3 Montgomery County Eateries Make The Post's Best Pizza List

BETHESDA, MD — Three Italian eateries in Montgomery County are getting some recognition from The Washington Post's resident food reporter.

On Tuesday, Tim Carman published a guide to the 10 best individual pizzas in the D.C. area after engorging himself on all the slices he can eat.

"The competition was stiff. I wasn't just searching for novelty. I was searching for craft. I was searching for a good story and maybe even a pizza that said something about Washington," Carman wrote.

Here are the three Montgomery County restaurants that made the cut:

Vace Italian Delicatessen

Located at 4705 Miller Ave. in Bethesda, Vace Italian Delicatessen is an Italian grocery store and deli owned and operated by the Calcagno family. While many Washingtonians reach for pepperoni and other speciality slices, Carman says he prefers the simplistic perfection of Vace's cheese pizza. These slices are a little different than what most East Coast pizza lovers are used to. Vace's pies are made with tomato sauce on top of the mozzarella — which Carman best describes as being a thin-crust variation on Chicago deep dish.

Frankly...Pizza!

Hearth-baked pizza is the restaurant's specialty. A quick bake means the pizza comes out golden to brown with a bubbly, charred crust.

Carman's pick: the spinach slice.

"The spinach leaves here are wilted and locked into place with a flow of hot, melted curds, a dizzying swirl of mozzarella and Gruyere dotted with microscopic sprinkles of hard Romano," Carman wrote.

"The sweetness, the acid, the char, the nuttiness, the creaminess, the saltiness, wave after wave of flavor until you suddenly understand that (chef Frank Linn) has concocted a spinach pizza for those who don't care all that much for spinach. Like him."

Frankly...Pizza! is located at 10417 Armory Ave. in Kensington.

Inferno Pizzeria Napoletana

The 44-seat casual pizzeria, located at 12207 Darnestown Rd., keeps a menu that is strictly seasonal and based on the local agriculture, according to Inferno Pizzeria Napoletana's website.

The marinara rustica slice seems to be the standout. As Carman describes it, the pizza features a thin layer of sauce, built with Bianco DiNapoli tomatoes, slow-roasted garlic, basil, and a sprinkle of Parmesan.