DC at Night

DC at Night

Friday, February 1, 2013

Dining in DC: Comet Ping Pong

How is this for a combination - wood-fired pizza, ping pong, and punk rock? Well if all, or any, of these subjects interest you, you will want to check out Comet Ping Pong on Connecticut Avenue, just a few doors down from DC's greatest bookstore, Politics and Prose.

Here's what David Sax of New York Magazine had to say: "Get served at Comet Ping Pong, a hipster-heavy pizza parlor in the Upper Northwest with rough concrete walls, bathrooms hidden behind secret panels, and table tennis galore. Thin-crust pies from the wood-burning oven are as much of an attraction as the regularly scheduled live bands."

We often eat here before or after a book talk at Politics and Prose (we went before tonight's Dave Barry appearance). Invariably, we get the same thing - the Jimmy pizza, a pie featuring the best meatballs ever to be placed on a pizza. They are so good that many people often order an extra side of meatballs. I would like to try the other pizzas on the menu, but, as Judy insists, why mess with a sure thing.

While the pizza is great, the interior decor is just as much of a draw. Each table is painted green to mimic a ping pong table. Classic ping pong matches are often shown on the giant screen. There are 3 ping pong tables in the back (and 1 out front in warm weather) if you want to work off your calories from your meal. In a neat touch, your check comes clipped to a ping pong paddle.

Then, of course, the venue morphs into a punk rock palace on certain weekend nights. The walls of the backroom near the stage are covered with posters of bands who have performed here.

We really like this place, but we are certainly not alone. Over the years, Comet Ping Pong has picked up a lot of street cred from an impressive number of publications. You can find out what they had to say by clicking here.

This month, Comet Ping Pong adds to its eclectic mix when it hosts a Politics and Prose book talk by Matt Kepnes about his new work How to Travel the World on $50 a Day: Travel Cheaper, Longer, Smarter. Now great pizza and good prose - that's 2 things I can really sink my teeth into.

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What Others Say
The Prices DO DC rating
  • ***** 5 out of 5 pies (4 for the food, plus 1 for the fun)

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