Timber Pizza Co., Chef Dani Moreira's Pizzeria in Petworth at 8th and Upshur Street

[jca76]

I can't find a thread for Timber Pizza Co., so I'm starting a thread for the first time! 

The bf, two friends, and I tried Timber (in Petworth, on Upshur St.) about a month ago, shortly after it opened.  For a place that had just made the brick-and-mortar leap from a truck-hauled oven, Timber was impressively strong out of the gate.  It was crowded on that Sunday night, and we were wary when we saw that you order at the counter and then hope to find space at the communal picnic tables.  (Unless you manage to grab seats at the small bar in the back, where you can apparently order from the bartender.)  Luckily, our hovering paid off and we snagged a table before our pizzas arrived.  (If we lived in the neighborhood, we'd be doing regular take-out.) 

Everyone was super friendly, and the woman at the counter was helpful in recommending how much to order.  We went with empanadas, three pizzas, a sharing-sized salad, and two large-format cocktails.  It turned out to be a pretty ideal amount of food; we ended up with a few leftover slices to take home.  (Which definitely didn't make me sad.)  I really enjoyed the corn, sweet red peppers, spring onions empanadas, because how can you go wrong with that vegi combination in a crisp pizza dough shell (especially with the spicy pineapple chups, which I used for my pizza crust as well).  The friends like the pork ones too.  The JMD salad (sugar snap peas, spearmint, salad greens, radishes, lemon-honey vinaigrette) was lovely, a bright, crisp contrast to all the dough we were consuming.  With our friends deferring to our pescatarianism, we settled on the Asher (tomato sauce, smoked mozzarella, fresh mozzarella, roasted corn, hot peppers, smoked paprika, micro-cilantro), the Munday (olive oil, provolone, mozzarella, squash blossoms, sugar snap peas, honey ricotta, garlic chips, spicy honey), and the Ty Brady (crab, corn, potatoes, Old Bay).  The crust had nice char and chewiness, and I loved the creative topping combinations.  All were delicious, and we disagreed on how to rank our favorites, which is always a good sign.  (I was particularly pleasantly surprised by how much I liked the spicy honey on the Munday.)  

We didn't linger so that others could have our seats, but luckily the Twisted Horn is just a few doors down and has excellent cocktails (if too many mosquitos on their outdoor patio that night!).  But we'll be back.

[Lori Gardner]

I've been to Timber three times- partly because the owner is a close friend of my son-in-law- but I'm truly a big fan. The Munday is my favorite- the seasonal ingredients, the spicy honey, and crunch just can't be beat. The first couple of times I loved the toppings but found the crust a bit soggy in the middle.  They are now putting the pizza on a wire rack instead of a ceramic plate, and its improved the crispiness of the crust. 

I wrote about it here if you are interested in a few more details:

"Timber Pizza Co: Fired Up in Petworth" by Lori Gardner on beenthereeatenthat.net

 

[Marty L.]

Went tonight--got the Turu and Bentley, both excellent.  Great place to have in Petworth.  Jonathan is right--they are doing pizza as well as just about anyone in town.  About 80% of the pizza combos are new -- they are changing every month or so, according to the chef.  

Here is the current menu.

[Simul Parikh]

Timber is the best pizza in the district right now, especially if you prefer Neapolitan style over NY/NJ/Conn style. 

I never have been to Petworth before, and keep finding excuses not to drive all the way out here. It's the hardest place in the district to get to, bascially, other than Takoma Park. Anyway, neighborhood around Upshur/Georgia have really taken off. Lots of new businesses and cute places, dress shop (Willow), independent book store, restaurants, etc. Timber is in that main stretch, across the street from Himitsu. Got there around 7 (45 min from Old Town, not unreasonable at that time of day). You order at the counter, and take a number on a holder and take it to where you're going to sit. It's a small space, they have an outdoor area, and they also have seats at the bar. They have an eclectic beer selection, including quite a few small breweries I never see out. On draft, they have Hellbender, which is local. I got a dry hopped sour ale, Sour Chicky by Burley Oak Brewery (on the Eastern Shore). 

