Comet Ping Pong - Chevy Chase, DC

Pizza and ping pong anyone? The bf and cousin helped me use my Living Social deal at Comet Ping Pong. Interestingly enough, I had driven by this place a bazillion times going downtown, yet it was an episode of Food Network's Diners, Drive-In's and Dives that caught my attention. There is outdoor seating and ping pong tables when the weather is nice. There is street parking around the restaurant. The closest metro station is Tenleytown-AU on the red line.

I had no idea what to expect, but the decor reminded me of an 80's tennis court (?) The splotchy concrete and iron benches didn't make the place feel welcoming even though it is a chill place. I wonder if it looks cooler at night. It gets really loud with the concrete and metal throwing off the acoustics too.

The bf thought it was awesome that Bruce Lee was on the menu. If you haven't seen the clip of "him" playing ping pong with nunchucks, it's really tight.

The main focus of the menu is brick oven pizza, which comes in one size - around 10 inches. It's a good personal size. A limited amount of starters and desserts are also offered along with a full bar.

My cousin ordered The Hottie (Jalapeno, Comet Sauce, Pepperoni, Fontina) for $11. I don't mind fattiness, but do you see the puddle of grease? It wasn't spicy as the name would suggest either, and tasted like a typical pepperoni pizza. This was the bf's preference.

The bf ordered The Smoky (Smoky Mushrooms, Smoky Mozzarella, Smoky Bacon, melted onions, garlic) for $13. He wished there was marinara sauce (like on The Hottie) and found the flavors too smoky. This was my preference.

After seeing this pizza on TV, I ordered the Yalie (Fresh Clams, garlic, melted onions, Thyme, Parmesan, Lemon) for $15. It tasted fresh and it was a very different pizza, yet I found it a bit bland for my taste. This was my cousin's favorite.

We shared a dessert of Salted Caramel & Praline and Coconut ($5 for 2 scoops). The ice cream was made of local and organic ingredients. The texture was very creamy, but they both tasted very much the same, which was like vanilla. So that was disappointing.

Check out the back room! Who doesn't love free entertainment?

I lost every game we played after lunch but it was fun, and the boys had a blast.

As my pizza comments suggested, we all preferred someone else's pizza. So 2/3 of the way through the meal, we traded clockwise. The environment and concept is very different from other brick oven places in the city, but the pizza itself didn't shine. For the portion size, I found the price to be high. As a group, we felt the ping pong was the highlight of our lunch. The demographic is inclusive of everyone because there was a kid's birthday party at the same time yuppies were grabbing some drinks at the bar.

5037 Connecticut Ave NW
Washington, DC 20008
(202) 364-0404
www.cometpingpong.com