Spartans! What is your pizza?

Two weeks ago I took a spontaneous trip to D.C. for the joint birthday celebration of two lovely ladies. Despite close to 8 hours of travel and only 22 hours in town, I always love visiting them on a free weekend. I love it even more when we find good restaurants!

When I arrived (about 30 minutes after new friend Jackie, also from NYC), Birthday Girl #1 took us for lunch at a little joint down the street from her apartment in Arlington. The Lost Dog Cafe had a nice selection of sandwiches and salads, not to mention a wall of beer options. I had a turkey reuben and polished it off with slightly embarrassing speed; if I were embarrassed by that sort of thing.

Shortly after lunch, Birthday Girl #2 and the incomparable Stephanie arrived and we all moved on to the Hyatt in Rosslyn. Rather than trek into the city center, we decided to get dolled up, share a toast, and head out to Piola, literally 3 blocks away. After Jackie found this place online and the concierge also recommended it, our minds were made up.

I don't like to play up dishes too much, but out of the dozens of choices for personal-sized, thin-crust pizzas, I think I chose the absolute best. I resisted ordering the Sparta pizza with over-dramatic emphasis, but honestly, I'd scream it from the rooftop even now. It was a basic white pizza with melted mozzarella and topped with cherry tomatoes, arugula, olives, and... wait for it... goat cheese. I traveled to Heaven for a moment.

After dinner, we headed to the closest hot-spot in Rosslyn for drinks -- Ruby Tuesdays. Oh yeah, five pretty young things walking in to that place at 10:00pm made it look damn near packed. All joking aside, it was my suggestion, and I'm glad we went. I tried each of their two beer cocktails - both made with Blue Moon and either raspberry Chambord or Grand Marnier. I loved the "Golden Moon" for the obviously delicious pairing of Blue Moon with orange.

All in all, the birthday celebration was a success and I'm glad Abby & Rachel had a nice time. I, on the other hand, couldn't wait to recreate the SPARTAAAAA. With no other pressing plans on Super Bowl Sunday, I decided to pick up the famous $.99 Trader Joe's pizza dough and the other ingredients to give it a go. It was a personal size, with only 4 slices, but I finished it again, with embarrassing speed.

You know, if I were embarrassed by that sort of thing!

P.S. Happy 3rd Anniversary to Life Beyond the Recipe!!