Pizzeria Paradiso, Spring Valley, Washington, DC

With a restaurant on P Street off Dupont Circle, Pizzeria Paradiso was an early entrant into the high-end pizza market in Washington. I used to eat lunch there frequently with my good friend, Ken DeCell. Ken grew up in Rolling Fork in the Mississippi Delta, just south of Panther Burn. He had a musical career while he was at Princeton — he cut a few records and played with some major performers. Ask him about Percy Sledge. Ken graduated and founded Memphis Magazine, which is still extant. He edited Washingtonian Magazine back when anyone bothered to edit and proofread it, and co-wrote The Thirteen Keys to the Presidency with Alan Lichtman. Ken now edits books, sings beautifully, and is part of our monthly lunch group. It’s been years since our P Street days, and much water and a bit of wine have gone over the dam, still more under the bridge, and a fair amount down the hatch. Pizzeria Paradiso has expanded to four locations: P Street, Spring Valley, Georgetown, and Hyattsville. I decided to try the one in Spring Valley shopping area as part of my broader area pizza survey. See here, here, and here.

The Spring Valley location (on Mass. Ave. right next to Crate and Barrel) is a pretty, modern space with lots of light wood inside.

They also have a small retail wine shop and ample covered seating outside. That’s where I sat.

Pizzeria Paradiso offers 13 different 9-inch pizza varieties for $13 to $16, and you can create your own from among 50 or so toppings. Ken doted on the Atomica pizza in particular, topped with house tomato sauce, salami, Kalamata olives, hot pepper flakes, and mozzarella. He liked it so much that one evening when Ken and Florri were at our house for a small dinner party, Ken announced “It’s almost as good as sex.” Florri, unable to resist, demurely said, “Better.” Ken laughed harder than anyone else (which is saying something).

Those 13 pizza varieties include some great options. I thought seriously about several, but in the end I stuck with the Atomica out of deference to Ken and Florri. Behold the Atomica , after I pulled the slices apart:

First, look at the outer crust, puffy with a bit of char. It’s bread, really, and it was delicious, right up there with the best. The central pizza had a thin crust topped with a base of the house tomato sauce, which had a good chunky texture and fairly bold seasoning. Next came some good Genoa salami, and then mozzarella graced with the Kalamata olives and some red pepper flakes. This is a flavorful, delicious pizza. It’s not as good as Florri said, but it is delicious. I admit that I reflexively added more red pepper flakes from the large container on the table, but you probably won’t.

Some Ways and Means: The Paradiso 9-inch pizza compares to the more common 10-inch pizza. I’m happy with that, as I don’t need to eat more than that. They also offer a 12-inch pizza for $21-23. That works out to almost twice as much pizza, and is a good deal if you can agree on what kind to share. Also, Pizzeria Paradiso’s menu announces a 20% “dine-in” charge (and 12% for carry-out orders). That’s 20% before the city’s 10% surcharge, so my $15 pizza came to $19.80. The tab gives you a space to add a little more (2% (30 cents!), 5% (57 cents!), or 7% (a buck five!). I just had water, so I went wild and added a whopping buck 20 to round it out. That’s how we roll in 20015.

It was a good meal in every respect, the setting, the service and, most of all, the food. And I ate less than I might have! That’s doesn’t happen nearly as often as it should. Next trip, I’ll probably switch over to the Paesana (with pork rather than chicken sausage) or the Napoletana. Paradiso offers a world of good options. Pizzeria Paradiso deserves a place on your must-eat list.

***

Please click “follow” on our front page to receive blog posts in your email box.  Or bookmark us and check in from time to time.  If you’re planning a trip, you can “Search” the name of the destination city, state, or country for good restaurants (in Europe, often close to sites, like the Louvre or the Van Gogh Museum, that you’ll want to visit in any event). And stick around for news, all manner of recipes, hotels, and the occasional book or movie review and fine arts and architecture commentary.  Comments, questions, and suggestions of places to eat or stories to cover are very welcome.  And check out our Instagram page, johntannerbbq.