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Pupatella, a Local Neapolitan Pizza Chain Undergoing Expansion


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We went there this past Sunday and it was very busy which was great to see. It is really nice to have a local, independent Italian pizzeria where you can get a great pie, quality wine by the glass (aglianico in my case) and low key fun ambience. May be our new Sunday habit!

Amy! What took you so long?

Isn't it great?

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Amy! What took you so long?

Isn't it great?

If she went on Sunday because that's her day off, then it could be that they weren't OPEN on Sundays until recently. That's why I only get there a couple of times a year - no way I'm crossing the bridge on a weeknight, and my Saturdays are usually packed.

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So, Pupatella serves doughnuts now, Friday-Sunday (maybe just lunch, can't remember). Is this new? I usually eat here on the weekdays. They're $3 each, but they're the no-hole variety. Choices are Sugar Dusted, Vanilla Creme, and Nutella. Split the sugar dusted with a friend. So good...incredibly fluffy and a nicely browned texture on the outside.

While ordering, I noticed 3 teenagers eating one of arugula salads each. While I love the salads here, I tried the hot panini (Eggplant parm) for the first time. While good and the homemade bread shines, it was a bit heavy for an early lunch. Should have gone with the salad. My friend had the prosciutto arugula pizza and loved it. I've introduced a number of friends to Pupatella's pizza in the past year, but this was my favorite experience as my friend couldn't go a bite without exclaiming aloud to anyone who would listen how amazing the pizza was. Fortunately it wasn't too crowded yet.

Oh and do try the doughnuts.

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Had a chance to grab a later lunch at Pupatella yesterday. It had probably been more than a year since I was last there. Ordered the Margherita with sausage and, after being told they wouldn't do half-sizes of their interesting salads, ordered the side salad since that was the only realistic option to get a salad.

Pupatella is a wonderful place and no doubt a very popular godsend for the neighborhood in which it sits. Love their pizza oven (is it really made from Vesuvius ash?!?!) and the people are very nice.

As side salads go, mine was excellent; much more interesting the norm with a tangy vinaigrette, plenty of chopped olive and arugula. I really enjoyed it. Likewise on the pizza. Buffalo mozz. Excellent sauce. Good char and flavor though not what I'm used to from 2Amys (or Naples for that matter) but I'm not sure that's the goal here. The crust is a bit thicker/heavier than typical for an authentic neapolitan pizza; more Americanized in that way. It also doesn't really have the characteristic "soupy" center but that may be purposeful since they slice it before bringing it to the table, something I don't think I've ever seen a serious Neapolitan pizza do but I take has always been done here. All said though, I enjoyed and happily finished the pizza.

I understand fully why Pupatella is so popular and think they deserve all the support they get. And, what's "best" is in the eye of the beholder since we all favor different things. But, if you're looking for as authentic a neapolitan pizza as possible, I think 2Amys has to get the nod.

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An empty Pupatella at 4:15 on Thursday afternoon. This crust is superb; my only beef is that the tomato sauce is a smidge too sweet, and the red pizza a touch too charred. All is well, Enzo and Anastasia - you don't need to be there.

My compositions:

Pizza ($7), White Sauce, Garlic, Sautéed Onions ($1), Prosciutto di Parma ($3) <-- Get this combination - it doesn't need cheese. While not inherently "seasonal," this is nevertheless a great springtime pizza.

Pizza ($7), Red Sauce, Garlic, Fresh Mozzarella ($1.50) Button Mushrooms Sautéed in Wine ($1), Beef Pepperoni ($1) <-- As with playing a Mozart sonata using the sparest of connective pedaling, the tiniest error in execution is fed through an amplifier. They forgot my pepperoni. :(

Vino ($30, discounted to $20 with the purchase of two pizzas), Sunday Mountain (Single Vineyard) Sauvignon Blanc, Marlborough, NZ <-- A perfect, absolutely perfect, combination with the white pizza. Do try.

