Nick Freshman

I agree with beezy. I went for a late Saturday lunch with about 20 family members. I was highly skeptical, and I had recommended we go somewhere else. They were happy to have us, and the service was good. It's hard to serve 20 people, and I believe it is actually harder when the rest of the place is empty. The kitchen gets crushed all at once. Everything came out as ordered in pretty good time. The dipping sauce was good as was the bread. I had veal ravioli that were good, but my wife's panini was a disappointment--it never saw the press. All in all, I think that it is by no means great, but fine. The choices on that strip are each with their shortcomings, even Carlyle, so in some ways Extra Virgin fits right in.

I agree that this pizza is terrific. I lived in Rome for some time and survived on the pizza there as a college student. I have never found anything like it in DC, but the Neapolitan style at Pizzaiolo makes a great effort. There seems to be an effort for authenticity that I rarely see--thin crust, both chewy and crisp, slightly charred; tart and sweet sauce spread to the edges of the crust; pools of mozzarella spread judiciously around the pizza; torn basil leaves adorned at the end. The beauty of an excellent pizza is its simplicity. You don't get the idyllic setting looking out the window at the Crystal City Restaurant, but how can you beat the price?