Stone Hot Pizza – Alexandria, VA

I found this establishment on Google maps, searching the areas I had already haunted for new blood. I chose this restaurant because their menu offered five different types of calzone with the option to make your own. This tells me that they take their calzone seriously and don’t just offer it as an afterthought. These places are getting farther and farther away from my house so it took me a little while to get there. When I did, the place was empty. People would stop in periodically and pick up a pizza they ordered over the phone. I ordered the Superano calzone that boasted Mushrooms, Italian sausage, peppers, onion, and pepperoni. The cost for this calzone was $10.95. It did not take it very long to arrive, less than ten minutes. During my wait, two Afghani women walked in to order sandwiches. Things got loud behind the counter with a man I did not previously see. I overheard who I understood to be the owner saying “You are from Afghanistan right?” The women confirmed and the man said he was from Iran. I enjoyed their exchange because it started off in English and ended in Arabic. The man who seemed to be shouting happily was the one to deliver my calzone. I suddenly realized that the entire establishment was run by Middle Eastern people. The thing about Stone Hot Pizza is that they actually have a stone oven which they cook the pizza in. the calzone I was served had a thin and crispy crust, slightly burned in spots because of the stone oven. The dough that was used was their pizza dough, covered in cornmeal. The calzone was large. Noticeably larger than the usual calzones I am served. The thing that really makes this dish is all the toppings that are packed into the pocket. Were there mushrooms? Oh yes, and they were sautéed and delicious. Were there peppers? You betcha, and they were cooked to keep their flavor and crunchy. Pepperoni? Very high quality stuff. Onions? Slightly undercooked so they were aromatic and crunchy. The calzone also had ricotta cheese in a small amount and mozzarella. One could taste the stone oven that had cooked it. The dish was served with a side of refrigerated marinara that was just alright. The calzone overall was not the best I ever had, but it was very very good. This time, the price was even justified by the size. Something about this calzone was different though, it tasted more… Mediterranean. Like a gyro, and not like an Italian made it. No single flavor overpowered the dish as a whole. It was large enough that it got cold while I was eating it because it took me so long to finish. I score this Calzone a B+ because the price was good for the amount of food, all the flavors were excellent, and the stone oven gave the whole thing a unique flavor. 

Bertucci’s – Springfield, VA

This place did not have a stellar rating on Google, I think it came in at around 3.8 out of 5. Despite the average judgment passed against it, I was in the area when I decided that I wanted another calzone. The menu paints the establishment as one that strives for originality. I had only once before seen a calzone that contained meatballs, especially ones that were supposedly handmade. The restaurant itself is a little difficult to get to since it is right near the interstate, next to a mall. Traffic was quite heavy.  I went after around 1p.m. in the afternoon, and the place was not busy. I was seated and my hostess came very promptly with freshly cooked bread and oil. This bread was fantastic, and I could only contain my excitement for the calzone. I ordered the Poplette Calzone, which contains handmade meatballs and Pecorino, Romano, Ricotta, and Mozzarella cheese with a little of what they call “pomodoro sauce”. The calzone came in a reasonable about of time, about 15 minutes, and my first impression was that it was quite small for the price. It runs $12.29. At this price, I expected to see a calzone that rivaled the one at Delia’s or Ovvio. This calzone, however, was about as standard of a medium size as one could expect. Eating calzones is always an adventure and, unless you’ve been to the restaurant before, you never know what size, shape, or quality of contents you’re going to get. At this point, price doesn’t seem to be an indicator for any of those things. The calzone was one of the most standard shapes I’ve ever seen. It looked like the epitome of what a calzone is expected to look like, with its half-moon shape and rolled over edges. The meal was served with a larger saucer of the pomodoro sauce for dipping, and a steak knife. I have come to appreciate the inclusion of steak knives, since calzones can be hard to cut through with a standard butter knife. The first thing I noticed was that the dough was perfect. It was soft and fluffy, yet baked to the perfect crisp on the outside. The dough in this calzone was everything I expected after having eaten their appetizer bread. One thing is for certain, Bertucci’s is good at making bread. Once I got to the innards of the calzone, I opened it up and noticed what was inside. The meatballs were very small, clearly handmade. They still had a very slight “gamey” taste to them because they used a hamburger meat to prepare them. The ricotta was of the smooth and creamy kind, almost like a marscapone cheese and not the curd-ish kind. Furthermore, it was still a little cold. I could not distinguish the other cheeses, Pecorino, Romano, and mozzarella. It all just tasted like a low-moisture, shredded, mozzarella to me. Furthermore, it did not seem that the calzone was baked long enough for the cheese to congeal with itself, and I knew the cheese came shredded because I could feel the individual shreds of the cheese in my mouth. Do not get me wrong, this calzone was not undercooked. Like I said before, the dough was excellent. However, the inner ingredients did not come together on the level of standard that the dough set. I would rate this calzone as a strong C+ because of its delicious bread, but high price for the size and the just “okayness” of its guts. I did like that they included some of the standard elements I’ve come to love in a calzone, but it wasn’t enough for me to want to go back for another one.

