11. Joe’s Place Pizza & PastaÂ
Joe’s is a community-minded place that offers free pizza-making classes (and pies!) to local elementary schools, and routinely supports fundraisers for area schools and nonprofits. Giuseppe “Joe” Farruggio, who also owns Il Canale in Georgetown, opened several Joe’s in Northern Virginia starting in 1978, but 10 years ago closed all of them except for the Arlington and Vienna outposts. The Lee Highway staple is known for its inexpensive and bountiful buffet, which features pizza, pasta, meatballs and traditional Sicilian minestrone, free for kids 2 and under. Try the Asiago pie (available only in Arlington) topped with grilled chicken, mushrooms and fresh basil, as well as the namesake cheese.
5555 Lee Highway, Arlington, 703-532-0990, joesplacepizzaandpasta.com