Dish in the District: Martin's Tavern

I am a self-diagnosed brunch addict (much to Mr. J's chagrin because he hates brunch).  I'm always in search of new brunch places, particularly for when out-of-town friends are visiting (if any Washingtonians have any suggestions, please provide!).  Fairly recently, I tried out Billy Martin's Tavern in Georgetown on two occasions for brunch.  Martin's Tavern is a tried and true restaurant located at the corner of Wisconsin and N Streets and celebrated its 75th anniversary last year.  Known for being steeped in DC history and being a Georgetown staple, I had been meaning to try it for quite awhile.  Particularly well-known are their booths -- my favorite spot to sit -- although a bit on the tight side, these dark brown wooden booths have seen much history.  My favorite booth is Booth #3 -- where JFK proposed to Jackie Kennedy -- I love telling that story to any guests in town!

Martin's Tavern serves up a good, hardy breakfast (plus an assortment of lunch options for those of you who don't want eggs after 10 am), for reasonable (for Georgetown...and DC) prices.  Often crowded, arrive early-ish or reserve a spot -- plus seating outdoors during the warmer months!

The first time I came to Martin's Tavern, I had their corned beef hash with poached eggs (mmmm, drool), but this time around, I wanted something a little bit more...decadent.  I had eyed this cheese covered, creamy rarebit sauce slathered dish the last time I was there, and decided to go for it -- the HOT BROWN (see above) ... Sliced roasted turkey on toast smothered in their homemade rarebit sauce topped with sliced tomato, parmesan cheese and bacon ... all broiled together in a skillet.  (For you foodie-philes, hot browns are open faced sandwiches that originated at the Brown Hotel in Louisville, Kentucky in 1926.  It was created to serve as an alternative to ham and egg late night suppers... thank you Wiki).

If you're a poached egg fan, this is the place for you, with at least five different poached egg possibilities.  Although it's not listed on the website, there is an additional brunch menu, that includes a eggs benedict with avocado (one of my faves) and I believe crab meat (oh the Marylander in me...).  Don't like poached eggs?  No worries, most of the egg dishes allow you to pick how you want your eggs cooked.

My friends got some pretty delicious dishes too.  Check out the "Tavern Treat" -- Sautéed jumbo lump crabmeat and sliced mushrooms over an English muffin and topped with Hollandaise sauce served with french fries" and the french toast.


And no brunch would be complete without the proper beverage.  I happily tried a pomegranate mimosa -- instead of OJ, pom juice with champagne.  Not only a beautiful color, but fabulous tasting.  Hope that you found brunch here as tasty I did.

Billy Martin's Tavern
1264 Wisconsin Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20007

Dish in the District: The Local Chefs Come Out to Play (Chef Voltaggio!)

So as it turned out, I took a break from work to go to the Metropolitan Cooking and Entertaining Show.  Imagine, a convention center filled with booths of food... all different types of samples... sausages, Indian food, sangria slushies, horseradish cheese, bbq...lots of bbq, hot sauce, salsa (very popular was the crab salsa), bite sized cookies, decorative cakes, and the list goes on.  It was quite fun to eat our way through the Show.

But the highlight this year was seeing BRYAN VOLTAGGIO - Maryland's own Top Chef contestant, owner and head chef of Volt in Frederick, MD.  Chef B.V. was featured at the Bloom Cooking stage -- the Bloom stage featured a number of favorite local chefs, including Top Chef/Zaytinya Chef Mike Isabella, Chef Cathal Armstrong from Restaurant Eve, Chef Barton Seaver from Blue Ridge, Chef Robert Wiedmaier from Marcel's and Brasserie Beck, and  Chef David Deshaies from Michel Richard Citronelle.  Other Top Chef alum, Chef Richard Blais, also cooked up a storm at the Bloom stage.  Knowing that I only had a few hours to spare from work, we structured our visit to the Show around Chef Bryan's feature.

I can't help it, I just love him.  Every Wednesday (or perhaps Thursday or Friday... whenever I get to the DVR'ed show) I cheer him on -- not just because he's my home state favorite (being from Maryland and all), but because I think he is simply a fantastic chef.

We hurried over to the Bloom stage at the tail end of Chef Wiedmaier's presentation to grab seats for Chef Bryan's show.  And a good thing we did!  The seating area quickly filled up and then soon it was standing room only (so smart people brought in chairs from other places around the convention center).  A few minutes before the show began, Chef Bryan came out and you could see everyone testing their cameras, taking test shots, to use flashes or not (I wonder what he thought of all this hubbub)...