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An empty Pupatella at 4:15 on Thursday afternoon. This crust is superb; my only beef is that the tomato sauce is a smidge too sweet, and the red pizza a touch too charred. All is well, Enzo and Anastasia - you don't need to be there.

My compositions:

Pizza ($7), White Sauce, Garlic, Sautéed Onions ($1), Prosciutto di Parma ($3) <-- Get this combination - it doesn't need cheese. While not inherently "seasonal," this is nevertheless a great springtime pizza.

Pizza ($7), Red Sauce, Garlic, Fresh Mozzarella ($1.50) Button Mushrooms Sautéed in Wine ($1), Beef Pepperoni ($1) <-- As with playing a Mozart sonata using the sparest of connective pedaling, the tiniest error in execution is fed through an amplifier. They forgot my pepperoni. :(

Vino ($30, discounted to $20 with the purchase of two pizzas), Sunday Mountain (Single Vineyard) Sauvignon Blanc, Marlborough, NZ <-- A perfect, absolutely perfect, combination with the white pizza. Do try.

Thanks for the tips. I am going to be over there in about an hour and a half!

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Pizza ($7), White Sauce, Garlic, Sautéed Onions ($1), Prosciutto di Parma ($3) <-- Get this combination - it doesn't need cheese. While not inherently "seasonal," this is nevertheless a great springtime pizza.

Any idea what their "white sauce" is? Is it a beschemel, or is it just a reduced cream sauce? Just trying to gauge how heavy it might be.

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Any idea what their "white sauce" is? Is it a beschemel, or is it just a reduced cream sauce? Just trying to gauge how heavy it might be.

I'm pretty sure it's a reduced cream sauce, but it's not heavy at all. I tend to prefer Pupatella's white-sauce pizzas to their reds, for whatever reason - I'm thinking it might be because the flavor profile falls within a narrower range. I really hope someone tries that exact same pizza I had last night - the sweetness of the sautéed onions played so well off the saltiness of the Prosciutto di Parma, and tomato sauce + cheese would have overshadowed the subtleties of the interplay (yeah, I know those last four words sounded douche-y).

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I was there last night too, on the patio with my son - he had the bimbi, and I had Vincent's recommendation, the special - it had no sauce, eggplant (kind of a puree) and bresaolo, which my son kept trying to take (hard to say no to him but you bet I did). Amazing, as always - this place never, ever disappoints me.

I do like the mushroom pizza very much - it has the white sauce and I don't find it heavy at all.

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I took the fam to Pupatella last Saturday and overall it was really good. We got three pizzas, a salad, a side of meatballs, aranicin with eggplant, and fried mozz balls, and gelato. One of the pizzas, a special, had thin slices of zucchini on top, and they got a bit burned, which I didn't mind but Twinsmommy wasn't crazy about. Their pizza crust is really something!

The only other small quibble was that some of our apps got lost and came out with the pizzas. Nothing major, would go back in a heartbeat.

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Confession time. A few years ago, I had called Pupatella the new king of pizza in the DC area, having wrested that (unofficial, but correct) award away from Comet Ping Pong, which had previously wrested it away from the intractable 2 Amys - if it wasn't for someone coming in and shaking things up a little bit, 2 Amys would still be cruising right along, widely considered the best pizza because it is still excellent (though since Edan Macquaid left, it has never been the same), but the reality is that it has been surpassed.



However, the last several times I had pizza at Pupatella, Pizzaiolo-Owner Enzo Algarme and GM-Owner Anastasia were absent (they are new parents), and the pizzas suffered because of it. Oh, they were still good pies, but they no longer deserved to be called "the best in DC." I was going to make it official after this visit.



However, after this visit, I can safely say that when Enzo is manning the oven - and lo and behold - he was on this visit, they *are* the best pizzas in the DC area. So, if you walk in and see him there, you're in for a real treat; if you walk in and he isn't there, you're in for merely a very good pizza, but not the best in town (in these situations, the award goes to Ghibellina in 14UP which, during happy hour, produces the single best value pizza in DC history - trust me and try it sometime, and you can write to thank me at donrockwell@dcdining.com). :)



To those who say "it doesn't matter if the chef is in the kitchen," you're wrong. So just get some more experience dining out, and you'll see for yourselves.



