I have no complaints about 2 Amys. The appetizers are terrific, the wine selection is very good, and the pizzas are still delicious, even taking advantage of seasonal ingredients, I've noticed.

Also the staff is wonderful. It seems that some of them have been there for years, which is always a good sign.

Went for lunch today, and had been about a month ago with Shaggy. Both times the pizzas were very good, I thought. Service at the bar was terrific, and the meats they are offering are a nice addition to the menu. Today I had the special pizza--roasted ramps, sausage and Parmesan. Man, that was good--spicy and fresh ramps with a good deal of bite left to them, flavorful sausage and ample Parmesan.

I'm way too cautious to wade into the great pizza debate that rages on this site. All I wanted to add was that I had a couple of pretty damn good pizzas here.

Why can't 2 Amy's get their charcuterie right? It is one of my favorite places for an afternoon of meat, cheese and wine but their meats are not well cared for. The edges are dry and the meat is unevenly sliced. Please, someone help them!

On a brighter note, fava bean crostini are back

the fava bean crostini are bright green and delicious.

however, the pizza here tonight has left a bitter taste in my mouth. it's bad enough that the bottom of the crust of our pizza was burnt to a crisp, and worse listening to our server explain that char comes with the pizza, but just about intolerable to receive a lecture from the floor manager about how some people don't like the way they char the pizzas at 2 amys. please, i have eaten at least a hundred pizzas here and have never run into anything remotely this bad before. this pizza should never have been served in the first place. so what the hell is 2 amys doing these days beligerently defending burnt pizzas to its customers? (believe me, after the entertaining little scene at our table, they were glad to see us leave; maybe i have been out too long in the sun.)

My last pizza there was pretty damn good, but we were in just after opening and the place was empty. Usually I am concerned that the pizza is going to be undercooked. That said, I cannot believe that the floor manager acted in that manner. Very poor form. I guess they figure that they don't need the business. Did they correct things?

it was not crowded, either, when our pizzas emerged from the oven, so maybe they were having problems getting it going or there was some dirt on the floor. we ate one pizza, half-burnt, beyond char, but the second was well past saving, and the commotion began when our server, who had neglected our table entirely once the pizzas were presented (by the manager, who threw them down, grabbed our appetizer plates and ran off without replacing them), asked if we wanted the pizza wrapped up to take home. the manager actually returned to the table with the pizza to show us there was nothing wrong with it, and i had to flip it over to show her. this escalated into what in another restaurant might have been taken for a shouting match, except that the place had filled up by then and the dining room had turned into the playground it usually is. her final question: what to you want? my response: i don't want to pay for the pizza. actually, we would have been well within our rights to reject the first pizza as well, and we shouldn't have eaten it because the bitter taste of it lingered for some time.

we live close by and the only thing i don't like about 2 amys is that it gets too crowded and we have to be strategic about when we arrive if we don't want to wait -- the same thing that can be said about a lot of good, or even better than good, restaurants, such as palena cafe. however, i really don't enjoy confrontations like this -- i have only had maybe half a dozen of them at restaurants in my entire life. all i had been expecting when i talked to the server was for the pizza to be taken off the bill -- not to be dressed down and basically told that we were the ones with the problem. i was reading last week that this is a pizza factory. i would agree, but it is the best pizza factory around. i understand that things can go wrong, and it didn't even bother me that the place was at least slightly out of control while we were there, which i was able to observe the minute we walked through the door. afterwards, we went home and watched dogs on television for two hours and it reminded me of the dynamics that had wrecked our meal at 2 amys. it's a people problem, i was one of the people, i'll admit it, but it is going to take me a long while before i feel up to returning to this place.

Agreed -- that treatment was inexcusable. But I think it's important to add that it's anomalous. Generally, the servers and "managers" (the hosts?) are extraordinarily gracious and helpful, and friendly, often under great pressure. It's part of what makes 2 Amys such an (almost) perfect neighborhood restaurant. Which is not to say that they're perfect -- no one is. And your experience last week actually reflects the restaurant's primary fault -- that although the pizzas are *usually* fabulous, there is too much inconsistency in both directions (over- and under-baked) in the post-MacQuaid era. I think the variables are (i) how slammed the restaurant is and (ii) who is manning the oven. There are one or two guys there who are reliable, and when I see them I'm confident of a good pie; others seem not to be able to regulate the timing and temperature adequately.

So what happened? did they take it off your bill?

yes, they did take it off the bill -- without conceding there was anything wrong with it and not until after it was back in my face, instead of the trash where it belonged, and i was asked to explain myself. hey, it was definitely anomalous -- one bad time after many, many good ones. people make mistakes and if we had to start over, things probably would have been handled differently by both sides. even so, small as it may be in the infinite scheme of things, it still rankles.

