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Black Iron Pizza, Chef Eric McCoy's Quick-Serve, Chef-Driven Pizzas at 13th and E Street near Federal Triangle - Closed


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When I saw my husband off on a flight out of Dulles last night, we noticed that Harry's Tap Room has been transformed into a District Chop House. Didn't have time to try it out. Has anyone tried it yet?

I felt like a steak tonight, and was going to go to Ray's: The Steaks, but decided instead to head to District Chophouse at Verizon Center. Long story short, there was a Wizards game, and I think President Obama might have been somewhere down there - once I finally got parking (a plum spot, right across the street from Del Frisco's), I couldn't get into Del Campo (and I mean the police were physically blocking people from even walking down that street). Then, I went to Del Frisco's where I gave up after thirty minutes of being completely ignored, and left, so ... No Steak For Me!

I went instead to Black Iron Pizza, where my total bill, including pizza, salad, and tax, was $14.85. *They do not accept tips*, I was literally the only customer in the restaurant, and the people working there were as pleasant as they could be. So, thanks to Del Frisco's addled service, I'm about $100 richer (I was going to order the $59 bone-in rib-eye, a la carte, but they apparently didn't want my money), and probably had food that was every bit as good at Black Iron Pizza.

Especially considering this was quick-serve pizza, Black Iron Pizza was surprising. They have a couple of things to work on, but having chatted with the chef (he didn't know it was me), I'm confident this place will do a rocking lunch business if they can really crank out the pizzas in two minutes cooking time. The crust is *nothing* like you normally see in quick-serve pizzerias - it's not this matzah-thin stuff, and the toppings (in my case prosciutto and funghi) were more than generous, and of seemingly very high quality for the price - I even took half the pizza home with me for later or tomorrow. Even the simple, $3 side salad came with a dressing that was much better than the norm for this type of restaurant.

Again, they just opened, and have some issues to work on, but overall it seems promising, so I'd give them a week or two before you swarm down on them - weekend nights are the best times to come because this part of town is dead right now. Do not expect luxury here - it is quick-serve, and looks the part.

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A decent first trip to Black Iron Pizza on a Wednesday night, there were several people eating but mostly empty.  The manager (or owner) was there and said they are doing a slow roll out with little advertising right now as they figure out the pizza oven and POS system and what not.  They plan on starting delivery and catering in the next month or so as the kinks are worked out.  If they can do this they should do some banging lunch time business with all the office buildings around.  Not sure how they are going to manage staying open until midnight on Friday and Saturday nights.

We ordered two pizzas to go - the Margherita and Pizza Al Taglio (Pesto, mushrooms, eggplant, artichokes, roasted tomatoes, and ricotta cheese).  Wait time was about 10 minutes.

These are decent sized personal pizza sizes - enough for one, but you could easily have a slice or two left over.  My main critique was there was too much outer crust which was overly chewy, in a work out your jaw kinda way.  I'm suspecting that traveling home for 30 minutes probably didn't help that.  Might be a different experience if eaten fresh.  I also found the tomato sauce on the Margherita to be a bit metallic tasting (tinny) and the Al Taglio a touch over salty.

Otherwise, they were generous with the toppings and the main pizza part was tasty...just not digging the outer ring of crust.

For fast-casual a solid effort.

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Anyone else tried this place? Address is 1299 Pennsylvania, but it's on E Street between 12th and 13th. Have tried it twice and been quite pleased. It's closer to my office than any of the &Pizza locations so I am happy. Good choice for a quick, filling $10 lunch.

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