When I explain to my old friends why I love NoVA, I rhapsodize about the fact that I can dine at a farm practically every day of the week, but that we still have the culinary diversity that allows me to then go home and order an Indian pizza. Yes, Indian pizza. If you haven’t tried it, you’re missing out. And after tasting the pies at several purveyors in the area, I think I can declare a favorite. I’m simply enchanted with the butter chicken pie at takeout-only Pizza 360 in Ashburn.
The key is the crust, which is thin and chewy throughout, almost like a New York-style pie. Then there’s the creamy, tangy butter sauce that stands in for tomato. It’s mildly spicy too, just one more factor that, in my estimation, makes butter sauce superior (or at least equal) to tomato sauce as a pizza topping.
Fresh jalapeños add even more heat—the pie had my dining partner sweating. There are also bell peppers and onions, as well as tender chunks of chicken. A shower of cilantro boosts the spicy flavors with a refreshing jolt. There are 11 desi pizza flavors at Pizza 360, including tandoori paneer and malai kofta, so there are lots of options for vegetarians.
But I went in the opposite direction. This time, I added another pizzeria classic to my meal: wings. There are eight traditional American flavors, including spicy roasted garlic, but I had to make the tough decision of tandoori or curry wings. I went with the former and was glad I did. The wings, like the pizza, have a pleasant burn, so they’re more hot wing than they are tandoori chicken, though the flavors were still identifiably Indian. When I’m not dining out for work though, they’ll now be a staple, along with one of my favorite pizzas in the region. // 21760 Beaumeade Circle, Ashburn
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