Just because something is right there, available, so simple and easy, does not mean it’s not worth having.  Prepare for a shock: the grass may not always be greener on the other side.

I speak of Pete’s Apizza, a newish pizza joint right on top of the Columbia Heights Metro.  I hadn’t given it much thought before because, hey, it is (a) a chain and (b) too easily accessible.  My eventual plan to trek to Red Rocks Pizza on 11th was still rolling around in my mind when I stepped into Pete’s.

I was not too impressed with the atmosphere; nothing in the clean, well lit chrome or very clean rows of table foretold the chewy, thin-but-not-too-thin crust perfection that lay in store.

Pizzas can be ordered by the slice or by the pie.  Slices of cheese, pepperoni, vegetarian, meat lover’s (and on and on) lay behind gleaming glass in front of the wood fired gas-fired oven.  A polite undergrad takes your order and later brings out the perfectly heated slice (or pie, if you’ve been running a marathon) to your table.

Pete’s has a very respectable selection of craft beers on tap.  I recommend the Great Lakes Eliot Ness, but only partly because I like Kevin Costner so much.  The owners (Petworth/Columbia Heights/Fairfax locals) know what district residents want–good beer and better pizza (or vice versa).

At around $3 a slice, this pizza cannot be beat.  Though it was voted [third] Best Pizza in the City by City Paper, I had to try it myself to believe it.  And I hope that’s exactly what you’ll do too.

Don’t take my word for it.  At that price and location, walk, don’t run (it’s very icy out there) to Pete’s Apizza without delay.