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Wiseguy NY Pizza, Now Owned by Thompson Hospitality Group, with Multiple Area Locations


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Hello!

Why not deliver?

First of all thanks to our valued customers we have enough business.

The number one reason why we are not doing delivery is: We will have to sacrifice service for the people who are coming to dine in and take out. So for the service issue we refuse to offer delivery or work with any outside delivery companies. However Postmates does it without our knowledge as pick up and then they deliver.

We are even debating to stop Catering Delivery as well because when the lunch times hits it's very difficult to manage big catering delivery orders when the place is already full for dine in as well as take out customers.

And I know the difficulties of delivery business because in past I had 5 pizza store focused on delivery. About 90% delivery.

It's just that you can't combine all ( dine in-take-out, delivery). Focus will go away and then the restaurant will lose service and quality.

So I say no to short term gains for long term losses.

How to reheat a slice

It's preferred to have pizza stone and you can buy it online or places like Bed and Beyond for $20 to $30. If you don't have a pizza stone then this is what you do:

#1 Preheat the oven 450° with a cookie sheet pan on bottom shelf. Make sure oven is hot and ready. About 15-20 minutes preheat.

#2 Place the pizza slices on the cookie sheet pan for a minute or two so the moisture can evaporate and the slice will get nice and crispy. But don't leave it in there more than 3 minutes otherwise you will have a cracker crust pizza.

---

Reheating Pizza (mr food)

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The other night I was munching on a slice of pizza at WiseGuy Rosslyn, drinking a soda and gazing out the window, and listening to the Stones.  Behind the construction was a 25 story high rise, a high rise, so rare in this area.    Pizza, soda, and music were all great.  For a fleeting moment while gazing up at the office building I felt like I was in New Yawk, New Yawk.   :rolleyes:  

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If Mr. Wiseguy is reading this thread and wants to consider expanding into the Maryland burbs, there isn't a good NY/by the slice style place that you can eat in south of Rockville. I'm partial to Silver Spring myself. :D

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If Mr. Wiseguy is reading this thread and wants to consider expanding into the Maryland burbs, there isn't a good NY/by the slice style place that you can eat in south of Rockville. I'm partial to Silver Spring myself. :D

Ooh, shots fired at Pete's! ;)

Though I agree that Wiseguy > Pete's.

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The wife wants me to stop at the Rosslyn location tonight and pick-up a couple pies for a party tonight.  Is there any parking nearby to make this as painless as possible or am I stuck hoping to luck into a street spot.

You're stuck unless you want to pay big bucks for a garage space. The only luck I've had there is down the side street (continue past Wiseguy, and take a right on the street that leads to Route 110 (but don't get *on* 110; turn around before making that commitment). It's worth a try. Stick a quarter in the meter and haul ass.

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The wife wants me to stop at the Rosslyn location tonight and pick-up a couple pies for a party tonight.  Is there any parking nearby to make this as painless as possible or am I stuck hoping to luck into a street spot.

tough area to park.   A couple of options.   First order ahead.  Drive down with 2 people.  One is in the car while the other runs in to get the pizzas.   The 2nd alternative is to arrange to pick up the pizzas probably sometime after 6.  Its very crowded during business hours.  It empties out like a ghost town after business hours.  As referenced above side streets are your best alternative for parking.   3rd:  not sure about this but I may have seen them deliver a group of pizzas to a waiting car outside, possibly double parked.  Call early.  See if they'll bring the pizza's out to your car while you might be double parked.  Just checked-- looks to me like you can order and pay on line.

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I should purchase a lottery ticket.  The moons aligned and found parking spot about 100 feet down the street, either that or it is late August in DC.

I pre-ordered 5 pizzas for pick-up at 4 pm.  Walked in the door at 3:59 and they were just pulling them from the oven.

Had to restrain myself from scarfing down a slice on the car ride home.

Will report back on how the neighborhood gang enjoyed.

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After a rather awful day yesterday, I didn't feel like cooking.  Having discovered that Wiseguy is now available through Doordash, I decided to order a Wiseguy pizza.  I ordered a Brooklyn Bridge, which has, among other ingredients, red onion, spicy peppers and sausage.  Whoa, spicy.  Loved it.  Instead of getting a pizza with meatballs on it, I ordered a side of meatballs (dd price = $7.95) and got three fairly big meatballs in tomato (or maybe it was technically marinara) sauce.  They were the kind of dense meatballs that you can cut without them crumbling into bits, which I associate with red checkered tablecloth Italian places.  Very satisfying.

