Is Pupatella taking over the region? With five locations from DC to Richmond, chef Enzo Algarme’s Neapolitan pizzeria continues to expand. He just signed a lease for another Pupatella in West Springfield, and the restaurant’s website promises more openings this year.
For pizza devotees (basically everyone), this is very good news. But on my first visit to the Reston location, which opened at the end of 2020, I realized that it’s especially favorable for vegetarians. Yes, prosciutto and meatballs figure prominently on the menu, but for those eschewing flesh, Pupatella is almost heaven-sent.
The menu includes an embarrassment of meat-free riches. There are nine vegetarian pizzas on the set menu, and diners are free to riff on those by choosing their own toppings. My eye landed immediately on the eggplant-and-red-pepper pizza. It was the presence of smoked mozzarella that assured me that I wouldn’t miss the meat on that particular pie; somehow, adding smoke to cheese mimics flesh.
The truth is, one could put practically anything on the thin, chewy crust with its plump, charred edges and come up with a winner. Apply a layer of zesty San Marzano tomatoes and that crust becomes irresistible. Strew sweet red peppers and appealingly mushy eggplant atop the dots of fresh smoked mozzarella and it’s doughy ecstasy. The same can be said for the textbook example of a Margherita, with its slightly soupy center and lush basil leaves.
But the best news is that if the neighborhood Neapolitan restaurant isn’t in your stomping grounds just yet, it probably will be soon. // 1821 Wiehle Ave., Reston
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