Matchbox, Again

I realize I recently went to and wrote about Matchbox, but I have been asking the organizers of the dinner group I am in to do an event there for months now, so I was very excited to learn we were finally going to dine there. We actually had to do three reservations, as the group last night was about 30 in size, and any night at Matchbox, certainly a Friday night, is certain to be super busy. My group was the last to be seated, which was fine by me as I yet again somehow managed to score my favorite seats at the bar - those at the far end which are somewhat cozy and provide a perfect view of the pizza making. I opted for my favorite wine on Matchbox's list - the Stump Jump (how can you not love the name alone?) - for pre-dinner libations. The bar was quite crowded, and it actually worked out nicely that our tables were seated in a somewhat staggered manner. I got to catch up with folks even if I would not be dining with them. Once seated, my tablemates and I immediately decided to get nine mini burgers, which are a fabulous appetizer for the table. I think the restaurant must get the meat mixed specifically for them, because it is really especially juicy, delicious and rich in flavor. They also always manage to get that nice char-grilled quality without over-drying the meat out. I don't really do carbs, and so I had about half a burger with a sliced pickle and several fried onion straws - fabulous. Mer and Trish and I decided we should do a bottle of Stump Jump to pair with our mains, so we enjoyed that as well. I also ordered my usual Simple Salad, which was good, but I thought the Parmesan crisps tasted overly salty and were baked a few minutes too long. Mer and Matt enjoyed the Spinach Salad, which comes with fresh basil, roasted pear tomatoes, candied walnuts and warm apple smoked bacon vinaigrette. The salad looked beautiful with all of the varied and bright colors, and apparently the nut mixture had perhaps some Jalapenos? Mer and Matt both said the nuts had quite a kick. We were six at our table, which provides a nice opportunity to try several pizzas and other dishes. The Spicy Meatball pizza is my favorite, so I convinced Chris to share one with me. Mer does not eat red meat but loves chicken, so she ordered the Q Special, which comes with grilled herb marinated chicken, portabella mushrooms, roasted red peppers, zesty tomato sauce and gooey mozzarella. It was delicious. Trish likes spicy food, and she ordered the Fire & Smoke, which is described as very spicy, and comes with fire roasted red peppers, sweet onions, chipotle pepper tomato sauce, smoked gouda and fresh basil. It was very tasty and certainly quite spicy, but not one of my favorites. I only eat the cheese and other toppings (the no bread thing - just think it's sort of a waste of calories), so was able to sample a slice of each variety, so it was a pizza smorgasbord of sorts. So fabulous. We collectively finished our wine and decided to join friends at IndeBleu for after dinner drinks, to continue the lovely evening and hopefully work off a bit of our delicious dinner as well.

Matchbox

713 H Street in NW DC

http://www.matchboxdc.com/

Meatball Madness at Matchbox

Matchbox is one of those cozy, cute yet certainly almost always busy restaurants where you can count on a good vibe, fun ambiance and tasty food. The restaurant opened up an expanded area several months ago, but the space is tall (three stories) but quite narrow, so it still can feel a little tight at least initially when you enter the venue in the bar area. Lighting is dim and the space is modern yet rustic - think exposed brick walls, visible metal beams. But, the ambiance still feels warm and comfortable. The bar area seats about 15 and has two flat-screen tv's to help occupy you during any wait time for a table. We actually got my favorite two seats at the bar - the two to the far end which are adjacent to the restaurant's wood-fired oven - so we decided to stay and eat there and watch pizzas being made while we enjoyed our own. Lee started with a glass of Steele Pinot Noir from Carneros. The texture was velvety smooth, and the taste earthy and slightly oaky. He thought it was very tasty. I opted for a recent and inexpensive favorite, D’arenberg “Stump Jump,” which is an Australian blend of Grenache, Shiraz and Mourvedre, and which exudes a hearty flavor of berries and earth tones. Lee really liked it so we ended up sharing a bottle of this with our dinner as well. We started with the Simple Salad, which is mixed greens with pear tomatoes, red onion, dried cherries, a generous handful of pecorino romano, and parmesan crisps all lightly dressed in a nice balsamic vinaigrette. It's a great combination of flavors as the crisp lettuce and onion is cut by the creamy cheese, and the cherries add a nice sweet note to every bite. We didn't order them this time, but another Matchbox favorite of mine is the mini burgers, of which you can order a plate of 3, 6 or 9, and which are rich, delicious angus beef on toasted brioche with pickles and tasty, crispy onion straws. It's a simple dish but it really works well, as is usually evidenced by the numerous plates of burgers you are likely to see folks enjoying. We decided to share a pizza for our main, and the Spicy Meatball Pizza is amazing so we ordered that. The wood-fired oven yields a crispy and delicious crust, which is topped with house-made spicy meatballs, crispy bacon, crushed red pepper, fresh garlic, zesty tomato sauce, and mozzarella. The meatballs are rich, succulent and just a bit spicy with notes of red pepper and oregano. The sauce is zesty and delicious and goes well with the strongly flavored meatballs and the gooey, delicious mozzerella. One of my favorite pizzas in the area for sure. If you haven't sampled the fare at Matchbox yet, I would highly recommend doing so.

Matchbox

713 H Street in NW DC

http://www.matchboxdc.com/