• Home
  • Best of Lists
  • Reviews
  • DC Restaurants
    • NE
    • NW
    • SE
    • SW
  • MD Restaurants
  • VA Restaurants
  • Ask Rick
  • Home »
  • Best of Lists »
  • Reviews »
  • DC Restaurants »
    • NE »
    • NW »
    • SE »
    • SW »
  • MD Restaurants »
  • VA Restaurants »
  • Ask Rick »
 
 
Rick Eats DC A website devoted to eating in DC
  • Recent Articles & Reviews

    • Queen’s English Still Reigns
    • Branching Out at Imperfecto and Joy
    • Tom Sietsema Dropped Stars From His Restaurant Reviews; I’m Adding Them to Mine
    • What I Did on My Sabbatical
    • The Best Things I Ate in 2021
  • Archives

    • December 2022
    • October 2022
    • August 2022
    • December 2021
    • October 2021
    • September 2021
    • August 2021
    • July 2021
    • December 2020
    • October 2020
    • September 2020
    • August 2020
    • June 2020
    • May 2020
    • February 2020
    • January 2020
    • November 2019
    • October 2019
    • September 2019
    • August 2019
    • July 2019
    • June 2019
    • May 2019
    • February 2019
    • January 2019
    • December 2018
    • November 2018
    • October 2018
    • September 2018
    • August 2018
    • July 2018
    • June 2018
    • May 2018
    • April 2018
    • March 2018
    • February 2018
    • January 2018
    • December 2017
    • November 2017
    • October 2017
    • September 2017
    • August 2017
    • July 2017
    • June 2017
    • May 2017
    • April 2017
    • March 2017
    • February 2017
    • January 2017
    • December 2016
    • November 2016
    • October 2016
    • September 2016
    • August 2016
  • Categories

    • Articles
    • Best Burgers
    • Best of Lists
    • Best Pizza
    • Cheap Eats
    • Featured
    • NE
    • NW
    • Restaurants DC
    • Restaurants MD
    • Restaurants VA
    • SE
    • SW
    • Uncategorized


Don't Miss a Thing
Enter your email address:*
Please enter all required fields
Correct invalid entries
Powered by FeedBlitz
Please choose a color:

Frankly…(Terrific) Pizza!

Posted by Rick Chessen

Maryland

Frankly...Pizza!

Frankly…Pizza!, 10417 Armory Ave, Kensington MD

Frankly…Pizza! is my favorite pizza in the DMV. That won’t surprise longtime readers, who may remember one of my very first posts in October 2016 ranking the Best Pizza in DC with Frankly…Pizza! occupying the top spot. But there are a lot of new people here, and on the off chance that a few of you haven’t gone back to read the whole catechism, I thought it was time to properly recognize Frankly’s with its own review.

Loving Frankly…Pizza! was the last thing I expected when I first stumbled on the place. First, the name isn’t Italian; it’s barely English. Then there’s the Kensington location, which doesn’t boast a best-of-the-DMV in any category other than Mormon Temples.

But I started revising my opinion even before I tasted my first pie. Frankly…Pizza! is a cozy, welcoming place with a great patio and a laid-back, slightly funky vibe. Then I was handed a menu and saw that they serve pizza and almost nothing else. No apps other than olives and an arugula salad. No other main courses. No side dishes. That’s a sign of focus and confidence. I love places that do one thing and one thing only. They’re working without a net.

Sure enough, the owner, Frank Linn, is one of those pizza-obsessed souls who fussed over his dream dough for years before opening a mobile kitchen and eventually a permanent space. Look at the best pizza joints in cities like New York and Philadelphia and you’ll often find someone like Frank. These guys (they tend to be guys) are intensely devoted, almost obsessed, with pizza-making and fiercely protective of their dough.

And the dough really is the magic at Frankly. It takes several days to develop the crust’s pillowy, almost billowy, texture with just the right amount of salt and chew. The pies also take on the kind of pronounced char on the lip and underside that make my knees buckle.

By all rights, my favorite pizza should be somewhere else. Pizza preferences, like sports allegiances, are usually determined by where you lived when you were twelve years old. The pizza I grew up with in Minneapolis was thin-crusted and heavily-cheesed and always cut in criss-cross squares. More Vin 909 in Annapolis or the original Ledo’s. Choosing Frankly’s over the pizza of my youth is like choosing the Redskins over the Vikings. (You can’t see me, but I just shuddered.)

Working the line one pizza at a time.

True to form, this isn’t some fancy pizza oven that arrived ready-made from Italy. Frank Linn and his father, Frank Linn Sr., constructed it themselves.

You can have pizza, olives or this arugula salad.

Pepperoni pizza with fresh garlic

The red pie. Some people think the tomato sauce is too sweet, but they’re wrong. As Tim Carman pointed out, it works well with the slight bitterness of the charred crust. And it works particularly well with pepperoni or other spicy toppings.

Hot Mess! Pizza with mozzarella, pickled jalapenos, caramelized onions, house-made bacon, gruyere, romano

A tangled white pie that lives up to its name and hits on all cylinders — smoky, spicy, sweet and salty.

White Pizza with ricotta, house-made bacon and garlic

Or go simple and give your full attention to the crust.

The crust can sag a little in the center but can still be picked up and eaten. I’m firmly opposed to eating pizza with a knife and fork, even pre-Trump.

Bottom char like this is like peeking at your cards and finding you’ve got pocket aces. You just smile and know it’ll be a good night.


The only fly in the ointment at Frankly…Pizza! — as long as you like pizza — is the potential wait during peak times. It helps if it’s nice and the patio’s open. Or come at lunchtime when things are far less busy. I like to go for weekend lunch and hang outside on the patio. I’m easy to spot. I’m the one in the Vikings jersey.

 

This entry was posted in Articles, Best Pizza, Restaurants MD. Bookmark the permalink.
← Previous Post Next Post →

2 Responses to Frankly…(Terrific) Pizza!

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*

*



Don't Miss a Thing
Enter your email address:*
Please enter all required fields
Correct invalid entries
Powered by FeedBlitz
Please choose a color:
  • Home
  • Best of Lists
  • Reviews
  • About this site
  • About Rick
  • Contact
  • DC Visitors
  • DC Restaurants
  • MD Restaurants
  • VA Restaurants

Website by MightyLittleWebShop.com