Pupatella was running a special wine deal - with the purchase of two pizzas, you got $15 off   a brand new Erbalino that I'd never seen before  - whatever Pupatella's 2-pizza, $10-off wine happens to be, it's a deal that you should always get. The wine is always good (both one white and one red to choose from), and it makes the price so, so much more gentle.


Two pizzas, a white and a red, and both given my highest recommendation:



The white: a Mimosa ($12) with Italian cream, roasted corn, prosciutto cotto, and fresh mozzarella



The red: a Capricciosa ($13), certainly one of my standing orders here, with Sauteéd mushrooms, marinated artichokes, Proscuitto cotto, and fresh mozzarella



Both pies complemented each other very well, and since the Capricciosa has ham and artichokes, it goes very well with a white wine. These are pizzas of Pupatella's Halcyon Days, enjoy this great pizzeria now, before Enzo and Anastasia get so busy being parents that they'll need to hire more help, expand, etc. It's a beautiful moment in time that won't last forever (it would be a lovely fantasy to think otherwise, but the odds are stacked against it).



You're back, Pupatella, #1. Best Pizza in the DC area.


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Went to Pupatella last night after an early movie.

Was seated quickly at 9pm- Enzo and Anastasia were not present, but a team of 4 or 5 were manning the prep station and oven.

 
Ordered Brussel sprouts -delicious as usual and Fig and Pig as well as a Buratta pizza- we were happy and felt things were good as ever with leftovers for lunch today-

Need to get to 14th street at happy hour- difficult for me but so far Pupatella is highest on my pizza list .

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Made a trip in from the outer suburbs last night to get our pizza fix. Usual line but it went fast. There is now a dedicated staff member managing the seating. Once you finish your order, they will give you the options and point you to your seat. Pretty simple I suppose, but it used to be a bit more hectic and it probably limits the squatters with friends in line. I always order a special pizza and last night we ordered 2 of the 3 specials and the #3 salad. I forget the name of my pizza special, but it was probably the best pizza I've had from Pupatella or anywhere. Enzo was not in the house, so if anyone is still concerned about the quality....no issues last night. The pizza was charred more than normal, but it didn't affect the flavor to me at least. The pizza had chorizo, pine nuts, eggplant, provola and fresh mozz. The other pizza special with a house-made sausage was good, but didn't make my mouth melt like the other one. Bummer being a further from Pupatella than I once was, but makes the occasional visits all the more enjoyable. 

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For a long time - over a year - whenever I went to Pupatella, both Enzo and Anastasiya were both there, every single time without exception. Then, life for them progressed, they had a baby, and word of the quality had spread enough so that the business grew substantially.

Now, it's almost the exact opposite - Out of the past, say, ten visits, I've seen neither at the restaurant probably eight times.

But how has the pizza been?

First of all, I *always* take advantage of the "$10 off" any bottle of wine with purchase of two pizzas offer - if I'm there alone, I'll invariably buy a second pizza to go, just so I can get a $30 bottle of Sauvignon Blanc or Vermentino for $20 - I'll have a couple glasses there, and take the rest home. It's a really good deal on some very drinkable wines, and one which you should be enjoying.

A few days ago, I ordered four pizzas, and I'd say they were pretty representative of my recent experiences there. They're slightly different than they used to be - not better, not worse, but different. The crust is perhaps a millimeter (but only a millimeter) thicker, and the crust coming out of the oven is slightly more soft than it used to be (but only slightly). The flavors in the dough are still right there, and the toppings - which have never been the same quality as what you'd get at 2 Amys, for example, are about the same. In other words, the pizzas have been pretty consistent over the years, and are among the best in the area if not still *the* best.

