By Nora Hemphill (February 22, 2005)

I first went to ZPizza in its premiere week. I had been very eager to try the new restaurant…a pizza place other than Papa John’s or Domino’s in Falls Church was a very exciting thing in my opinion, so I had plans to try it as soon as possible. While I enjoyed my food at each visit, I was not pleased with the service or the organization of the staff.

I went in at around 11:30—planning my arrival to avoid the lunch rush. Nobody else was in the restaurant, so the service started out pretty well. The girl behind the cash register was very cheerful and became even happier with each correct button she pushed. She took the order with no problems and so I went to wait for the food. The waiting area is nothing special, but it is neat and not unpleasant. Three high-top tables with bar stools around the perimeter of the shop provide a spot to sit and eat, although it’s more enjoyable to take your food elsewhere as the space is rather small. Anyhow, as I stood next to a table, I studied the menu, impressed by the various options. Pizzas, subs, calzones, and salads all have their own section on the menu (available online at www.zpizza.com) and all the options have special ingredients that make ZPizza stand out from the crowd: soy cheese, veggie burger crumbles, chicken sausage and artichokes, pine nuts, organic tomato sauce, mushrooms, corn, feta cheese, and many more. You can create your own combination or choose one of their 15 pizza creations.

The Berkley Pizza with soy cheese, tomatoes, zucchini, red onions, mushrooms, red pepper pesto and  veggie burger crumbs is a staple  on ZPizza’s menu. (Photo by Nora Hemphill)

After I finished reading the menu, I began wondering where my salad was. I looked up only to see that nobody had even started making it yet. There were three people competing for space around the pizza oven, the one girl at the cash register, and a manager who just milled around, getting in people’s ways. I asked how much longer the salad would be and was told it wouldn’t take long. After another five minutes, somebody started making it. Once I got the salad (baby arugula, caramelized onions, parmesan cheese, cucumbers, balsamic dressing, grilled chicken, and candied walnuts), it was excellent. The chicken was perfectly cooked, the dressing was sweet, but not too sweet, and the tenderness of the caramelized onions provided a nice contrast to the crisp cucumbers. I decided to mark the wait up to a lack of experience and try it again.

On my next visit, several weeks later, I was again disappointed with the staff’s training. There was a different girl at the register and while she was still cheerful, she was more than a little incompetent. I got the same salad, but had to repeat my order four times before she plugged it in correctly. To give her credit, she got my dining companion’s pizza order right the first time and began making my salad right away…unfortunately that left nobody to take orders and a long line started building up.

Immediately after she started the salad, she encountered problems. There was no baby arugula at the salad bar, so she went into the back to get some. As the door to the back was open, I watched her find a large bag of pre-washed arugula and put on gloves to get it in the bowl. I was pleased to see that they followed sanitation codes—until the manager intervened, reaching his bare hands into the bag and getting the arugula for her. A few minutes later, the manager was out in front, wiping his nose with his fingers. I hated to think what sort of germs made their way into my salad. However, the salad again tasted very good and the pre-made slice (ZPizza rotates the types of pizza slices they offer each day) of Tuscan Mushroom pizza was excellent—fresh toppings and thin crust. Again, I was impressed with the food, but more than disappointed with the service.

For my third visit, I decided to try ordering take-out (they also offer delivery). The man I spoke to on the phone was proficient at taking orders and told me my three pizzas would be ready in 20 to 25 minutes. Twenty-five minutes later, I sent my father in to pick up the pizzas and they were just pulling them out of the oven. The order was correct and he was rung up quickly with no problem at all. By the time he had paid, the pizzas were boxed and ready to go. At home 10 minutes later, the pizza was still hot and delicious. The Berkley (soy cheese, tomatoes, zucchini, red onion, mushrooms, red pepper pesto, and veggie burger crumbles), the California (tomatoes, red onions, zucchini, black olives, bell peppers, mushrooms, organic tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese), and the Mediterranean (pesto, sun-dried tomatoes, roasted peppers, kalamata olives, feta cheese, and eggplant) were all excellent. The vegetables were fresh, the sauces flavorful, and the crust thin, but not burnt. The only change I would make would be to sauté the zucchini instead of putting raw slices on the pizza. We also ordered two of the pizzas with whole wheat dough—just as good as the plain dough, but a little healthier.

Overall, ZPizza is a good addition to the Falls Church dining scene. Although the service is, at best, uneven, the taste and quality of the food make it worthwhile (and it should at around $10.00 for a small pizza). Once they get who should be doing what worked out, there should be nothing to complain about.

ZPizza is at 1051 W. Broad Street (next to Economy Party Supplies). The phone number is 703.536.6969.