Pupatella, the new pizzeria on Old Keene Mill road, has taken over the local pizza scene  and created a culture where students are willing to wait hours in line for a single pie. 

When ordering pizza, not only can the aesthetic including the traditional red and white table clothes be admired, but the local drama of nearby WS high school will be aired out to customers. While waiting for your pizza, expect to hear the trials and tribulations of high school as the staff seems to have a younger age demographic. 

Despite sharing snippets of the drama, the staff was very helpful in ordering efficiently and swiftly. Be sure to avoid busy hours, as the wait time can be up to multiple hours during dinner time, but attending during the early afternoon can assure a simple twenty minute wait time. 

The downfalls of the new pizza joint amass fairly quickly, with the price being a standout. The cheapest pizza option is 14 dollars, an 11 inch pie that they recommend for one guest. Compared to frozen pizza options which can be found for only six to eight dollars, this seems overpriced. 

Judging from the price, one might assume  the pizza would be gourmet or at least on the nicer side. Unfortunately, the pizza was terribly mediocre. The soggy dough coupled with the insanely greasy pepperoni made for a combination not worth buying.

The mozzarella fried balls were the star of the show, as the crunchy, cheesy balls ticked off every box required for a greasy side dish. Even so, the coolest aspect of the Pupatella experience was the vintage car sitting outside the restaurant. 

The craze surrounding Pupatella seems to be misleading. With other fabulous pizza restaurants in the DMV, including Stracci Pizza in Alexandria, which serves gourmet pizza on homemade focaccia bread and sprinkles drizzles of honey on their locally sourced toppings, Pupatella stacks up as nothing more than a typical pizza place.