American Flatbread

Total wine has more dogfish than you can shake a stick at. All good stuff and worth the drive.

 

Let's see if I can get this thread back on track with a review:

This is then best pizza in town by far, but to be fair, you cannot compare this to the other greasy stuff (that has its place) that is served at Manhattan et al.

This is gourmet pizza with wonderful toppings cooked just right. We ordered 3 types, the simple cheese and tomato which the kids loved as it resembles "normal" pizza just enough to not scare them off, and then we ordered the sausage pizza with maple fennel sausage (which is not greasy!), and the sundried tomato with carmelized onion. The pizza was excellent, with all kinds of flavors hitting you just right, and the sausage pizza especially was one of the best pizzas we have had, anywhere!

As to size and price: these are 16" pizza's ranging from $13 to $19 and are worth every penny in light of the quality of ingredients. One pizza easily serves two adults and would certainly serve 3 kids.

The atmosphere is minimalist and frankly could use a few more decorations for my liking to make it cozy. But to say we'll be back is an understatement, we will make this our first choice for family dining in Ashburn. We too are upset about the lack of call-in; but the pizza oven surely could not handle it as I would guess this is going to become one very busy place . . .

 

This is the best pizza I have tasted EVER.

 

We had another excellent pizza (take out) the other night -- with rosemary and goat cheese or something and with red onion. We hope to see them add an appetizer or two for eat-in customers, does anyone know if they have done that yet?

 

I spoke to the owner a few weeks ago about the takeout situation. They seem to be softening a bit on the issue. She said they'll take orders during slow times, either during the week or at 'off' hours.

 

Anyone else wish they were open for lunch?

 

Yes!

 

On a side not aboot Dogfish Head....they are looking to open up another one of their Ale Houses in Seven Corners and it looks to open some time in September.

 

My understanding of their take-out policy is that they do it so long as they are not extremely busy - i.e. likely Friday and Saturday nights.

 

The buzz from the guy who owns the brewing supply store across the street is that they are going to open the one in 7 corners sometime around August first. And that dogfish is looking to open an ale house west of that location sometime in early 2008.

I do beleive we are west of seven corners (to an extent) but I wont hold my breath that it will be anywhere around here.

 

Noting that some of their locations are only open for dinner on Friday and Saturday, I think I will take dinner only for now. I do however kinda wish they could get thier hands on some of the "zero gravity" beers that are brewed in their Burlington VT location.

 

Warning for anyone wanting to get a "half-and-half" pizza at American Flatbread ...

My husband wanted his half with meat; I am a vegetarian and wanted cheese. The price for a full meat pizza was $19 and the price for a full cheese pizza was $14, so we expected our half-and-half pizza to cost $16.50. However, they charged $19 and did NOT tell us (on the menu or when we placed or order) that that would be the case. When we questioned the manager about this, she said the higher price was to cover "the extra labor cost that went into making a half-and-half pizza." Excuse me? The sauce and cheese on the pizza were the same; how does it take more time to put pepperoni and green pepper on only half instead of the whole thing? The pizza tasted good, but we were very disappointed in this pricing policy, especially since the pizzas are expensive to begin with.

 

Small price to pay for a woderfull meal, correct? Up until the check came, I suspect you were more than satisfied with the pizza. So you paid and additioanl $2.50 for a really good pizza. I would pay double that for a good meal, and often do. If you don't like the policy, don't go back but often times it's harder to remember a cheap service than a great one.

 

Ummm, I'd like to know the name of the pizza place that does it differently. Every time that I order a pizza with half and half, they do it that same way.

 

well, seeing that it was important enough to write about, I suspect it was an important enough consideration at the time, that you should have asked first. I would say that there is equal blame...

BUT if I was the manager, I would have changed it, since you made it an issue. A good manager would have seen that it was going to potentially cloud your experience and for the sake of getting you to leave happy, they would "eat" the cost this time... and let you know for the future how it works...

 

lauralynne,

Everyone has a right to their complaint, and yours is no stranger than most of the ones I have seen on this site. We have veggies in our family, and I'm just normally happy when we can find a place that will serve them something decent to eat. However, I hope the management looks into your issue.

By the way, have you been to the new Sunflower restaurant in Falls Church? When we go out with veggy friends and family, we frequent the one in Vienna, but the new one has some new menu choices. For anyone interested in some healthy, meat-free food, see http://www.crystalsunflower.com/MenuForFallsChurch.htm. The General Tso's Surprise is amazing!

 

Gryphon -- thanks for the Sunflower restaurant suggestion.

Chsalas -- my issue with American Flatbread was that they didn't list their full-topping price for a 1/2-topping pizza policy on the menu. (For example, Generous George in Alexandria clearly states that they will charge the full price but put the full portion of the topping on half the pizza.) And since I expressed my concern politely, I would have appreciated it if the manager offered to reverse the charge this one time (as Dave/ Zeratul suggested above) since she knew I was a first-time customer and that I wasn't aware of the policy. The manager just said "that's the way we do it to pay for the labor." Higher prices are one thing, but illogical price surprises are another.

PGA Mike -- I believe Domani Ristorante, Z Pizza, Pomodoro, Fireworks, and Amvrosia are some restaurants that charge 1/2 the price for a topping on only 1/2 the pizza.

 

lauralynne--Try the new Whole Foods on Market Commons Drive in Fairfax, VA. Their brick-oven pizza is better than Wegmans. Also, they (Whole Foods) uses organic ingredients and you buy fresh organic pizza shells for pizza pies.

If you wish to know where to purchase organic meats, organic cheeses, and other organic ingredients for homemade pizzas (or other dishes)--just ask me and I will provide some sources.

Foodie

 

Last time we went to American Flatbread we did the half and half pizza option. Waitress pointed out there will be a surcharge to make our pizza combination of two pizzas from their menu.

Although I did not think it was really reasonable, at least waitress informed us. So no surprise when we got our bill.

Perhaps it is a simple training issue with their wait staff.

 

Interesting, I have always paid for the pizza as if it had more toppings on the one side. When I order a 1/2 pepperoni, I always ask for double cheese on the cheese only side