We got the roasted pork empanadas which comes with a pineapple ketchup. Did not think I'd like the sauce, but it worked. We ordered two pizza. One pepperoni and cheese and the other was the Green Monster (which a cutie pie 3 year old in line recommended to us) that had pesto, fresh mozz, feta cheese, zucchini and kale. Based on a classic pizza rating scale, this is how I felt about the pies - A- pepperoni, B- Green Monster

1. Crust -

A - perfect char, but not too much, slight chew but not too much, cornicione was just slightly less than an inch (i.e. - perfect), and doesn't get soupy in center

B - same

2. Sauce -

A - First bite was salty, but I think that was because the pineapple ketchup was sweet, b/c after that it tasted ideal

B - I don't generally like white / pesto pizzas, but this was great, not overpowered by the basil

3. Toppings -

A - I like my pepperoni bigger but it pays to have it smaller on a smaller pie (rather than the massive Detroit pizzas I grew up with). Crisped and tasty.

B - Veggies fresh, tasted good. I was even accepting of the kale. They did not sprinkle it like arugula to make it a salad pizza, it was cooked. That's a good thing.

4. Cheese - 

A - Not too stretchy, not browned much, perfect to me. Not fresh mozzarella as far as I can tell. "Cheese" - maybe mozz/provolone blend?

B - Mmm.. mozz and feta go great together!

The pizza is better than most, the prices are lower than most ($14 for pepperoni vs $16 at All Purpose, average pie $14.77 vs $18.77 at All Purpose), and slightly larger than Ghibellina and All Purpose. 

The new champion!! Ghibellina had a great run, recently had some issues with soupiness that weren't correctable with instruction. Check it out, and then get a drink at Hank's Cocktail Bar afterwards.

[Tweaked]

Timber, along with Himitsu, are finalists for Bon Appetit's America's Best New Restaurants 2017 (Pineapple & Pearls also made the list).

Good year for Petworth! 

[DIShGo]

I tried Timber Pizza Co. for the first time recently, and I enjoyed it. I prefer NewYork-style pizza over Neapolitan, and this is the later, but it is a very good representation of the Neapolitan style.

My dinner companion and I shared two pizzas: "The Julia" and "The Bentley." Of the two, I much preferred "The Julia," with olive oil, provolone, mozzarella, pea-shoot pesto, sun golds, corn, seasonal greens, sesame seeds and lemongrass dressing. The flavors were fresh and summery, and the crust was nicely browned and crisp. The heavier "Bentley" was a more traditional pie with tomato sauce, provolone, mozzarella, cured chorizo, sopressata, Peruvian sweet peppers and spicy honey. It had a nice amount of spice and good flavor, but all of the sausages made it a little greasy and less appealing than "The Julia." We ate our pizza on little ceramic dishes that looked exactly like paper plates. They looked so much like paper, I was surprised every time I touched them to find that they were not.

We completed our visit with an order of empanadas to go, which we enjoyed for lunch the next day. We sampled both types; the slow-roasted pork with picked shallots, and the corn, smoked paprika, spring onion and sweet pepper. Of the two, I preferred the vegetarian, although both were quite good.

 "The Julia"

[KeithA]

My good friend who has great taste in food loves Timber Pizza and has highly recommended it. I haven't had a chance to check it out yet. However, this same friend brought me some of Timber Pizza's wood-fired bagels and they were excellent. I'm not sure if the bagels are every morning or only weekends, but they are legit!

[funkyfood]

Somehow i hadn't been here before last night.  This is,  in my opinion,  the best pizza in dc, by a large margin. 

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Call Your Mother (arldiner)

[DonRocks]

On 8/26/2018 at 9:30 AM, funkyfood said:

Somehow i hadn't been here before last night.  This is,  in my opinion,  the best pizza in dc, by a large margin. 

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Call Your Mother (arldiner)

Not that it matters, but I saw a picture of Chef Moreira today for the first time, and she looks like she's about eight.

[saf]

Got pizza from here last night - we had a gift card from a Christmas present. It was our second time here. And we remembered why we never bothered to go back. Pizza was fine, but not all that. Ordering is chaotic, even online, as you race to get it in for your preferred pickup time. And while our biggest problem, a dining room that is more like Romper Room, is not so much a problem right now, it just is not worth it.

[bookluvingbabe]

We hosted the Timber food truck at BL8th grader’s (god, I feel old) school last week and it was a great success.  The PTA purchased 50 pizzas for staff at the school to take home.  I bought a variety of pizzas for us and the winner was the Green Monster.   Loved the pesto on it.

 

Mr. BLB liked it so much he has tracked down the food truck schedule and is picking up dinner tomorrow night. Win-win.