For the next 45 minutes, we enjoyed learning all about making desserts - in particular his flexible chocolate ganache that he had made during Top Chef.  He made it look so simple, giving us little hints along the way.  He also made milk chocolate ice cream using liquid nitrogen -- which he kindly warned us not to try at home and to be very careful with -- and a KitchenAid mixer (see first pic).  And then these caramel tuilles (which he times with his phone with the dog bark alarm).  And yum.  We snagged a sample of the dessert - chocolatey deliciousness (check out the recipes below!)

Along the way, we learned a few things about him (very few questions were asked til the very end...): (1) He has his own tattoos (! on his arms), (2) He got into cooking when he was a teenager because (a) he thought it would be a good way to meet girls and (b) he had been a busboy at the restaurant he worked at and had thought that cooking seemed like more fun, (3) He moved back to Frederick to open Volt just as his family was all moving away, but his wife's family still lives there, and (4) He couldn't say which of the DC restaurants were his faves because too many of his friends were chefs in DC.

We snuck out before the crowd got too rowdy so missed the final questions, but it was fun to see him in his element and cooking up a storm.  Volt is high on our list of places to try now (perhaps as a birthday celebration?) so hopefully will be reporting on that soon as well.

Chef Voltaggio's Recipes: White Chocolate Ganache, Chocolate Tuile, Milk Chocolate Ice Cream, Chocolate Powder

To assemble:
1) Cut the ganache into a long rectangular portion 6” X 1”
2) Plate with the ganache shaped like an “S” on the plate.
3) Place chocolate powder on one end of the ganache falling off the ganache
4) Place cocoa nibs chopped rough on each portion
5) Place shards of the chocolate tuile into the ganache
6) Quenelle the ice cream on top of the chocolate powder

White Chocolate Ganache (he cooked up a dark chocolate ganache for us)

Ingredients:
450 Gr. White Chocolate
1 ¼ Gelatin Sheet, Bloomed
50 Gr. Water
100 Gr. Sorbitol
3 Gr. Agar
50 Gr. Glucose
300 Gr. Cream
2 Gr. Salt

Directions:
Combine the water, sorbitol, agar in a medium size pot then bring to boil.

In a separate pot combine the glucose, cream, salt and bring to a simmer. Remove from heat then add gelatin.

Add then 2 hot mixtures over the chocolate stir until dissolved. Do not whisk. You don’t want air bubbles.

Strain over sheet tray lined with pan spray and lay a sheet of acetate, allow to cool. Once set cut and store in cooler.

Chocolate Tuile

Ingredients:
1500 Gr. Sugar
25 Gr. Pectin
500 Gr. Butter
400 Gr. Glucose
800 Gr. Water
500 Gr. Cocoa Paste
100 Gr. Cocoa Powder

Directions:

Bring sugar, pectin, butter, glucose, and water to boil.

Stir in cocoa paste and powder. Continue cooking and string until thick.

Cool and spread onto silpat, bake at 300° F until crisp.

Store in cool dry place.

Cocoa Syrup

Ingredients:
100 Gr. Water
20 Gr. Cream
60 Gr. Sugar
30 Gr. Cocoa powder
* For chocolate powder combine with Tapicoa maltodextrin

Directions:

Combine the water, cream, sugar, and cocoa powder.

Bring to a simmer. Steep for 20 minutes.

Strain through a coffee filter

Cool and add to the maltodextrin for chocolate powder

Milk Chocolate Ice Cream

Ingredients:
3000 Gr. Milk
350 Gr. Sugar
950 Gr. Cream
200 Gr. Milk chocolate
900 Gr. Egg yolk
5 Gr. Cream stabilizer

Directions:

Combine the milk, cream, and sugar bring to a boil

Pour the cream mixture over the chocolate, add the stabilizer.

Temper the egg yolks into the cream and then cook until the ice cream base thickens and coats the back of a spoon.

Strain and cool immediately. Process in a ice cream machine. Store frozen until ready to plate.

