Rock The Block

Is part of the most recent effort to revitalize K Street. Across from the Crest Theatre, it's between Dive Bar, a mermaid themed bar, and District 30, a cosmetics ad themed bar. Pizza Rock is a... I'm not entirely sure what the theme is. Pizza. And also... rock and roll, I assume, but more like cliches and a semi truck. For real, there's a flame-emblazoned semi cab over the bar, designed like it's crashing through a chain link fence, for no apparent reason. What semis have to do with Pizza or Rock, I have no idea. There's also a large mural on the ceiling of The Creation of Adam, perhaps the most overused art swipe EVER, except God is handing Adam a guitar. Aside from these strangenesses, and the design behind their logo looking like it was doodled by a high schooler, the set up is pretty cool. The building is cavernous, featuring one oven up front, with a bar around it, and the window into the kitchen at back looking like a giant pizza oven itself. There is a small stage flanked by two enormous built-in "couches" which I assume also serve an acoustic purpose.

They recently bagen serving a brunch, and their food has been getting pretty good reviews, so I decided to check it out. My first visit down there allowed me to wander through Fremont Park during the height of Chalk It Up!, our annual chalk art festival. I caught a performance by the lovely and endearing Autumn Sky, and then moseyed on down to K. I sat on their small outside patio, and enjoyed some hot tea. Their tea selection is actually very good, although I get the feeling I might be one of the few that ever gets it. I had a green tea the first time that was just a touch sweet, very nice. Their brunch menu runs quite the gamut; there's some traditional stuff, a nice selection of sweet or savory breakfast pizzas, and a couple nice surprises. I decided to get the breakfast potato skins my first time, as it promised to deliver nearly everything I love about breakfast in bite size snack form; potatoes, cheese, eggs, bacon, and scallions!

This is almost definitely the classiest presentation of "potato skins" I've ever seen. Add to that; they're delicious! The little slices of fresh fruit was a nice touch. They're about two bites each (NOTE: bite size may vary; I've got a big mouth). I just used my hands because, potato skins. Am I right? They have a tendency to topple, but if you have taste buds, you probably won't care.

My second visit, I decided I was morally obligated to get pizza. After an agonizing couple minutes, I decided to go with the savory Eggs and Double Sausage over one of the sweeter choices (Nutella and Kiwi? Who wants to split on with me?). Luckily, I didn't get a side, as I wasn't quite able to eat the whole thing. Do believe I put in a valiant effort, though! I sat inside this time, trying not to pay attention to the multiple, huge-screen TVs playing football. I did get to check out a guy demonstrating some impressive pizza-dough-throwing for a birthday party, which was thoroughly entertaining. As I mentioned before, the design inside is... eclectic, at best, and I feel it's generally leaning toward the Broquator. They play (as one might expect) a wide selection of rock and rock-related music. It seems a guarantee that there's something everyone will love, music-wise, but with such a broad category that's also a guarantee that there's something everyone will hate. Also, every song from the 90s reminds me of Goo Goo Dolls' "Slide," and I have no idea what that says about me. They do have live acoustic music during their brunches, which is pretty cool; that seems to start around noonish.
The bathroom has that same almost-cool-if-it-weren't-trying-so-hard vibe that the rest of the restaurant has, with fake brick walls and fake graffiti. No one bothered to tell them that graffiti is generally "hip hop" and not "rock," it seems. Also, it was one of the smelliest bathrooms I've been in (at least since Pancake Circus), which might have owed to what looked like a fresh puddle in the corner, and not the general upkeep. There is a reason the city's trying to revitalize K Street, after all.
In closing, I saw this, and it's hilarious;

Atmosphere: 8/13
Clean: 2/3
Structural: 2/3
Decor: 2/3
Signage 1/2
Service: 1/2

Menu: 7/8
Variety: 2/2
Size: 2/2
Beverages: 2/2
Prices: 1/2

Food: 7/9 pts
Presentation: 2/3
Portion: 3/3
Taste: 2/3

Bathroom: 3/5 pts.
Clean: 0/2
Structural: 1/1
Decor: 2/2

Overall: 25/36