Among the most underrated of pizzas is the breakfast pizza. No, not the kind from the night before reheated in the microwave because you ran out of cereal. I'm talking about scrambled egg- and applewood smoked bacon-topped pies. This oft-neglected offering is now available as early as 7 a.m. at Veloce, the latest entrant in the fast-casual pizza game.
Veloce, which offers brick oven-fired personal-sized pizzas, comes from Pizzeria Paradiso owner Ruth Gresser. The restaurateur of 20-plus years aims to mimic the Neapolitan-style pies served at her Dupont, Alexandria, and Georgetown restaurants with a custom-designed oven from Belsville, Md.-based Marra Forni that can cook up to 25 pizzas at a time.
The five-inch breakfast pizzas cost $5 each. (My only quibble: All the eggs in the a.m. are scrambled, not over-easy.) There are also breakfast calzones and a "pocket" stuffed with smoked salmon, herbed mascarpone, cherry tomatoes, capers, and red onion. Compass Coffee supplies a dose of caffeine.
Lunch and dinner pies are eight-inches for $9. Five of the nine pizzas are vegetarian, including one with garlic pesto, roasted vegetables, pine nuts, mozzarella, parmesan, and local farm egg. For Ron Swanson-types, there's "the Butcher" with mozzarella, pepperoni, housemade pork sausage, red onion, and sweet red peppers. Diners can also build their own pies with a choice of white, whole wheat, grains and seeds, or gluten-free crusts. Grab-and-go salads are also available.
For dessert, Veloce has three types of tiramisu—classic, lemon, and chocolate—plus cookies from local baked goods purveyors Carla Hall and Pollystyle.
Veloce will offer different specials every day this week. Today, the restaurant gave away pizzas to the first 100 customers at 11:30 a.m. Watch Veloce's Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram accounts for other promotions through Friday.
Veloce, 1828 L St. NW; (202) 290-1910; eatatveloce.com
Photo by Dakota Fine