Pizzeria Orso, web site, 400 South Maple Avenue, Falls Church, VA, near Blanca’s, 703-226-3460 (Metro Trip Planner – opens in new window) [Google | Falls Church Real Estate News | WaPo | Falls Church New-Press | NoVA Mag | Don Rockwell | Yelp | Gayot]
Run by the people from 2941 Restaurant, though the pizzaiolo used to work at 2 Amys. I’ve had three pizzas here and each was first-rate. Most of the influences are Neapolitan. The fennel salad is good too, for contrast. They get busy early, go to beat the crowd (eventually service deteriorates to the point of unacceptability), but currently this is a clear first for area pizza.
Actually, run by Edan McQuaid, the former 2 Amys pizzaiolo at 2 Amys . . . but not affiliated with 2 Amys.
I’ve been here once and was very disapointed, I’ll stick to Pupatella any day. The pizza tasted so burnt and service was strange.
Suffered some textural misfires with pizza toppings, i.e. combining mozzarella and ricotta with prosciutto on the Orso. Too many vegetables crowd and moisten the Verdure. And sadly, the arancini are ok but can’t compete with Pupatella’s on texture or flavor dimensions. Likewise, cost differentiates these purveyors. Orso may suffer from higher rent on the new build space. I’ll drive a little further for the pleasures of Neapolitan.