Fuel Pizza

More than likely you are recovering from your turkey coma. Your pants are tighter. You feel a little bloated. You are are snacking on pie for breakfast. Reality will sneak back into your life on Monday when its time to go to work and your still eating leftover turkey sandwiches. That is when it will be time to return to your habits of eating healthy for some and ordering take out for others.

In terms of take out, as we have discussed there are few pizza places in this city I would visit more than once. I am under whelmed with my pizza options. Most places in this city - overcook, undercook, the pizza is too doughy. . . Back home in the land of pizzerias where I grew up, pizza is paper thin, crispy, and has a perfect balance of cheese to dough.

I am a pizza snob.

A friend raves about Fuel Pizza and finally I had to give it a try. (Fuel Pizza has two DC locations. I visited their 1606 K Street NW establishment)  Now to be specific, this friend raves about the pepperoni pizza and the pizza knots. He does not rave about the calzones (which I ended up disappointingly trying).

More on that in a minute. . .

For those of you who don't know the back story, Fuel Pizza was opened in 1998 by two New Yorkers, who felt they couldn't get authentic pizza out of the tri state area. (I completely emphasize)  Living in Charlotte, North Carolina they ventured into the pizza business and eventually expanded into the DC market. Rumor has it even when local North Carolina folk travel to DC, they stop in to Fuel Pizza to feel at home.

The restaurant, which technically is a chain looks like a retro garage with well beaten signs and old gasoline machines displayed. There is nothing pretentious about this place and it does feel like you have escaped the hustle and bustle of the city for a local NC eatery. Inside you will find a large Cheerwine displayed, which is really false advertising because Cheerwine is not sold. For those of you who don't know what Cheerwine is . . . don't feel bad. I had my first sip in a North Carolina congressional office a couple of years back and nearly choked. It is a brew known to the locals in North Carolina. It is a mix between coke, cherry coke, and a Shirley Temple. Despite my one vice being my love of Coca Cola, I would rather go thirsty than drink Cheerwine

Back to the menu of Fuel Pizza, you will find value meals offering selections of pizza, calzones, garlic knots, wings, etc. These owners might feel they are offering authentic pizza from the New York area, but I can tell you no pizzeria I ever ate in offered wings. Mozzarella sticks and calamari . . . sure. Wings in an authentic pizzeria, I don' t think so (please note I am shaking my head left to right and rolling my eyes thinking about wings in a pizzeria)

Despite my inner voice telling me to order the pizza, I went with the calzone. The pizza looked suspiciously like something I would find at Pizza Hut or it looked like it had been on display since yesterday. My date ordered pizza and a beer. The beer was flat (via the tap) and the server promptly exchanged it for a bottle. The prices for fast food are reasonable for the area. Dinner for two can definitely be accomplished for under $20.

The calzone was "eh" at best. It was spinach, mushrooms, and bacon. This was not the freshest calzone and it reminded me of something you would get in a high school cafeteria. . .  tasteless.

Now to be fair, the pizza was good. After my lackluster calzone, I was happy to steal a few bites of some pepperoni pizza. The pizza despite its appearance was actually decent (for DC).

Note this pizza would not be acceptable north of the Jersey border, but considering my options in DC, I'll take it.

Service : 95/100

Food : 82/100

Price : 94/100

Location : 89/100

Ambiance : 96/100