The pizza arrived quickly (almost 20 minutes less than the quoted 65 minutes time), none the worse for wear (well, travel).  The meatballs were still plenty hot too.

I see that Wiseguy also has a delivery option on their website that appears to be their own service, but I didn't look into the details.  In any case, I'm thrilled they've started delivery.

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I ordered a whole pizza from the Rosslyn location of Wiseguy NY Pizza, and it seemed to confirm a trend I've noticed (which will undoubtedly raise the hackles on Nuri, but I'd be negligent if I didn't at least mention it).

Almost without exception, the slices that I've gotten from here have been delicious when eaten in the restaurant; almost without exception, the whole pizzas I've gotten from here have been merely "decent" when eaten at home. Also, the further I get away from "plain cheese," the less I like the pizza - so there seems to be two separate factors at play: 1) slices vs. whole pies, and 2) simplicity vs. complexity.

A New York Supreme ($25.99) is a very substantial, eight-slice pie with generous amounts of Grande Mozzarella, green peppers, mushrooms, pepperoni, red onions, sausage, and tomato sauce. I also got a Fountain Boylan's Soda ($2.73, (?)) which I made 2/3 Diet Cola, 1/3 Regular Cola - drank down about half a cup, and filled it back to the brim before heading out.

Wiseguy states that their whole pies are "65% bigger than others 14" Large Pizza," (*) and some simple mathematics resolves to an 18" pie (their single-slices come from 20" pies, which I assume would be challenging to package).

Okay, here's the non-fun part: This was not a great pizza - everything about it was pretty ordinary. It was a *clear* step up, up, up from the national chains, so don't even make the comparison, but I've become convinced that Wiseguy's strength lies in its slices, not its whole pizzas. When the whole pizzas cool to room temperature, the cheese also becomes a lot less appetizing - they reheat well enough in the oven, but I'm just not crazy about the toppings - the meats in particular are very salty - and the crust just seems to lose something when it's not eaten then-and-there, in the restaurant. I've probably been to Wiseguy closer to ten times than five, and I've ordered a wide array of pizza - slices, pies, simple, loaded, and have decided that I have a strong preference for simple slices eaten there, instead of loaded pies to go.

Why is this? I don't know, but I detected a similar thing with Flippin' Pizza many years ago, after several visits - the difference is that Wiseguy is absolutely better than Flippin'.

Nuri, I'm sorry - I wouldn't even write this, but I promised myself that I'd make a game effort to write up my restaurant meals, and I'm desperately trying to keep up. I know you're not going to be happy about this, but it's what I experienced, and anything less than this report would be a lie, and (in my eyes) would be disrespecting our readership, you, and the fine work that you've done - I know of no New York slice in the DC area that I enjoy more than Wiseguy - some types of food are best eaten on-the-spot, and I believe Wiseguy pizza is one of them. That is a characteristic, not a flaw (think about a great, fresh baguette which dries out towards the end of the day).

The service, just as it has always been, was friendly and welcoming - whatever you're doing in terms of training your staff seems to be working - I don't think I've ever had an unpleasant experience at Wiseguy NY Pizza. The system didn't allow me to leave a tip on my credit card, so I asked the cashier to change a twenty, and told him to keep a five ("It's Christmas," I said, wanting the staff to know they're appreciated.)

(*) An interesting conundrum: How do you write the inch-mark, double-quote sign inside of quoted text? Paging Bill on Capitol Hill or leleboo.

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I mostly order by the slice, always plain cheese pizza.  This is what I always had as a kid, probably because I didn't have extra money for toppings.  Two slices fresh out of the oven and a Mexican coke and I am in heaven.  I like the taste of their cheese.  I did buy a whole pie once and put lots of toppings on it because my husband wouldn't eat it otherwise.  It was okay but not great.  I think the toppings overwhelmed the pizza and I could no longer taste the cheese.  If only there was a way for me to figure out the timing to get a fresh slice every time instead of getting it reheated.

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If you're reheating at home, always reheat your pizza in a lid-covered skillet. Never the oven. Never the microwave. Always a skillet. As many slices as you can fit at a time.

100% agreed on the skillet. I never cover the lid on mine, but I'll have to try and would probably help to melt the cheese more on thicker slices, like a Sicilian.

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On 2/24/2016 at 4:33 PM, ALargeFarva said:

100% agreed on the skillet. I never cover the lid on mine, but I'll have to try and would probably help to melt the cheese more on thicker slices, like a Sicilian.

