We, The Pizza — Restaurant in Washington

The aroma of fresh, cheesy pizza was already wafting through the apartment, a siren call to my rumbling stomach. It was Friday night, the perfect occasion for a large pepperoni with extra cheese, and I was the designated pizza-getter. The only problem was, everyone else in the building seemed to have had the same idea. I raced down the elevator, the lobby already bustling with hungry neighbors, all heading towards the same destination: the tiny pizza joint on the corner. As I stepped out into the cool night air, the line snaked around the block, a hungry dragon waiting to be fed. My heart began to race as I joined the queue, the minutes ticking by like a slow-motion countdown. I could almost taste the salty pepperoni, the gooey mozzarella, but the closer I got to the front, the more my anxiety grew. The pizza guy, a man with a perpetually tired look, seemed to be moving at the speed of a sloth, taking his sweet time to craft each pizza with meticulous precision. "Just a large pepperoni, extra cheese, please," I said, trying to be polite but feeling the pressure building with each passing second. The guy looked at me with a blank expression, as if I'd just asked him to solve a complex mathematical equation. "Next!" he barked, and suddenly, I was the only one in the line, the clock ticking loudly in my head. My phone buzzed in my pocket, a reminder that the gang was already back at the apartment, waiting impatiently. I sprinted home, pizza box clutched in my sweaty hands, the heat of the pizza almost burning through the cardboard. As I flung open the door, the hungry eyes of my roommates greeted me, their faces a mix of anticipation and slight disappointment. "Where were you?" one of them asked, eyebrows raised. "The line was insane," I muttered, trying to catch my breath as I laid the pizza on the table. "I think I just about broke the record for fastest pizza delivery." We dug in, the delicious flavors momentarily erasing the drama of the pizza quest. But as I took my last bite, I couldn't help but think about the next Friday night and the inevitable pizza line, wondering if I'd ever be able to escape the "pizza...

I had never been here before, but I like pizza, Spike Mendelsohn and the other restaurants that he's opened up in the DC area, so I thought I would give it a shot.

The first impression of the place is really cool. The whole restaurant has this 70's vibe to it and smells absolutely fantastic. There's not a ton of seating inside the shop itself, but they've set out a bunch of tables in the enclosed space outside.

They allow you to make your own pizza and you can add pretty much anything you want, which in the day in age of places like Mod Pizza and &Pizza is kind of an expectation.

Overall, the pizza was pretty good. Honestly, it wasn't mind-blowing by any stretch of the imagination. But it was relatively inexpensive and our party of 5 had leftovers from two large pies.

So that's all well and good. Here's why this place is only getting three stars:

The pizza took FOREVER to be made. Look, I get custom-made pizzas take a little time to create and cook, especially when things are busy. But I came when there were maybe 2 other families in the shop, ordered two pretty generic pizzas and it took probably 20-30 minutes to get our food. I could have driven home, kneaded my own dough, made my own sauce and cooked my own pizza in that time. Not to mention that when we actually got our food, it was starting to get cold. I don't know if they just forget to press the buzzer thing, but it had clearly been ready to be picked up a few minutes before we were called.

I was seriously underwhelmed by the customer service. I struggle to say that the cashier who took our order was rude...because he didn't do anything overtly wrong, but he was so incredibly unhelpful that it was...well, rude.

I must say, I expected a little more. I'll probably come back here if I'm in the area, but definitely wouldn't go out of my way...

I would love to give a higher rating because we used to go there often and the pizza was great. The last 2 times I've gone the pizza looked like it had been sitting out for a long time and didn't taste very good. The first time it happened I was told that the pizza only sits out for an hour and it will be better after it's been reheated. I asked if they had another one I could get some slices from and was firmly told no. (I dont buy the one hour thing unfortunately.) I let it go because hey, sometimes it's a one off thing and maybe no one had bought much of that particular pizza so it had been out a while, but they didn't want to waste money. Maybe it will taste better heated up, as they said. It didn't. It was dry and not good. I knew they didn't care so I didn't bother bringing it back. Some time passes and we go back. Same thing. Foolishly I hope I'm wrong but I also know from the last time that they dont care whatsoever about it, so I didn't mention anything when ordering. Ate gross pizza again and now rethinking going back. To clarify, we went around dinner time both times so it wasnt the middle of the afternoon or during a similarly slow time.

I would NOT recommend ordering a pizza to go. The pizza is thin crust and eating in store it CAN be really good most of the time. Ordering a whole pizza to go is altogether different. It was a soggy, greasy mess and we lived, literally, a 5 minute walk away. A thin crust can become soggy easily i guess so stick to maybe one of the thicker crust pizzas or order from...