Over the past year or so, I have noticed that a good deal of servers/hosts/managers have become a bit more testy (is that how you spell testy?). It has been pervasive throughout all of the restaurants that I have been dining at - hole in the walls, chains, fine dining, etc. Not sure why, although I think some of it has to do with the general rude nature of customers. Not saying that you were in this situation at all, just as I have not been over the past year or so, but when servers/hosts/managers deal with crap all day long, sometimes they snap on a perfectly good customer for no real reason. Not that this makes it right, this actually is worse than snapping on the person that is being a pain in the ass for no good reason, but that may be why I have been seeing it more lately.

The best reason to go to 2 Amy's is the incredibly fast service and their wonderful daily specials. Although their crust isn't my favorite, their "signature" pizzas and their topping combinations for their special pizzas use better ingredients and just have more refinement than other places. Like tonite, one of the special pizzas had cockles, pancetta, artichokes, garlic, and grana. It was so good. For appetizers, roasted root vegetables with vin cotto, smoked ricotta with arugula, and an order of suppli (their deep-fried cheese and rice balls). With a couple great beers, it was an awesome meal for a good price. And we had our food in less than 10 minutes! We can be in and out of there within an hour, which we really appreciate now that we're parents who are paranoid about having our kid melt down in a public place. We love that 2 Amy's is also kid-friendly, and liked this aspect even when we were childless. But the variety and freshness of the food, not just the pizzas, is definitely why we return again and again.

2 Amys. Pig fritters. Pig fritters. Not sure what part of the pig was in these, and it doesn't matter. How could you go wrong with fried pork? Also, the porchetta - what a great combination of textures and tastes.

Softshell panini are currently on the menu at 2 Amy's. A truly great sandwich.

Tonight's clam pizza was easily the best one i've had since the very first. I'd have to say, this is the best clam pizza in town right now.

Went around three weeks ago and enjoyed it. My wife had the meatball pizza while I constructed my own with buffalo mozzarella, prosciutto and some other tasties. I liked being able to arrive and get seated quickly. One of the things that keeps me away from this place is the crowds during anything remotely close to prime time and the fact they take no reservations and there is no place to stand to wait.

We went Saturday night around 7:45 knowing that we were in for a long wait. Happily, despite being told it would be a 45 minute wait, we were seated in just 15.

The highlight of the meal, other than my usual margarita extra and burreta, were the roasted chickpeas. These were fresh chickpeas, roasted in the pod and served with "sexy salt." They looked similar to edemame but had a delicious nutty flavor. My only complaint was they were sitting in a lot of olive oil. It never occurred to me that you could cook with fresh chickpeas. Does anyone have any clue where I may find them?

Dessert was rhubarb chocolate chip ice cream. Rich and creamy as always but the rhubarb flavor really didn't come through.

In the past, I have found them at Super H in Fairfax, and Han a Reum (now H Mart) in Merrifield, and I also have seen them at Halalco in Falls Church. I haven't been to any or those places in a long time, so I can't tell you if they have them now.

I know I'm not alone in saying this: the ice cream at 2 Amys is - bar none - the best I've ever had. I'd kill for a scoop of their stracciatella right now.

But one flavor I haven't seen in a while is their mint chocolate chip. If you haven't tried it, trust me: it will change the way you look at ice-cream forever. Has anyone seen it on the menu recently?

-Owen

if by any luck this weekend is as good as last weekend, you can have your okra fried into pale gold and sand dry shells with the semblance of ammo for space-age muskets. the pods inside are left an amazingly vibrant green. then strike up conversation with an open baguette veal tongue panino made lively by pickled red onions, some hot red cherry pepper and green sauce, topped with a chorus line of sliced boiled egg. this is not the easiest thing in the world to pick up and eat, but it is falling-apart good enough to make you forget the pizza. the meat, which i guess is poached though i have never cooked a tongue, is mild in flavor, and softly textured with the occasionial capillary. which reminds me of a story in which, years ago, my wife, then a teenager, invited by a diplomatic family across the street to a picnic at the beach, was provided with a tongue sandwich not to her liking, probably without even trying it because she was not about to taste anything that could taste her back, although she claims it wasn't peeled, and as inconspicuously as possible, buried it in the sand. a good pale raspberry panna cotta quivered on the dessert plate in a caramel that was cooked almost too short, but tasted close to a honey when it hit up against the creamy pudding.

