This weekend I had to run an errand down to Eastern Market (two of my doctors are still there), so we decided to visit the Eastern Market for some fresh produce and to walk around the flea market. Of course, lunch had to be had.
A new pizzeria has opened in a former Ben & Jerry's location, and it's worth visiting!
7th Hill (from the creators of the French bistro next door, Montmartre) has a limited menu of 11-12 pizzas, named after SE/SW DC locations and neighborhoods, from the Capitol Hill (classic margherita) to the Navy Yard (tomato, sausage, oregano and pecorino-next photo). The toppings will be more familiar to those visiting an authentic Italian restaurant than those visiting the local college town pizzeria. Which leads me to think most of their ingredients come from nearby Eastern Market vendors. There's no Meatlovers or Hawaiian pizzas here. And oddly enough, there's no pepperoni either. 
With limited seating, we pulled ourselves up to the counter to enjoy our brick oven fired pies. The toppings were fresh and wonderfully balanced with the bright red tomato sauce and creamy cheese. But I think the star here is the crust. Crisp and chewy, with the right thickness, we both chowed down on every last piece of crust. And it was a treat to sit at the counter, to talk with the chef when he wasn't throwing the dough in the air to stretch out the perfect eight or twelve inch diameter pies. Outside of the small pizza menu (I think that's a good thing BTW), they also serve a soup d'jour (Chilled Corn & Leek the day we were there) and a selection of 5 sandwiches. There's the kicker...the sandwiches are priced at $7.50 and when you order...they bake the bread right then and there. Did you hear that...fresh baked bread, hot out of the oven, piled high with ingredients like roasted red peppers, prosciutto, provolone, pesto, tomato...I'm dying here! I love pizza. No really, I LOVE PIZZA...but at the end of the day, a sandwich on hot bread from the oven with the highest quality fresh ingredients for only $7.50...heaven. We watched the chef make the sandwiches in between throwing pizza dough, it was lots of fun. I caught his name, but can't remember...he said to us at one point when we realized he was making the fresh bread, "if you're gonna so something, you want to do it the best you can." I have to agree--those sandwiches looked scrumptious. They looked to have a little topping sprinkled ontop before hitting the ovens, possibly a cheese/herb topping?
Oh, and the soups also come with loaf of this fresh bread too! I think the soup was $6-7. Pizzas are $10-$17, depending on size and toppings. Beer is served.
A reminder, space is at a premium here, maybe four 4-top tables outside on the patio, up to 12 chairs/tables inside and maybe 8 chairs at the counter. The pizzas are fast--we had ours in under 10 minutes, sandwiches looked to have the same wait.
And one final point--this is a pay at the register and sit kind of place--no waiters or hosts/hostesses. Order, pay, sit and someone from behind the counter will bring the food and they might come back to clear around you, but if you want something more, go back and order. Also, something I don't have a problem with...let them focus on the food and getting people in and out in a timely manner. I could have sat for another 30 minutes, but the place was starting to get busy so we cleared out when we were done. Hopefully other customers do the same thing here.
Good luck to Seventh Hill Pizza. I hope you stick around for a while, become one of many great neighborhood places on the Hill.
2 comments:
Really very good pizza. To me this was nearly as good (maybe better?) than Two Amys, but far more affordable. For those living in the neighborhood, this would be your ultimate take-out place. For those of us just visiting, it makes for a very good quick bite.
I second the love. Their roasted veggie pizza is fantastic.
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