Cook Club: Tyler Florence's Real Kitchen

OCTOBER COOK CLUB: TYLER FLORENCE'S REAL KITCHEN

FINAL SCORE: 3.975

TOP SCORING DISH: Hong Kong Crab Cakes with Bok Choy

October Cook Club brings us Jasmine's cookbook pick of TYLER FLORENCE'S REAL KITCHEN cookbook. How could she after all resist that cutie -- plus she loves him on the Today show and she has been wanting to make that french toast with caramel apples (see photo above!) for quite awhile.

As always, every cook scored their dishes on a scale of 1-5 (5 being the best) and these scores are averaged to come up with the cookbook's final score. Will Tyler's cookbook beat Giada's from last month? Check it out below.

By category this month -- listed under: 
Appetizers / Cocktail Party, Main Course, Side Dish, Breakfast


APPETIZERS / COCKTAIL PARTY
Anjali's Teriyaki Chicken Wings with Sesame and Cilantro
Score = 3.5

I picked this recipe beause I have always wanted to make my own wings. It seems so easy! And I have to say, it was. While the ingredients list is lengthy (as Asian recipes often are), the preparation was straightforward. I admit, I cheated multiple times.  Instead of using storebought hoisin sauce, I made my own (so easy!), and I used honey instead of sugar. I think both these modifications did alter the final result, but not in a negative way. And I totally forgot the cilantro garnish!

And about the final result ~ it was good! I made the wings for a party and everyone seemed to like them. I will say that while they were good, I generally prefer my wings to be more creatively flavored, so next time I would want to try some fun, crazy ingredients.  I will also say that I do not know why grapefruit juice was used, as I could not taste it at all!

Overall, I would give it a 3.5 and I would make it again, with a twist. ;)

Lisa's Vietnamese Shrimp Rolls with Sweet Chili Dipping Sauce

Score = Rolls (3.5) and Sauce (4.5) = 4

My recipes (Hong Kong Crab Cakes with Baby Bok Choy and the Vietnamese Shrimp Rolls with Sweet Chili Dipping Sauce) had an extensive ingredient list and required much labor. My husband and I prepped and cooked for two hours straight in order to create these dishes.

When we cook, we try to find all ingredients at our local Harris Teeter. We were unable to find rice paper wrappers, so we substituted soy wrappers instead. The preparation for this dish was exhausting. Alone the rolls were ok (see above, the inside of the roll!), but with the sauce they were incredible. The sauce was extremely easy to make and would be a great accompaniment to any spring roll. We will use this sauce in the future, but we will try to find a less tedious recipe for the spring rolls.

Michelle's New England Clam Chowder
Score: 3.5

I would use more clams if I remade this because it didnt have enough of that New England clam chowder flavor. Also, it was incredibly watery. I would cut down on the water from the start of the soup. Finally, I would also add more potatoes to thicken up the soup. I plan on trying this again, with my modifications! I'll let you know how it is!

MAIN COURSE

Jackie's Lemon Chicken with Smashed Broccoli
Score = 3.5 (Chicken was great, the smashed broccoli not so much)
Earlier this year as part of Tyler Florence Fridays, I cooked up two recipes from this book as well.  I figured that I would integrate them in here (the more recipes the merrier!).  Check out the full review with the recipe here.

The chicken here was the star of the show for me. Not only did all the chicken's herbs and lemony-ness perfume our house deliciously (and I'm sure, wafted out of our house to tantalize the noses of our neighbors), the chicken itself was also wonderfully moist and flavorful.  I was rather indifferent to the smashed broccoli. Although I love broccoli, the smashed broccoli though didn't appeal to me as much.  I just think I'm more of a crunchy broccoli type of girl.

Jackie's Meatloaf with Tomato Relish
Score: 4
One of Mr. J's favorite dishes is MEATLOAF.  Over the years, I've tried making different recipes for him, some which were big hits, some which were not so much.  Tyler's recipe touts this meatloaf as one of the most moist meatloaves you'll try -- it is also the recipe he used when he used to work at Cafeteria in NYC.  I had never made a meatloaf where you put together a tomato "relish" to incorporate into the meat mixture -- this gave it a lot of great flavor.  The tomato relish was a mixture of tomatoes, red peppers, and more...  Although I did enjoy the flavors, the texture for me was a bit "meal-y" -- Mr. J loved this though, so I'll bump up the score a little bit.  Plus it had bacon on top (we used turkey bacon) -- and how can you go wrong with that?

