Any true pizza connoisseur will tell you: All pizza is not the same. While some restaurants sell pizza, this tiny Dupont Circle joint sells a true pizza pie. Its ingredients don't come in five-pound cans that double as doorstops when the kitchen gets too hot. Paradiso's toppings are as fresh as their salads and move beyond merely pepperoni and cheese. Immensely flavorful Parma ham, buffalo mozzarella and perfectly ripe veggies make up some of the many upscale toppings offered. The yeasty, crispy, thin crust is made in a wood-burning oven and has somehow retained the strength necessary to hold all the goodies. This allows patrons to eat it as pizza was intended to be eaten -- with their hands.

The second-story restaurant is tiny, with a mini bar area. Expect to cram into the hallway to wait for a table. -- Jonathan Ferree (Photo: Rosalie A. Lacorazza)