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Ava's Is Hot Ava's Pizzeria and Wine Bar in St. Michaels Ava’s
in St. Michaels is hot. As in popular hot. It’s around 3:00 on a Sunday afternoon when we show up to talk. And two hours later at 5:00, people are standing in clusters at the door waiting for tables. You can see why. The food is fab. The pizza’s made in a wood-burning oven. The staff is cheery, the setting
is casual, the wine & beer list is long. And the prices are comfortable. (And truthfully, there aren't a lot of tables.)
All in all, a good place to hang out in St. Michaels.
“There’s a good chance that if someone has lunch here, they’ll be in for dinner the
next day,” says Chris Agharabi. “Or vice versa.”
The two Chris’s of Ava’s opened up the place just six months ago. Chris Agharabi is
the owner, wine and beer guy, and occasional line cook. Chris Fazio is the executive chef. They, like
so many others, made the trip over the bridge from D.C.; Chris A. from Persimmon, Chris F. from Central Michel Richard. They’re now looking at their first St. Michaels summer. Burning for Pizza? The pizza is what
brings people in to begin with. “It’s the cornerstone,” says Chris A. The wood-burning oven fires up for
lunch and stays hopping through dinner. Les
deux Chris talk about their pizza. “Our goal was to make 200 pizzas until we got it just right…like a
D.O.C Italian pizza. “It’s all about the crust,” says Chris F. “A no-bend pizza, that’s the
goal.” They got to 198 before the crust recipe was right, and even now it’s tweaked to adjust for humidity.
There’s a simple concept to ordering
your pizza toppings. Start with a simple white or red-sauced pizza with house-made fresh mozzarella. A generous individual
pizza starts at $11. Then add your toppings, each priced at $1, 2 or 3 dollars apiece. A topping like prosciutto is $3. Arugula
is $2. Caramelized onion (you want that) is $1. The staff fave: White pizza
with pepperoni and artichokes. They prove it, whipping up one for us to taste, and both the Chris’s dive in. Don’t feel like pizza? Well, do what we did. Have a pizza AND try the wasabi oysters. The fennel and arugula salad with goat cheese is a
delicate opener and nice balance to the meal. Chris A. says their most popular entrees are the Boneless Short Ribs (seared,
braised, then seared again) with Mashed Potatoes and Carrots ($19), along with – believe it or not – Spaghetti
and Ma’s Meatballs.
Next time we would try the Caramelized Onion Tart, and the a la minute
Parmesan Potato Chips. They’re not on the menu, but people keep asking for them, so they keep making them. What’s new? Ava’s is now scaling up for summer, and changing the seasonal menu. Barbecued Shrimp. Steak frites. Mussels.
They’re upping the beer menu as well…from 75 to a goal of 100. Chris A. chooses the beer
and wine. What kind of wine makes the cut at Ava's? He chooses easy-to-enjoy wines that he likes himself — while refining
the wine list to include “different” wines in a variety of price points (and what you don’t drink, you can
take home).
This year, he says that the new list will include wines fruit-forward whites, malbecs, and California cabs. Good value wines include Italian, Spanish and Argentinean cabs.  And desserts? Who doesn’t have room to split a cupcake or a tiramisu,
for heaven’s sake? And while the menu isn’t nearly as extensive as the wine list, that’s okay. Everything
is carefully crafted to be a successful fit before it’s added to the menu.And behind the buzz, there’s earning the buzz. They work hard at Ava’s. It’s open 7 days
a week from 11:30 AM until the last person leaves. So how late is that? “When was that, Dave?” asks Chris
A. “How late did you stay the other night?” The guy at the bar looks up from his dinner. “I think I left
around midnight.” Chris A. says, “Well, we’ve been here until two.”
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