Continental Pizza is Kensington’s veteran combatant against Ledo Pizza, Stained Glass Pub, and Four Corners Pub in the Maryland-style pizza wars. Owned and operated by the same family since 1967, Continental is not only Kensington’s oldest restaurant, but a rare, successful mom-and-pop carryout that has maintained a single location. No offense to Continental Pizza, but their refusal to expand or franchise might be for the best because the world doesn’t need more Maryland-style pizza.
Interestingly, the super-cheerful Continental employees tucked a large piece of aluminum foil into the sides of the carryout box and around the bottom. DishingPizza has been around the pizza block several times and has never seen an external barrier prophylactically applied like this. Rut roh, thought DishingPizza, they don’t even trust the box to contain the pizza’s grease. This is going to be messy. Arriving home, DishingPizza was surprised and delighted to find a bone-dry box and marveled at the precautions taken by these nice Continental workers.
Continental’s small, flaky squares are built for eating while doing something else – like watching Terrapins football. It’s easy to hold a piece in one hand, a beer in the other, and casually take a bite while cheering or chatting. The crust’s firmness and the sparseness of the tomato sauce make it unlikely to stain one’s Maryland jersey. Furthermore, if the pizza arrives before halftime, it reheats perfectly, and it inexpensively feeds a crowd.
Comparing the Maryland-style pizzas is like an optometrist trying to fine-tune a prescription by quickly swapping lenses and asking the patient, Which is better, A or B? There’s not a huge difference between them. Continental sits in the middle – better than Ledo and not quite as good as Stained Glass.
Continental’s crust lacks the delicate flakiness of Stained Glass’s, but also lacks the oiliness of Ledo’s. Continental’s acceptable mozzarella is indistinguishable from Stained Glass’s, and both beat Ledo’s smoked provolone. Although Continental’s tomato sauce lacks Ledo’s cloying sweetness and Stained Glass’s metallic flavor, it’s applied so sparingly that it’s barely discernible.
One differentiator is Continental’s crispy edges, whereas Ledo’s and Stained Glass’s are soft. Not only do Continental’s crispy edges provide a nice contrast to its soft crust, but they’re also a good way to hold onto a piece without soiling one’s fingers. The edgeless middle pieces are messier to eat.
Continental Pizza lies in the shadow of the much newer, fancier, highly rated Frankly…Pizza!, a stone’s throw away. DishingPizza isn’t a fan of Frankly and would opt for Continental any day of the week.
Continental Pizza
10532 Connecticut Ave, Kensington, MD 20895
Style: Maryland
Pizza quality: 🍕🍕
Overall experience: ⭐⭐
Pie (14″ x 10″ rectangular): $13.70
Pie price per square inch: $0.10