Lisa's Hong Kong Crab Cakes with Baby Bok Choy
Score = 5

We halved this recipe, which significantly reduced the cost of this dish as jumbo lump crab can be extremely expensive. The crab cakes were flavorful! The sauce for the bok choy was salty and sweet – the perfect combination. As seen, we plated the bok choy separately from the crab cakes. However, we quickly realized that the incredible bok choy sauce needed to be on the crab cakes. We would recommend plating the bok choy and sauce over the crab cake. We will most definitely make this dish again!


SIDE DISH
Amanda's Roasted Carrots with Orange Brown Butter and Sage
Score: 4

The carrots had a good flavor. Two of my dinner guests who do not usually like cooked carrots said they liked these, so I consider this recipe a success ;-) I used baby carrots instead, which are a little sweeter than regular carrots. I think the orange butter was a little more difficult to taste for this reason. Overall, I liked this recipe and would make it again. It was very easy and low maintenance. My parents roast vegetables all the time, and really want to try this recipe, so I have a feeling I will be experimenting on them over the holidays!

Amanda's Braised Red Cabbage with Apples and Dill
Score: 3.5

Again, a very easy recipe to make. The most difficult part was the chopping, and even that did not take very long. I think the dill was a very interesting choice. It gave the cabbage a different flavor, one which I'm still not sure I'm fond of. My parents have a braised red cabbage recipe that is VERY yummy, so that might have been influencing my palette ;-)

Jackie's Creamy Polenta with Parmesan and Black Pepper
Score: 4.3
I've always been a big fan of polenta -- so versatile!  Mr. J actually picked this out to go with the meatloaf, but we never got around to making them together.  Which actually worked out quite well -- this recipe makes a very large pot of polenta, perfect for several days.  The first day, we had it on the side with chicken.  The second day, we had it as the main dish but with bacon (yes, that turkey bacon reappears) crumbled on top.  I LOVED the flavors of the polenta -- the parmesan cheese comes through very nicely and I love black pepper so I cranked quite a bit in it.  Mr. J added in some Worcestershire sauce and horseradish, which added in another layer of flavor.  The polenta did not turn out very "creamy" -- I think next time I would add a bit more heavy cream to it.  Although my arm hurt after making this (nearly 30 minutes of whisking!  I need to work out more...), definitely would make again!

BREAKFAST

Elaine's Blueberry Scones with Lemon Glaze
Score: 4
These scones turned out nicely in the end but there were a few hurdles to overcome. The recipe called for heavy cream and in the London supermarkets sell single, double, and double extra thick cream - I went for the double cream as the extra thick really was super thick.

When it came to actually putting the dough together, I followed some advice I read about freezing the blueberries so that you don't end up with purple dough. That worked like a charm but as this was the first scone dough I had ever made I wasn't sure what the consistency was supposed to be like. The dough wasn't coming together with the amount of heavy cream called for in the recipe and there wasn't any guidance either on what to look for so I just used more until I was able to form round mounds instead of the triangles suggested. The lemon glaze was super easy to make and was a really good addition. The lemon smelled very strong but wasn't too overpowering for the scones since they were so rich.

Jackie's Coconut Bread
Score: 3.9
Here's the other recipe that I made earlier this year for Tyler Florence Fridays!  Check out the full review and recipe here.

I love to bake and in this recipe, Tyler references trips to Sydney, Australia, one of my favorite places in the world. In particular, he talks about a breakfast place in Darlinghurst called bills. Bill Granger is the chef at bills and he is a chef that I’ve always wanted to sample his food...

The coconut bread turned out nicely... It was admittedly a bit dry, a little bit more dry than I would have preferred.  But the flavors of the bread were great. The coconut is not overpowering -- more subtle hints of the coconut. The lemon zest actually comes across fairly strong, so next time, I would probably cut back a little on the lemon zest. I think that this would also be fabulous with chocolate chips (but really, almost anything is better with chocolate chips!) mixed into the batter. The bread keeps well for at least a week (we took Tyler's suggestion and wrapped it up tightly and placed it in a plastic bag).

Jasmine's French Toast with Caramel Apples
Score: 4.5 (4 from Jasmine, 5 from her hubby)

I made the Croissant French Toast and Caramel Apples. They were really sweet and really filling and really good! I thought that the recipe would be pretty simple and easy (the recipe said that it would only take 30 min). The recipe took me, ummm....an HOUR! The hardest part: the caramel apples. Who knew that caramel apples were so complicated? Lucky for them they are so delicious. We even had some left over and my husband wants to use the sauce as a topping for ice cream! All in all, I would give this recipe an 4 (husband gives it a 5...as usual).

