redrocks firebrick pizzeria

redrocks firebrick pizzeria
in columbia heights:
1036 park road, NW, washington, DC 20010
tel: 202) 506-1402
hours: monday 5pm-11pm, tuesday-thursday 11am-11pm, friday-saturday 11am-1am, sunday 11am-11pm
in alexandria:
904 king street, old town alexandria, VA 22314
tel: 703) 717-9873
hours: monday-thursday 11am-11pm, friday-saturday 11am-1am, sunday 11am-10pm

what was consumed: everything ... the list of things i've had at red rocks is ... a lot. here are a few (of things i currently remember. i'm sure there are others that i've had that are no longer on their menu): italian olives (marinated and warmed, with house-baked bread), broccoli rabe (with aged balsamic dressing and hot peppers), asparagus salad with prosciutto bites, mixed greens salad (with aged balsamic vinaigrette), margherita pizza (tomato sauce, buffalo mozzarella, basil, olive oil, sea salt), rugola pizza (arugula, fresh mozzarella, ricotta, cherry tomatoes), baked calzone (fresh mozzarella, ricotta, spicy marinara, parmesan), meatballs al forno sandwich/panini (meat sauce, parmesan, house-baked bread), tiramisu. my current favorite is the rugula pizza with pepperoni added.

i totally thought i'd written about red rocks before. silly me, turns out that was all a part of my imagination. so, here goes!

i love pizza. but these days, i find myself eating most of my pizza at redrocks (and no no no, it's not because of m and her connection to that place - i loved redrocks way before that!). here's the thing: redrocks is currently the only place where i will eat the crust of pizza. crust is usually not a big deal and i usually leave it by the wayside, but at redrocks, i will eat every last bite. as much as my stomach will hold, anyway.

redrocks is known for their neapolitan 'style' pizza - you know, individual size, thin crust deliciousness. they have pizzas with preset toppings for you to choose from, but you also have the option to make your own creation as well ... and are all deliciously cooked in their firebrick oven. their meats are cured deliciously (esp. out in alexandria - they cure their own meats! ahhh!!) and their cheese is always fresh and delicious. in fact, all of their ingredients are fresh, following with what's in season (i can't wait for their fava bean appetizer at the alexandria location to come back!). redrocks also has a series of delicious antipastas (love the marinated olives - a frequent starter for me. and their veggies! the balsamic dressing they use is plentiful, but not overwhelming ... and whatever dressing is left over makes for good bread dipping sauce), salads (i love their beet salad, even though i'm not a super huge beet fan. i think the combination of the dressing works well), lots of things with arugula, as well as other options for the non-pizza lover (if they even exist!). e.g. their paninis - so delicious! the bread is the same dough they use to make their pizza crusts. yay! seriously, i can't get enough.

i also really enjoy the tiramisu at redrocks. it's not overly sweet; rather, it's super creamy, but super light. i'll barely have a bite of dessert at other restaurants, but will eat a good portion of the tiramisu at redrocks. so delicious, so worth the extra few bucks to end a meal that is already so so so wonderful.

and don't forget about their drinks! at both of the redrocks locations, they have wonderful beers on tap (though my go to beer is the brooklyn lager - love it!), great wines, and an array of special (and standard) cocktails. during the thanksgiving season, they had this amazing pumpkin cocktail that was literally pumpkin pie for adults (i.e., alcoholic), in a glass. definitely worth considering. or just be like me and enjoy tasty beers. yum.

the first time i visited redrocks: a couple of years ago (back when i was working as a server at domku), i heard about redrocks' opening in columbia heights from some of the locals who were "in the know" about places opening in columbia heights. i was meeting with ines at the time, so we decided to visit redrocks on one of our meetings. we walked over (red rocks is conveniently located just a few blocks from the columbia heights metro) and enjoyed our pizzas outside. ines ate her entire pizza (as did i, of course) which was sort of a feat because she, at the time, couldn't have been more than 8? 9? something like that ... and i couldn't wait to head back.

i've since returned to redrocks on quite a few occasions (i celebrated my birthday here!). most recently i participated in a redrocks + brooklyn brewery food and beer pairing dinner. i love so many of the beers that come out of the brooklyn brewery, and it was awesome to have redrocks favorites with some awesome brooklyn beers. i wish i had a bigger stomach (and an even higher tolerance) as we left, stuffed, with take-out boxes of leftovers, feelin' really really good. hee hee ...

redrocks has since opened an old town alexandria location, which i've been to as well. the menu (and ambiance) is slightly different, so if you've been to one location, be sure to visit the other! it'll be worth your while. all of this writing is making me hungry. again. pizza anyone? let's go to redrocks! yay yay yay!

online: http://www.redrocksdc.com/