This Arlington Pizzeria Is Legit, Per an Italian Ranking

One taste of the Margherita pizza at A Modo Mio, with its puffy, charred crust, wisps of fresh basil and soupy center of buffalo mozzarella cheese and San Marzano tomato sauce, and it’s easy to understand why the Arlington pizzeria was named one of 2023’s 50 best in the U.S. by 50 Top Pizza, an Italian guide that annually ranks the world’s best pies. 

A Modo Mio, which means “in my fashion,” opened in October 2020 as a rebranding of Joe’s Place Pizza and Pasta, an Italian restaurant known for its pasta and salad buffet that had operated in the same space on Langston Boulevard since 1985. The pandemic necessitated a pivot away from the buffet model, so the owners—McLean resident Rosario Farruggio and his brother, Vincenzo—decided to emulate Il Canale, the full-service restaurant their uncle, Joe Farruggio, opened in Georgetown in 2010. 

They acquired a liquor license, added a bar to the space (which seats 130 inside and 24 outside) and welcomed Falls Church resident Antonio Biglietto, who served as Il Canale’s chef and pizzaiolo from 2010 to 2014, as a partner.

Biglietto imported a pizza oven from Italy and had his pies certified as Vera Pizza Napoletana, an Italian designation of authenticity awarded to pizzerias adhering to strict Neapolitan tradition. To achieve VPN certification, pizzas must be cooked in 90 seconds or less in an 800- to 900-degree oven using only certain types of (mostly) Italian ingredients. 

Biglietto’s devotion to quality extends to the entire menu. Try the creamy “violet” burrata ($15) on a bed of thinly sliced beets; bucatini croquettes ($11) stuffed with Bolognese sauce, peas and mozzarella; and the ethereal gnocchi ($19), tossed in a silken tomato sauce laced with mozzarella, Parmesan and fresh basil. Twenty red and white pizzas are offered in personal ($11 to $20) or family ($21 to $34) sizes.