Crust Pizzeria Napoletana Vienna (Vera Pizza certified Pizzeria)
Pizza restaurant · Tysons Corner ·
Authentic Neapolitan pies with wood-fired crust and fresh ingredients
![Crust Pizzeria Napoletana Vienna (Vera Pizza certified Pizzeria) by Check, Please! DC [Official photo]](https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/62590084/CrustPizzeria.0.0.jpg "Crust Pizzeria Napoletana Vienna (Vera Pizza certified Pizzeria) by Check, Please! DC [Official photo]")
Authentic Neapolitan pies with wood-fired crust and fresh ingredients
"Founded in 2020, this not-a-restaurant operation solicits charitable donations in exchange for tavern-style pizzas that are picked up in an alley from an undisclosed location; the founder suggests a $25 donation per pie but donors can give more, pizzas are released via Instagram on a first-come, first-served basis through direct message, and a final pie is reserved each drop to be auctioned to boost donations. The project recently crossed the $100,000 donation threshold and is celebrating by auctioning a single, over-the-top tavern-style pie called the Hundo, which the founder hopes will shatter the operation's record single-pie bid of $3,376.33 and whose proceeds will benefit the Friendship Center food pantry. The Hundo is laced with giardiniera, caviar, and Italian beef carved from a 60-day dry-aged steak; Publican Quality Meats’ butcher Rob Levitt helped select the rib-eye, which will be surrounded by sweet and hot peppers intended to emulate a dipped Italian beef, and Carruthers says the caviar "adds texture and complements the giardiniera," while an "eye-wateringly-expensive Aceto balsamico is absolutely a star." About the stunt and the recipe, founder and pizzaiolo John Carruthers tells Eater, "It’s going to be great because it has to be." He acknowledges the concept's silliness but insists on the flavor: "Everything’s great together, otherwise it would be unnecessary," adding that he’s practiced with cheaper cuts of beef and that "They add more than silliness to each other. Flavor-wise, spectacular. Concept-wise, silly as hell." Operational and personal context: Carruthers—who has appeared on Chopped!, comes from a marketing background, and says he brings "a dash of Bill Veeck" to his work—has used Crust Fund to raise money for groups including Brave Space Alliance, Illinois Coalition For Immigrant and Refugee Rights, and Memorial Sloan Kettering; past specials have included unconventional toppings (June’s special featured mole) and the pizzas are regularly praised for thin crusts and unusual combos. Carruthers has self-published cookbooks, co-founded ManBQue with Jesse Valenciana, and admits a 2019 corn dog pop-up that lacked city licenses taught him lessons while emboldening him; he notes, "If you roll up to Undisclosed Alley, my ServSafe credential is posted and up to date," and adds wryly, "I’m absolutely not above board, because that wouldn’t be as much fun, but I do actually know what I’m doing serving food to folks." On regulatory encounters he imagines, "Like, I got nothing against the CDPH, but I feel like my life would be enriched by a recurring Inspector Zenigata type chasing me down an alley," and concludes playfully, "And while we’re at it, let’s get Daft Punk back together to score the whole thing." - Ashok Selvam
"Neapolitan-style pies are the focus at this Vienna pizza joint, which also has the expected sandwiches, salads, and more." - Missy Frederick
"An Instagram-driven pizza operation where customers order via social media, donate the pizza’s sale price to a rotating charity, and pick up pies from a North Side alley; the regular Instagram pizza drops often sell out quickly. The operator is staging a vegan pop-up on Feb. 26 at a neighborhood brewery, with proceeds benefiting a local anti-hunger nonprofit and an all-star roster of collaborators producing dairy- and meat-free sheet pizzas. The pop-up will accept on-site orders only—no preorders." - Ashok Selvam
"This local pizzeria uses a wood-fired brick oven to cook its Neapolitan-style pies, sandwiches, appetizers, and other offerings. A guest reviewer couldn’t get enough of the “Capricciosa” pizza topped with salami, artichokes and olives. “I was stationed in Northern Italy when I was in the Army, and Crust is as good as the pizza I had in Naples, the best I’ve had this side of the pond,” said the reviewer, who also ate Crust’s arancini and tiramisu." - Lenore Adkins
Mushtaha A.
P L
monear Q.
Manisha S.
Ands’Rou A.
Buyanaa B.
Kishor S.
Zahrlavi
Mike R.
Laura H.
Radha P.
Jamie O.
Kaley W.
Dana M.
Monica W.
Susan L.
Hamid A.
Duke N.
Nick And Cat G.
Allison B.
Eagle N.
Jill K.
R S.
Mackenzie C.
Desiree D.
Christa H.
Al B.
Rachel A.
John O.
Shirley B.
Mark B.
Susanne H.
Brian V.
Lindsey M.
Katie S.
Karen S.
sheryl e.
Sharky ..
Rebecca F.
Nicholas G.
James H.
Justin R.
Ryan C.
We The People U.
Cori T.
Spica V.
Jaye W.
Sadia K.
Katie P.
Risa K.
Strella G.
Babak S.
Vivianne C.
Maryellen C.
Amy S.
Zack C.
Niro W.