Thanks to all of you who participated!  This next Cook Club entry won't be posted until January ... we'll be spending a solid two months (with all the holidays!) on one cookbook... now which one is it?  Wait to see in January!

Dish in the District: Lima Restaurant and Lounge

Chicken Croquette 
Over the summer, three friends and I tried out the Tastings Journal's dinner at Lima. After battling through torrential rain showers (now really, FOUR thunderstorms over the daylight hours? and note that the torrential rain came down while it was bright and sunny... so odd to see a rainbow stretched over the park in front of my office!), I made it inside Lima... which was PACKED. Well, at least the bar and lounge areas were packed with nearby workers happy to be out of the office.

As my two friends and I waited for our fourth to arrive, we decided to treat ourselves to what turned out to be a massive (2 foot tall) pitcher of passion fruit mojitos.  Not bad at all.  Lima, located at 14th and K is tucked in amongst all the office buildings.  It is a fun destination for drinks with a small outdoor patio in the front (best during the warm weather months!) and two floors of "lounge" area inside for drinks and appetizers.  The third floor is where dining takes place.   I've been to Lima a handful of times for dinner (and for lunch when they used to serve lunch!).  Dimly lit with modern decor, Lima serves up South American food with a very tasty twist. 


The Tastings Journal dinner offered a five course menu with a wine pairing for $45 (really, quite the bargain at Lima).  My friends and I tried a variety of the dishes (see menu below), my favorites being the: tuna & ginger ceviche (fabulous flavors), steak churrasco (I always seem to order it when I'm there), and the fried churros (with a lime dipping sauce and a chocolate dipping sauce). 

FIRST: Choice of Whitefish Ceviche, Salmon Chipotle Ceviche, Tuna & Ginger Ceviche
SECOND: Choice of Empanadas, Chicken Croquettes, Cod Fritters
THIRD: Choice of Mixed Field Greens Salad, Jamon Serrano (see above!), Manchego Cheese Plate,
MAIN: (Paired with wine!) Choice of Wild Salmon, Cuban Chicken, Steak Churrasco, Vegetarian Dish
DESSERT: Choice of Warm Chocolate Cake, Fried Churros (see left), or Ice Creams and Sorbets

The feedback from one of my friends?  My favorite part (food-wise) was the ceviche.  Also the mixed greens were spot-on.  I thought it was a little silly though that they did not give us silverware for the croquettes.  The main course was very hearty, I think I was expecting something a little more delicate, but still it was a good steak.  And the mojitos there are always a treat -- it seemed like we got 8 glasses out of that pitcher!   

Thinking about the dinner now makes me quite hungry...  Hmm, what to have for lunch!  In any case, Lima is a fun place for a night out on the town... paired with some tasty food...

Lima Restaurant & Lounge
1401 K St. NW
Washington, DC 20005

Dish in the District: Fabulous Foodie Events and Openings

Last Year's Metropolitan Cooking and Entertaining Show
Every so often, I like to immerse myself in finding out about the newest restaurant openings (because let's be honest, restaurants are constantly opening in DC!).  This week's Dish in the District brings us some restaurant openings and coming soons... PLUS some fantastic foodie events taking place in the next week!  I'm really sad that I won't be able to make any of these events this year due to work, but please go go and tell me all about it!

FOODIE EVENTS

Metropolitan Cooking and Entertaining Show: November 7-8, 2009 at the Convention Center -- I went last year to this delicious food show -- see your favorite Food Network chefs (Giada!  Paula!  Tyler!) and also DC / Maryland Top Chef darlings Bryan Voltaggio of Volt and Mike Isabella of Zaytinya.  We went with the general admission, which buys you into a convention hall full of foodie exhibitors that will make your mouth water.  Last year, we went to go see Giada's cooking demo too.  Def check it out!

Capital Food Fight: November 11, 2009 - When our friends James and Shannon told us about this event, I wanted to sign up immediately.  Unfortunately, it is right in the middle of one of my busiest weeks of work.  60 restaurants, 5 battling chefs... More of DC's favorites will be battling each other -- Barton Seaver, Michael Mina, Bryan Voltaggio, Mike Isabella, and Tracy O'Grady ... 52 of DC's best restaurants serving food... chairman and host, the wonderfully inventive Jose Andres (Jaleo, Zaytinya, Cafe Atlantico, Oyamel) with co-host Anthony Bourdain and co-chair Ted Leonis.  Talk about my dream line-up here!  Judging the competition?  Ted Allen, Eric Ripert, and Carla Hall.  And all going to support DC Central Kitchen.  I'm utterly depressed that I can't go, but if you go, please fill me in!

