Manifest Bread opened in the historic center of Riverdale Park, Maryland in 2018. Husband and wife team, Rick and Tyes Cook, own and run this full-service organic bakery where they also mill their grain into flour. The ability of Manifest Bread to thrive, charging $10 for a loaf of bread1, is a reasonable barometer of the area’s gentrification and appreciating home values.
Such was Manifest Bread’s success that they dipped their toes into dinner waters at the end of 2023, opening for one night a week with a small menu including a few pizzas. Manifest now serves dinner Wednesday through Saturday. It’s nice to see a Mom & Pop business prosper.
If anyone knows how to sling dough, it’s a baker. Furthermore, Rick Cook put in five years at 2 Amys, so he’s got street cred. Saying that DishingPizza was excited to try this pizza is an understatement.
Let’s begin with the out-of-the-box experience. Manifest Bread makes a beautiful pizza. Just take a gander at the pic. The slightly asymmetrical shape, its heavy blistering, and uneven edges indicate that this is no cookie-cutter pizza.
Surprisingly, the crust was thin and chewy with a tangy, sourdough flavor. DishingPizza expected a bread baker’s pizza crust to be more loaf-like, and was pleasantly surprised by the restraint. On reheating, the pizza exhibits some floppiness, but overall, it retains its integrity. The heavy char delighted DishingPizza2. The oregano-based tomato sauce is an excellent complement. The mozzerella is delicious, if a skosh too oily and salty.
The Manifest Bread pizza is well-known in Hyattsville/Riverdale, but doesn’t get a lot of buzz outside the area. Manifest Bread pizza stakes a unique claim on the DMV pizza scene, and the cute storefront warrants visits from far and wide.
Manifest Bread
6208 Rhode Island Ave. Riverdale, MD
Style: New York
Pizza Quality: 🍕🍕🍕
Overall experience: ⭐⭐⭐
Pie (16″): $22
Price per square inch: $0.11