(the next night, or was it the night before, we went to palena, where the cafe menus almost went out with hotdogs on them, and the fazzoletti -- folded supple pasta in a buttery sauce with cherry tomatoes -- were great. sure, there's nothing wrong with the pasta they pile on at olazzo, and you probably can't make it much cheaper at home, but you can make it better. the squid we had one early evening was as tender as you can get it, but the bethesda dining room is so dark as a cave, even under the flickering light from the faux fireplace, that you wouldn't be suprised to see bats flying out everything someone opens the door.)

I am curious if anyone agrees with me that the bar stools in cafe area in the back are some of the most uncomfortable in town? The wicker, or caned stools have a sunken seat and the support rim around the edges dig into the back of my thighs. I love stopping by on the way home from work on nights that my wife is out of town and dining at the bar. The small plates prep area is great to gaze at while making selections and the bar staff is great. Do they make it uncomfortable to hang out back there on purpose?

The chairs there, in general, are the worst that I ever remember sitting in. And, it really sucks because 2 Amy's is a place where I could sit down and eat for a few hours, ordering a little bit here and a little bit there.

i dig peter pastan and have logged many an hour on seat H -- far-left bar stool -- but yeah, the uncomfortableness is most assuredly on purpose (read: turns). same reason there's no piped-in jazz or effort to dim the din.

but as you alluded, it's a small price to pay to watch scott plate the small plates. he's a sweetie.

has anyone had the cold smoked salmon bagel on sunday? ask nicely during the week and he might serve you a few slices of lox. it's divine.

Ah ha, you spill the beans. How well do you know Scott? I mean, I love the guy, but I wouldn't call him a sweetie. I had always said that if he and I and a few other ex-2amys kitchen thugs should start a band, we could call it; Scottie to Hottie and The Cranky Curmudgeons...

Stopped in last night and sampled some items I haven't seen on the menu in the past. All were incredible, but one stood out. Suckling pig head salad. Wow! The head meat varied from light pink to closer to red. Most of the dish was meat, but it was peppered with a bit of cabbage (I'm pretty certain), some carrot, and some orange zest. Dressed with vinegar, this dish offered a great balance of tart and slight sweetness and bitterness. The meat was spongy in a wonderful way (slightly reminiscent of tongue) and the firm pork worked well with the crisp carrot and cabbage. If you like offal or other unconventional meats, you gotta give this a whirl.

Other highlights of the evening were sweet English peas with Pecorino and mint. Those coulda used a bit more mint, but were otherwise nicely flavorful. A sardine and leek tart was also excellent. It included egg and potato and was rather rich.

Went to 2 Amy's for an early dinner tonight. This is a bustling restaurant. A few minutes after we sat down, the girl by the door was already taking down names for the waitlist. The potato croquette was flavorful, but nothing extrodinary, and the outter crust was a bit too hard. I got the meatball pizza and the husband went for the Norcia (salami, tomato, grilled pepper). I didn't like my pizza at all, the meatball was dry and the pecorino was too salty to use on a pizza. The Norcia on the other hand was ultra tasty. I especially liked the sweetness of the grilled peppers. To end the meal, we got the cannoli and the raspberry penacotta. Both were delicious. The cannoli shell was light and crisp. The penacotta was not too sweet, perfect for me since I don't like sugary sweet deserts. The service was minimal as expected in a busy informal place like this. They take your orders, they bring you food, you get your water refilled, and that's it.

I had an enjoyable lunch at the bar at Two Amys this afternoon, my first visit. I hadn't expected all of the non-pizza items, and decided to try some charcuterie and cheese before my pie. I had the excellent prociutto di parma, lardo (I'd never had this before...maybe I'm not getting it, but I found the flavor a bit underwhelming, which didn't help with the guilt of consuming basically pure fat), and an interesting semi hard cheese called barilotto. All washed down with a very nice (if not the most generous pour of) Montepulciano.

I wanted to try their pizza at its most basic, so ordered a simple margharita, which I thought was delicious. I liked the slightly charred crust, and it wasn't too too soupy in the middle, which is an issue I know some people have complained about before (though it seems to me like they could really solve this issue if they just strained the tomatos a bit...maybe it's against the DOC rules).

After about forty five minutes I was happily full from the meal and was beginning to lose circulation in my legs from the bar stool, so I knew it was time to go. All in all an enjoyable meal. Not perfect, but enjoyable, and certainly worth a few more visits (in the dining room...on proper chairs) to explore the rest of the menu.

Nice dinner here last night - always good pizza (I had the 2 Amys with the addition of grilled peppers) and salt cod croquettes. Also tried the sheep's riccota with pine nuts and special honey (eucalyptus - maybe?) which was very creamy and good. Exceptional was the duck prosciutto sliced so thin it was translucent and it almost melted on your tongue - first time having it and it was oh so good. However, the duck comes with a lentil salad which is ok - but doesn't add anything or seem to go well with the duck. So get the duck and push off the lentils.