Life Work by Alexandra Greeley

June 2008 vol 7 #6

Beer and Pizza: Ruth Gresser Standards of Excellence

Perhaps best known for her instantly successful Pizzeria Paradiso—the first of which opened about 16 years ago on P St. in Washington, DC—Ruth Gresser can add another feather to her cap: beer whiz. Thanks to her innovative Georgetown location’s Birreria Paradiso, a downstairs beer “salon” for the thirsty and the cognescenti, Gresser has come up with a winning formula: serve the finest brews, pair them with first-class pizzas, and hold beer dinners to educate people’s beer palates.

Looking back over her DC history, it’s hard to separate Ruth Gresser’s name from that of pizza, for when her first Pizzeria Paradiso opened and got its first review, the public swarmed the restaurant—and the local pizza boom was born. Gresser remembers that there was such a demand for her trendy Neapolitan-style pizzas—ranging from the classic Margherita to the snappy Atomica pies—that Gresser and her staff literally cooked round the clock for the first few weeks. “Some nights I never even went home,” she says. “I slept at the restaurant.”

With the opening of her second pizzeria on M Street, NW, Gresser decided to take advantage of the restaurant’s downstairs space to inaugurate a different kind of pizza experience, one that allowed patrons to become familiar with some of the world’s best beers. “I got involved because I started doing crazy beer stuff several years ago when we started beer happy hours,” she says. “We made mixed drinks using beer. We had 5 to 6 different drinks and we had that drink menu for a while. But it didn’t catch on that well, so we revisited the idea.” The outcome: the Birreria Paradiso, a downstairs area with bar seating for 10, lounge seating for 8, and table seating for 20. “We opened it two years ago,” Gresser says, noting that her approach is unique, because she insists on have a very “grand” variety, and bringing in labels that only Pizzeria Paradiso carries.

“Our list does not include large commercial breweries,” she says, adding that she relies on her beer “guru” and Birreria manager Greg Jasgur to make major beer decisions. “ He deals with the distributors and he has actually even gone on an excursion when he went and picked up some beer not distributed in this area. We were only ones who had it,” she says.

Describing the broad array, Gresser notes that the Birreria has numerous American labels, a big section of Belgian beers, and assorted German, French and Scottish brews. “We have a little bit of everything,” she says, adding that there are 16 taps, one cask beer, and coolers filled with 80 different bottled beers. Patrons can find such names as Orval, Westmalle Trappist Tripel, Old Rasputin Imperial Stout, and Fantome Saison, to name just a few.

As for her personal preferences, Gresser says she has an affinity for Belgian beers. “My favorite is Gueuze,” she says. Iit’s a sour beer with a lemony-citrusy bitterness to it. It’s made from ambient yeast, and can only be made in certain places.” She’s quick to add that beer is the perfect partner for pizza—probably most beers highlight pizza’s spicy, cheesey goodness. But to Gresser’s palate, she believes that the best beers with pizza are the yeasty-bready kinds of beer. “It depends on what’s on the pizza,” she adds. “But, in general, Orval is a good one, it’s a Belgian, and it’s very unique beer.”

Good news for pizza and for beer lovers: Gresser is moving her P Street location down the block to larger quarters, right on Dupont Circle. And pizza lovers can cheer: not only will it feature a patio, but this PP will also have the beer menu. “We just won’t be holding out monthly beer dinners at the new location,” Gresser says.

Pizzeria Paradiso
Dupont Circle
2029 P St NW
Washington, DC
202-223-1245

Georgetown
3282 M St NW
Washington, DC
202-337-1245

Alexandra Greeley has more than 25 years of experience as an author, editor, reporter, food critic, staff writer and freelance writer and editor both in the United States and Asia. You can contact Alexandra at cookasia@verizon.net.