But I've developed what is nearly a fetish for their Mimosa ($12): Italian cream, roasted corn, prosciutto cotto, and fresh mozzarella. And on this recent visit, I ordered two of them - that's how much I like them. In fact, I think I've gotten the Mimosa on each of my last several visits. This time, I also got two red pizzas (with San Marzano tomato sauce) to go along with my two white pizzas: a Ham and Mushroom ($11), with prosciutto cotto, sautéed mushrooms, and fresh mozzarella, and for the first time ever, a Pepperoni Pizza ($10.50) with tomato sauce, fresh mozzarella, and beef pepperoni. For "personal-sized" pizzas, these are technically 11 inches, but they seem slightly larger, and the four pieces they're cut into are enough for a meal unless I'm really hungry - there are always leftovers for the next day, and I'm still trying to master the art of reheating these. Even if I put them into a pre-heated oven, directly on the rack, the crust comes out softer than I'd like - if anyone has any suggestions, I'm all ears.

Pupatella remains in Italic in the Dining Guide (as it always has been), remains the top-ranked restaurant in Ballston, and remains one of the best, if not *the* best, pizza in the DC area.

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Last 2 visits I haven't been a happy camper.  Undercooked dough on both visits (on 3 pizzas) and flavorless sausage.  

I can't vouch for the sausage, but I've seen the undercooked dough before. I haven't seen it undercooked to the point where if you pinch it together, it turns back into batter, have you? My experiences with it have always been merely "not as cooked as Enzo would want it, floppy, and with very little char." My guess is that the oven's not hot enough.

Enzo and Anastasia used to be there almost constantly; now, they've had a family, and I've seen them on perhaps two out of my past ten visits. (I'm pretty sure I saw them every single time I was there for at least an entire year.) I fear a choice had to be made between serving what was arguably the best pizza in town and being responsible parents. I do *not* "know" this; but it makes sense. I *do* know these are correctable issues, but I don't know what it would take to correct them.

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I was a very unhappy camper last Sunday -- was in the area for a soccer game and went to Pupatella at 4 PM only to find the place dark and closed for "oven cleaning." GRRRRR.

Plan B was Popeye's drive-thru: two of those $5 boxes for me and the boy. Possibly the best deal in fast-food history, given the quality of the food and the fact that we both got extra chicken tenders.

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I feel like Enzo's particular style of Neapolitan pizza is particularly finicky to get right. There's a big drop off between perfect and anything less. I noticed the pizza being noticeably less good even when he's in the restaurant but not personally making the pizza himself. I never notice that sort of quality inconsistency at other restaurants known for good pizzas.

(Makes me glad that I gave up on Pupatella and now answer to the siren calls of the Pete's Apizza's New Haven. Plus you can get crispy spring rolls at Four Sisters Grill next door).

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20 hours ago, Pool Boy said:

I ended up getting carryout from there instead of Pasta Plus because, I kid you not, I tried calling Pasta Plus about two dozen times over the course of 8 minutes or so and I just gave up. That is not the first time.

This is the *only* reason I don't go to Pupatella more.

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48 minutes ago, yeah said:

5:30 PM Saturday finds the place about 40% full for Neapolitan pizza that is 80% as good as Pupatella and orders of magnitude less drama.  We parked 50' away from the door.  In a garage.  

I'm curious if anyone besides me has an uneasy feeling each time they make the "walk of shame" across Wilson Blvd. after parking in the Safeway lot - I've learned to park close to Safeway so I can co-mingle with the cars there. :)

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12 minutes ago, DonRocks said:

I'm curious if anyone besides me has an uneasy feeling each time they make the "walk of shame" across Wilson Blvd. after parking in the Safeway lot - I've learned to park close to Safeway so I can co-mingle with the cars there. :)

My conscience is clear; I always park on N. Emerson St. right next to the 7-Eleven. It is just about as close, almost always has an open spot, and avoids a death defying scramble across Wilson Blvd.

