How many ways are there to eat cheese and bread at Pizzeria Orso? The meal starts with rectangles of lightly fried dough with just a sprinkle of cheese and parsley. A mound of creamy burrata atop oiled and salted arugula is served with grilled sourdough. Sandwiches are made from pizza dough turned into sub rolls resembling canoes and stuffed with fall-apart meatballs, mozzarella and slivers of red onion. Then, of course, there’s pizza. The kitchen is certified by the Associazione Vera Pizza Napoletana Americas and offers the Neapolitan staples: margherita and marinara. But this is also a pizza shop with a classically trained French chef who knows how to keep up with the trends, so there’s also a pie with smoked tomato sauce and ramps, a prized signifier of foodiedom.
MISC: The pastas are also lovely, like the mushroom-stuffed ravioli with cooked kale in a dreamy butter sauce.
Pizzeria Orso
Italian | $$
400 S. Maple Ave., Falls Church