I agree - far better way to heat pizza. 

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On 12/31/2015 at 1:11 PM, hopsing said:

I mostly order by the slice.This is what I always had as a kid.  Two slices fresh out of the oven and a Mexican coke and I am in heaven.  

I still eat Wise Guy’s pizza.  I believe the above comments reflect exactly what drives me there, why I get it fairly regularly, and why I enjoy it so much

It is not 2 Amy’s, it is not Neapolitan.  But I love it.

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Wiseguy is opening a 3rd location in Pentagon City. 

Incidentally, a couple of weeks ago, I got a Large Supreme Pie to go at Rosslyn, and it was magnificent New York-style Pizza.

What, you tellin' me it wasn't? It fed two of us for two meals, and it was delicious.

WigeguyLarge.jpg 

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This is my favorite NY pizza place.  I wish the Rosslyn location had more seating as it is more convenient than Pentagon City.  I did notice some months ago that they had a small location inside a GWU food hall.  Not sure if it is still there.

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Lots more locations, according to the web site, including a Pentagon city alternative to the impossible-to-find-parking original Rosslyn location (and both are open on weekends, which I didn’t think used to be the case). Still excellent, if a bit crowded for takeout at lunchtime for my taste in these COVID infested times. 

The pizza is great, probably our favorite of the non explicitly Neapolitan style, now that there’s no more Pete’s Apizza in Arlington. Light, just right crispiness crust (by the slice), and good sauce (for the relatively traditional toppings anyway - haven’t tried the Korean or chicken tikka ones). And, very important, great garlic knots.

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1 hour ago, noamb said:

alternative to the impossible-to-find-parking original Rosslyn location

Man, if you miss one of those few precious spaces right in front, you either have to take a desperation right turn (and pray you find something there), or else you're doomed to take a driving tour of Rosslyn. (Or double park.)

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It’s the 4th and the Rosslyn location was open and crowded with folks like us going downtown. Long line moved very efficiently and our Pepperoni and Korean Chicken slices were hot, tasty, and filling! And bottled Boylan sodas are always a treat. 

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2 hours ago, stevem said:

It’s the 4th and the Rosslyn location was open and crowded with folks like us going downtown. Long line moved very efficiently and our Pepperoni and Korean Chicken slices were hot, tasty, and filling! And bottled Boylan sodas are always a treat. 

Somehow, I missed ElGuapo's post from last year - say it ain't so, Nuni Erol. I went to the Rosslyn location a few weeks ago (it has been my go-to Wiseguys location for years), and I wondered what happened to the large Supreme Pizza I ordered (3x well-done). It was "okay," but a continuation of a small-but-definitive decline I've experienced there recently - now I might know why. Wiseguy had always used good, not great, ingredients, but (like Pho 75 (*)), they managed to achieve a degree of alchemy with their whole pies.

Two weeks ago, I went to CSNY Pizza in Rockville, which had the best New York-style pies in the DMV of late. While it was a step up from Wiseguys (as it always has been), it, too, seemed to have declined in quality since I was last here, perhaps a year ago, but I'm hoping this was a one-time blip.

(*) This evening I got carryout at Pho Hot in Annandale, and I'll be darned if it, too, was inferior in quality to what I had there several weeks before. Pho Hot is my favorite Pho house, not that I'm up to speed on the top Pho houses in the DMV right now. And hey! Remember the days when you went to Pho 75, paid $5 in cash for your bowl, and left a $1.00 bill on the table? I wasn't being cheap - that's what everyone did. Now, a bowl of Pho is over $17.00! And perhaps even slightly smaller than the size they used to be. 

Regardless, all four of these establishments are still better than the norm within their two genres (NY-style pizza and Pho).

Cheers,
Rocks

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On 9/20/2023 at 7:47 PM, dracisk said:

Wiseguys is opening in the Wheaton Mall on Wednesday, their first location in MoCo.

"Opening Information for MoCo's First Wiseguy Pizza" by Patrick Herron on mocoshow.com

In South Arlington, you basically have two choices for acceptable pizza: Pupatella, and Wise Guy (both very different from one another). So far, I'm pleasantly surprised with Pupatella's quality post-expansion, at least so far (*always* substitute fresh mozzarella for their too-assertive smoked provolone, and make sure to request your pizzas "well done"), but the Rosslyn Wise Guy isn't as good as it was a year ago (based on my two most current visits).

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