RESTAURANT OPENINGS
(Descriptions courtesy of The List Are You On It - check it out, a fabulous site!)

Birch & Barley/ChurchKey:   The beer-centric destinations, both located in the former Dakota Cowgirl space at Logan Circle mark the first foray into the District for NRG, which operates Buzz, EatBar, Evening Star Café, Planet Wine, Rustico, Star Catering, Tallula and Vermilion, all in Northern Virginia. On the ground floor is Birch & Barley, a beer-forward and wine-friendly restaurant. The husband-and-wife team of Kyle Bailey and Tiffany MacIsaac will run the kitchen. Kyle is the executive chef and MacIsaac is the pastry chef. Both were previously at Allen & Delancey in NYC. Upstairs, a new kind of beer haven awaits at the 3,200 square-foot ChurchKey. Governed by Beer Director Greg Engert, who serves in the same position at Rustico, the bar will serves 555 different beers, including 500 bottles representing 100 styles and 30 countries. Fifty drafts are available and five authentic hand pumped cask-conditioned ales representing rare English and other international styles are here, too. You'll also find domestic beers that are often not seen in DC. (1337 14th Street; 202.518.7549)

J. Chocolatier - In the the Georgetown rowhouse that formerly housed Chez Mama-San, Maitre chocolatier Jane Morris recently opened her first J. Chocolatier retail store, after doing wholesale in the DC area for almost three years. Morris founded J. Chocolatier with the belief that affordable indulgences are what make life the sweetest. After studying with acclaimed chocolatier Fritz Knipschildt, Maitre Chocolatier Morris has returned to Washington, DC to create her own line of chocolates, focusing on elegant flavors with classic hand-crafted techniques and timeless quality. (1039 33rd Street, NW)

Masa 14- In a partnership between Kaz Okochi of KAZ Sushi Bistro, Richard Sandoval of Modern Mexican Group and SULA, LLC, Masa 14 has opened it's doors. With a capacity for 240 guests, Masa 14 features a spacious 100-seat restaurant, plus a private dining room which can accommodate parties of 18, and a handsome 74-seat bar/lounge featuring ample selections of tequila, sake, beer, wine and cocktails. Antonio Burrell is Chef de Cuisine. Prior to joining Masa 14, Burrell served as the chef de cuisine of CommonWealth in Columbia Heights. Burrell's career also includes working for six years in two of Washington's most elite kitchens: Vidalia and Bistro Bis under Chef/Owner Jeffrey Buben. The all-small plates menu will incorporate Asian and Latin flavors, and is priced from $6 to $14. Guests dining at Masa 14 can view the open kitchen complete with a wood-fired brick oven which will be an important centerpiece to Masa 14's menu. (1825 14th Street, NW; 202.328.1414)

The Reserve - Owner Mo Hamdan has opened The Reserve, a modern fusion tapas restaurant located in the former Olly's Trolley space on L Street. Executive chef Frederik De Pue has created an international tapas menu that will change seasonally.  Look for offerings such as beef tartar, crusted black sesame tuna, and guinea hen jalousie. On the wine list, there are 100 wines from all regions of the world, handpicked by The Reserve's in-house sommelier, Olivier Ledoux. Finished brick walls, santos mahogany hardwood floors, marble table tops, brushed spiral metal staircases and custom oak wood finish envelope two floors of rustic, modern, contemporary furnishings.  The Reserve has seating for 140, with both private & semi-private dining space available. (1426 L Street, NW; 202.628.8900)

COMING SOON
(Descriptions courtesy of The List Are You On It - check it out, a fabulous site!)


We,The Pizza - Celebrity chef and former Top Chef contestant Spike Mendelsohn is preparing to open another Capitol Hill restaurant – this time a pizza joint. Located right next door to Good Stuff Eatery, We, The Pizza should open in December or January serving NY-style thin crust pizzas both by the pie and the slice. We, The Pizza will also offer homemade gelato and "old school" sodas.  (Check out my review of Good Stuff here!)