"Scalability, simplicity, consistency and quality" is not the only 4-step program that the latest restaurant chain to enter the DC pizza revolution has to offer. It's the pick of one of its 7 crusts, 5 sauces, 3 cheeses and over 35 unlimited toppings at a warp-speed efficiency that Pizza Studio hopes to draw the crowds in with.

I was invited to an early peek of the first Washington, DC outpost of Pizza Studio, a fast-casual restaurant a la Chipotle - allowing customers to build their meal from the bottom up, choosing from an array of ingredients that are enough to overwhelm the senses, but with the help of "pizza artists" to guide you along the way so not to make any culinary missteps. Pizza Studio, located just south of Dupont Circle on 19th Street hopes to stand out by offering up unlimited toppings at one price at a very quick speed. $7.99 will get you an 11" pizza in 2 minutes, or at least that's the time it takes for each pizza to cook in the 600 degree oven. For a company that's only been around for a little over two years it's a pretty impressive feat, these pizzas taste and look as if they belong on a more established menu.

I've started to cut out dairy from my diet, at least to the best that I can. Coffee at home it's coconut creamer, if I'm craving a burger I'll skip the cheese. These are easy maneuvers. I still however crave a slice of pizza from time to time, I'm not talking your Papa John's or Pizza Hut, I don't need to break my no dairy rule for those, even after a drink or two I'm well behaved. Rarely can I eat a whole pizza, nor do I want to. It's a sharing dish, but it's not easy finding someone who will be happy to share a pizza sans cheese, at Ghibellina I think I've found the slice.

The Marinara at Ghibellina is worthy of a mention. I think we can all agree that the pizzas here are amongst the best in the city - brick oven roasted, slightly burnt crust, topped with razor-thin slices of garlic and fresh basil in a sea of rich tomato sauce. Delicious. More notably, during their happy hour which runs daily from 4-6:30, at $6.50 a pizza paired with a $5 glass of wine it's perhaps one of the best deals around.

If I made good choices we wouldn't be having this conversation, but I don't.

Ghibellina, 1610 14th Street NW, Washington, DC (closest metro: U Street)

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