By Lakshmi:
If you have lived in the DC area for any length of time, chances are you have encountered Armand’s Pizza. For several decades now, Armand’s has been providing the best Chicago style deep dish pizza in the Washington metro area, a fact endorsed continually by Washingtonian magazine and multiple awards for the “Best Pizza”.
We discovered Armand’s as students on meager incomes, appreciating the fact that for a few dollars, a slice of cheese or spinach would provide sustenance through many hours of campus excitement and boredom. And when we graduated to better paying jobs and a place of our own, Armand’s was still a permanent fixture in our lives. The local branch knew us as regulars who always wanted to customize half their pizza one way and another half differently, who said no to cheddar and yes to more mozzarella, who felt that there was no such thing as too much garlic or jalapeno on a pizza. And when my boss and I got together, we always felt supremely productive and content with Armand’s for company. Special occasions and cravings during a pregnancy would merit a visit to the Tenley Town location to not just dive into the pizza, but accompany it with the awesome Oreo milkshake.
Sadly, we moved away from DC to NJ and there was no Armand’s. With family and friends still firmly ensconced in the DC area, we always found an excuse to visit and of course, one of our meals had to be Armand’s. If for some reason our meal times were taken up with obligations, there would be two boxes of pizza riding back with us to NJ, the smells permeating the car through the whole journey and making us famished enough to polish off the boxes as soon as we were home.
So, what makes Armand’s Pizza so special? And is it a lack of exposure to better deep dish pizza that makes us love them so? First, if you are watching your calories, let me warn you that the pizza we have come to love is loaded with cheese! And while they do offer a thin crust version, the subliminal aspect of this food comes from the cheesy depth covered with an assortment of toppings. The crust is just right, the cheese so fresh, and the toppings divine! Our favorite is the spinach and garlic pizza, where the spinach is blended with the cheese and garlic and you feel better thinking you have also met your greens quota for the day. Despite many, many trips to Chicago and many more deep dish pizzas, Armand’s will always be top of mind and choice.
If you are in the DC area, please check them out. Their locations are listed on their site at:
a global affair 
I live down the street from Armands. I used to go very often as a child, spending quite a few birthday parties there. For some reason we abandoned the pizzeria by the time I turned 10 and it’s presence has sort of slipped my mind (even though I pass it pretty much everyday). Well, your post has inspired me to check them out again. I’ve lost my taste for Chicago-style pizza, but perhaps maybe my old friend Armand’s can turn that around. Thanks for the post!
Hi Yvette,
Thanks for the feedback on Armands. I don’t know if you live near the Tenley Town location, but that branch is closing down soon! The Rockville and Silver Spring branches will stay open. BTW, I do remember having their thin crust pizza, but for us deep dish was divine! Please write back when you visit and let us know if you enjoyed the experience after all these years.