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On 9/12/2016 at 9:11 AM, DonRocks said:

I'm curious if anyone besides me has an uneasy feeling each time they make the "walk of shame" across Wilson Blvd. after parking in the Safeway lot - I've learned to park close to Safeway so I can co-mingle with the cars there. :)

Ha, we take the opposite tactic-- parking at the far other end by the dumpsters because we assume no one could possibly care about those spaces. Also sometimes we go in and buy a half gallon of milk :)

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I had dinner at Pupatella (Arlington) about a week ago - I haven't seen Enzo or Anastasia there in ... years, but the pizzas were still terrific (they have a Latino gentleman who has been their main pizzaiolo for quite some time). The highlight of the meal, however, was the Sausage Arancini, and this might be the first time I can ever say that.

They've certainly come a long way, financially, from the first post in this thread.

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2 hours ago, DonRocks said:

They've certainly come a long way, financially, from the first post in this thread.

I haven't been in years - I used to go regularly, first to the cart when I worked in Ballston, and then to their store. But they were on the leading edge of an explosion of great pizza places in the area, and now that I have Pizza CS around the corner, it's hard to justify the 30+ minute drive to Pupatella. But I remember them fondly and wish them well.

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On 8/2/2017 at 7:38 AM, DonRocks said:

I had dinner at Pupatella (Arlington) about a week ago - I haven't seen Enzo or Anastasia there in ... years, but the pizzas were still terrific (they have a Latino gentleman who has been their main pizzaiolo for quite some time). The highlight of the meal, however, was the Sausage Arancini, and this might be the first time I can ever say that.

They've certainly come a long way, financially, from the first post in this thread.

Working in Ballston these days, I need to get back here and try it again - especially when traffic back home on the commute is particularly lousy.

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My son is visiting from UCLA this weekend, and I took him to Pupatella (Arlington) tonight. We shared a fantastic order of the Arancini with Sausage, and he had a pepperoni pizza, which he enjoyed. I tried the special, Pig and Fig, with brie, figs, prosciutto and balsamic vinegar. It was delicious.

IMG_2221.JPG

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On 12/13/2015 at 12:03 AM, ol_ironstomach said:

Pupatella now selling frozen pizza at the Italian Store.

I had lunch at the Italian Store today, and it reminded me of what seemed like a very brief time that Pupatella was selling frozen pizza there.  They definitely have not available there for awhile now.  Does anyone know if they are still selling them, or do they just not sell them through Italian Store anymore?

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1 hour ago, sheldman said:

Probably this?

Thank you, sir. I *hate* broken links, so I try to put in a screenshot whenever possible (which I'll do right now).

This isn't the first time Wayback Machine has saved the day (assist to sheldman!). I see they now have the name archive.org - they provide a great service to internet users (it's funny - 50 years from now, people will see the term, "internet users," and not have a clue what I'm talking about).

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The pizza here never disappoints, really reliably spot on. The service is always pleasant, despite often long lines of hangry customers, and I have never had a problem getting a seat by the time a delicious pizza with wonderful fresh ingredients is ready to be savored. To top it off, I left my cell phone on the seat once, and a server tracked me down outside to return it.

 

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On 10/16/2018 at 9:11 AM, dcs said:

Pupatella pizza shifts gears with $3.75M raise, by Rebecca Cooper, Senior Staff Reporter, Washington Business Journal, October 15, 2018, on bizjournals.com.

Looks like they are putting the money to work. From ArlNow:

Neapolitan pizzeria Pupatella, the which was a popular food truck before opening its acclaimed bricks-and-mortar location in Bluemont in 2010, is opening a second Arlington location in the restaurant “Bermuda Triangle” at 1621 S. Walter Reed Drive. The opening is planned for this summer.

“The restaurant is 2,200 square feet and will seat approximately 60 guests inside,” a press release said of Pupatella’s new location in the Nauck neighborhood. “The location also features a covered patio area that will have seating for another 40 or so guests.”

Pupatella also announced plans today to open a 2,700 square foot location at 1821 Wiehle Avenue in Reston by early 2020, as part of a new expansion push fueled by a $3.75 million investment.

This will be within walking distance of my house -- YES!

 

TSchaad

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