuisine 