This week’s Young & Hungry column explores D.C.’s burgeoning gluten-free pizza scene and how even many of the city’s upper-crust (ahem!) pizzerias are now offering non-traditional wheatless pies. Perhaps the latest joiner is the venerable Pizzeria Paradiso, which has been experimenting for months with a new homemade crust made from brown rice, sorghum, and buckwheat flours. In the article, proprietor Ruth Gresser said she planned to launch the gluten-free option around mid-February. And, sure enough, today, Paradiso set a date for its wheatless dough debut via Twitter: Feb. 15 at its Old Town Alexandria location, with gluten-free beers on hand to wash down the gluten-free crusts.
One of Pizzeria Paradiso’s dishes has been chosen by Chefs Feed‘s elite contributing chefs as one of The 2011 Best Things to Eat in Washington D.C. The Atomica pizza was selected by Chef Jamie Leeds of Hank’s Oyster Bar.
“The salami chef and owner Ruth Gresser is what makes this pizza so amazing! It’s very filling and has really incredible salami,” Leeds said.
The pizza is being featured on the Chefs Feed iPhone app, the first food guide built on Chef recommendations. Members of the restaurant industry built this guide with the goal of creating the first legitimate food guide. Instead of gathering feedback from users a la Yelp, Chef’s Feed houses a database of information from hundreds of the nation’s greatest chefs, like Thomas Keller, Mario Batalli, David Kinch, Wolfgang Puck and Chris Cosentino.
On Sunday, November 13, we concluded our 20th Anniversary celebration at our Old Town location. It was ’20 Free Pizzas’ Family/Kids Day. The kids participated in a Make Your Own Pizza demonstration with Chef Ruth Gresser, and did some coloring while they patiently waited for their turn. Play the slide show below for more photos.
