2 Amys offers Neopolitan pizza. This is not just any Neopolitan pizza. These pizzas are prepared in the traditional Italian method: using soft-grain flour, fresh yeast, water, and sea salt for the dough; and italian plum tomatoes, mozarella di bufala, extra virgin olive oil, and fresh basil or oregano for the toppings. It is only those pizzas prepared in this manner that are granted Denominazione di Origine Controllata status by the Italian government.
We arrived for lunch around noon and the place was already packed (If you come on Sunday, you also have the option of ordering their homemade doughnuts - they smelled amazing). Fortunately they were able to seat us upstairs within five minutes of our arrival. Jenny and Ariel had been to 2 Amys previously and really wanted Malia to try this pizza. Besides the classic Margherita, they also offer pizzas with different toppings. Jenny had ordered the "Norcia" - the last time we were here - a pie topped with tomatoes, salami, grilled peppers, mozarella, and grana. She and I decided to split this pizza and the Arugula pizza.
The Norcia
The pizzas came out about 20 minutes later, but it was worth the wait. The crusts on these pizzas are the best - thin and crisp in the middle, and thick and soft on the outside, with just a slight char from the woodburning ovens.
The Norcia has some great flavors - the salty smoky salami pair well with the sweet bell peppers, and tomatoes. The melty mozarella brings them all together. The Arugula pizza was the epitome of freshness. The arugula leaves were crisp and peppery, piled high on top of the pizza. The provided a nice contrast to the melted cheese and warm dough. Definitely one that will be ordered again.
The Arugula Pizza.
While chomping down on our pizzas, we began to discuss the different kinds of pizzas that can be ordered these days. Some places focus on unique topping combinations, others the quality of their dough. 2 Amy's definitely follows a minimalist approach, using nothing but the finest ingredients. If you are looking to savor a quality pizza with simple ingredients this place is for you.
Our next stop was Georgetown cupcakes. Finding a parking spot in Georgetown can be quite the task, but luckily it gave us some time to digest our lunch so we could prepare for cupcakes. Georgetown Cupcakes was started almost a year ago by two sisters with a passion for baking. In their short time they have earned many accolades. Recently they were featured in the Washington Post's "Cupcake Wars", earning the title of "best cupcake" in the DC/Metro area.
Georgetown Cupcake Storefront.
We arrived around 2:30 to a fairly long line. Jenny inquired at the front of the line to see how long they had been waiting. "15 minutes", we were told. Luckily it seems these girls know how to keep things moving smoothly.
Once inside we looked at the giant chalkboard listing today's cupcake offerings. They were offering a dozen varieties. We decided to try vanilla^2, carrot, red velvet, vanilla&chocolate, key lime, chocolate mint, gingerbread, snowball (coconut), chocolate^2 and peanut butter chocolate.
cupcakes in all their glory
Once the cupcakes were packed in their cute little pink boxes, we took them to Ariel's house for our taste test. Malia chose the gingerbread cupcake with cream cheese frosting. The cake was moist and had just the right spiciness from ginger and cinnamon, and the cream cheese frosting was tangy and not too sweet. Ariel went for the chocolate^2 which was extremely decadent. The chocolate ganache was layed on thick and we felt was a little too rich, but the chocolate cake was extremely moist and perfect for the chocolate lover. The peppermint frosting on Jenny's chocolate mint cupcake was a perfect foil for the rich chocolate. It tasted just like Christmas. Yum! AJ loved his vanilla cupcake with chocolate ganache. Always a classic. Katy enjoyed the red velvet cupcake (altho she isn't a cream cheese frosting fan, so she would've preferred a vanilla frosting). Dan gave his thumbs up for the vanilla^2.
I think the key to these cupcakes is the quality of their ingredients. Only the finest valrhona chocolate and madagascar bourbon vanilla are used. The key lime cupcake is made with fresh key limes. The vanilla cupcake and the key lime frosting are dotted with zingy lime zest. It's like a visit to the Keys in every mouthful. The coconut cupcake is for the extreme coconut fan. The coconut cupcake has shredded coconut in the batter and is frosted with cream cheese frosting and topped with shredded coconut. It's a lovely tropical escape from the winter blues. The peanut butter chocolate swirl has a chocolate cupcake with a creamy peanut butter center and is topped with ganache and a pb icing swirl. The combo of chocolate and peanut butter plays to the kid in all of us. And afterall isn't it fun to act like a kid every once in awhile.
3715 Macomb St NW
2 out of 3 JAMs
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