Delia’s Pizzeria and Grill – Springfield, VA

Another one I found on Google Maps and decided to try on a whim. When I came in here, I was asked “How can I help you” once again by the host – this never fails to throw me for a loop as to what the proper response should be. I sat myself and asked immediately for the “Traditional Calzone”, Anyways, the waitress was very nice and attentive to the fact that it took about 20 minutes to make the calzone. When it arrived, I realized that this might win the award for the biggest calzone that I have eaten thus far. It was as large, if not larger than, the calzone from Ovvio Osteria. The price tag on this one was $10.50, which was not bad at all for a calzone of such a substantial size. The menu boasts the calzone with having mozzarella, pepperoni, ricotta, and sausage. In reality, it only had three of the four with the ricotta notably missing. This was unfortunate because ricotta cheese is one of my more liked ingredients in a calzone, even though I’ve been informed that it’s not very authentic Italian. Anyways, the calzone was very good, the pepperoni was of a very high quality and contained a lot of flavorful oils. The sausage, like most pizza places was bland in nature, and more for adding a consistency and texture to dishes. The mozzarella was, I believe, of a low-moisture type. The kind that gets put on New York style pizza and gets chewy when it cools down. The dough that contained all of these ingredients was handmade. It wasn’t as sweet as most of the calzone dough I’m used to, and I didn’t enjoy it as much as other doughs. It wasn’t anywhere near as bad as the dough at Paisano’s, but it ranked closer to that than not. I had a very hard time finishing this calzone because of its size. I would rate this one at a solid B. No plus or minus. The value was extremely good, the dough and the lack of advertised ricotta were not so good. The pepperoni was great, and the cheese was alright until it cooled off. The waitress kindly offered marinara on the side, which was tasty in its own right.

Flippin Pizza - Fairfax, VA

Another google maps search resulted in this pizza parlor that I wasn’t previously aware of. When I entered the restaurant, it was clearly part of a small chain that is trying to modernize and increase its brand recognition. I don’t understand what the fascination for the word “flip” is supposed to be in the name, since almost all pizza places that hand-toss their dough flip it at some point. Perhaps there is something different that the company does while making the pizza. Regardless, I chose to order their Brooklyn Calzone. I noticed that the pizza was definitely a “New York” style, flat with lots of cheese and a thin sauce. The calzone came in two sizes, a small and a large. The small one was incredibly small… literally the smallest calzone I’ve ever seen. It could fit in the palm of my hand. The prices ran $8.50 for a small one and $13.50 for the large. The bigger one, which I chose because I knew I’d still be hungry otherwise, I had to wait to see since they did not have a medium on display. When it arrived only 10 minutes later, I noticed that it was about a standard medium size, according to my personal opinions as I have been rating calzones in this log. One of the other things that I noticed was that, for three guys working there who appeared to be super busy, this calzone was presented beautifully. I think this might be been the “best looking” calzone I’ve eaten so far. It was pre-sliced for me into three sections, had artisanal air-pockets cut into it for the baking process, and it was garnished extremely well. It was served with a small cup of marinara sauce, which was pre-prepared before the day as it was in a Dixie cup with a lid and was cold. The Brooklyn calzone has a lot more ingredients than usual calzones in this area, boasting mozzarella, ricotta, pepperoni, meatballs (sliced), mushrooms, and garlic. There were healthy amounts of ricotta in the calzone, which is always a favorite of mine. The pepperoni was super-fresh and you could taste the oil mixing with the cheeses. The meatballs’ consistency were alright, but when eaten singularly didn’t have a whole lot of flavor. The mushrooms were a nice touch, and added an element of moisture to the dish. What really throws this calzone over the average edge is the garlic. Not all restaurants put garlic in their calzone, believe it or not. The dough was quite delicious and baked perfectly, it wasn’t “dough-y” as some restaurants concoct, but thin and crispy. It was very similar to Ledo’s type of dough, but not overly brushed in butter. One thing I did notice was that having the calzone cut into thirds caused it to lose heat quite quickly, and the meal had cooled off before I could finish it resulting in congealed lumps of cheese. All-in-all, this was a very good calzone. I score this calzone a B- because of its dastardly price of over $13 given its size. Although, to be fair, there was clearly more effort put into this one than most of the calzones that I’ve eaten so far. However, as a consumer, there comes a point where the value of paying for quality is lower than the intrinsic value of the product. Nobody would pay $400 for a perfectly manufactured pencil, when a normal one would do just fine.