Matchbox

[iamthestretch]

Man, why will no one ever admit to having been seen with me?

JPW is right about the food; last night the pizza was even better than the burgers, which isn't always the case. He modestly omits mention, though, of his valiant effort to talk the owner of the new Five Guys franchise across the street out of proposing to his girlfriend, which led to a certain amount of manly Carpe Diem philosophizing, which led to some truly humungous vodka shots.

Proving my theory about the essentialy malign nature of the universe, I went to walk those off with my dog at Carter Barron this morning, only to find the Petworth firemen had got there first and were doing their morning PT to the tune of the Marine Corps Anthem being played, and not well, on the frickin' bagpipes. This I cannot recommend.

[JPW]

Well, usually it's that people don't want to be associated with me.

To expand, the 5Guys owner was going to get married for all the wrong reasons. Didn't want his girlfriend to pay for the error of his ways (Check out his band's name - "Spoonfed Adults") We were merely attempting to infuse him with some alcohol fueled wisdom from two married guys with kids on the way.

I had forgotten (with good reason) the rather robust vodka shots. Oy!

[iamthestretch]

Spoon Fed Adults. A cool guy. Show them some eGullet love. I definitely also want to test out his claim to have, "the best full-size burgers on this block."

[JennyUptown]

Yesterday. Casual lunch with a client. Mini-burgers. Perfection.

These burgers were a return to the ones of old. Cooked to medium/medium-rare, a touch of salt, mustard offered without my requesting it. What a relief.

[laniloa]

This is wonderful news. I have an old friend in town tonight and this is the sort of thing he'd like. I was hesitating because of the recent bad reviews. I'll report back tomorrow.

[Vandyhoo]

You heard it here first...A disagreement between management and the chef -- and they gave Double G his walking papers.

Just thought you all would be interested to know that after almost 2 years, there will soon be a new chef at Matchbox.

-Vandyhoo (double g’s sis)

[Nadya]

You heard it here first...A disagreement between management and the chef -- and they gave Double G his walking papers.

Just thought you all would be interested to know that after almost 2 years, there will soon be a new chef at Matchbox.

-Vandyhoo (double g’s sis)

←

Wow, that's a shocker...I was under the impression he was the owner...guess not. Wonder what will happen to the place now. And these little burger-beauties (Double B's), I will miss them.

Edited November 3, 2004 by Nadya (log)

[JennyUptown]

Vandyhoo - in all seriousness, did it have anything at all to do with his preference for "well-done" pizzas? I ask because after a few too many "dark" ones, I started asking for my pizzas on the lighter side. If GG was around, they'd all get a bit nervous about my request; if not, no prob.

Just curious.

[Vandyhoo]

Vandyhoo - in all seriousness, did it have anything at all to do with his preference for "well-done" pizzas?  I ask because after a few too many "dark" ones, I started asking for my pizzas on the lighter side.  If GG was around, they'd all get a bit nervous about my request; if not, no prob.

Just curious.

←

Since Graig was in the upstairs kitchen, I doubt he had time to supervise the doneness of the pizzas in the downstairs oven. He was known, however, to get a bit “testy” when servers repeatedly came to him with a well-done re-cook request for the mini-burgers because the servers neglected to tell the customer that mini-burgers are typically served medium.

[morela]

The "well done" theory sounds a little too Seinfeld-esque to be true, but it sure would make a good episode.

Pizza racism.

You no wantaz the crrruunnnch??! Get outttt! Get outttt!

[rbh]

I was here on Friday - and didn't notice a difference in the mini-burgers - still as good as ever..... interesting to note that when we ordered them, the waitress mentioned that they normally come medium-rare and whether that was ok.

The flank steak sandwich didn't seem quite up to standards - it was good, just not as good as I've had before.

[laniloa]

I'm thinking of going there for lunch next week. One of the guys I work with would love it. Does anyone know if they take reservations or how busy it is around noon on a weekday? Thanks.

[JennyUptown]

I have been really disappointed in the service at Matchbox during my last few visits. This [formerly?] great little spot is close to my office so it was a frequent choice for casual business lunches and post-work dinner/drinks with friends.

Lately, the service, particularly the hostess up front, has been freakishly rude. I realize that restaurants have policies, such as not seating incomplete parties, however the expression of said policies can be done in a polite, pleasant way that doesn't make a customer feel like he or she is a third grader being sent to the Principal's office.

Service once seated has, from my perspective, also declined. I went to Matchbox frequently enough that some of the staff became familiar and I enjoyed their casual friendliness. But now, it seems like 90% of the staff has turned over and the friendly former servers have been replaced with icy automatons.

Very sad. I used to look forward to visits to Matchbox. I'll still go, but not with the same enthusiasm.

[Sthitch]

Jenny,

I have also noticed a general decline since the management has been concentrating on opening a new restaurant in Palm Springs. Hopefully once that is opened, they will start paying more attention to their first location.

[Poffertjes]

Ended up at Matchbox last night, burgers where close to the best I have had there. They were actually medium rare, the onion straws were great. I was happy that after so many times the miniburgers were as good as I remember them.

But then it was ruined by the ice cold mushrooms on my steak sandwich. The cheese on top didn't even melt. Steak was cooked perfectly, but then they put some cold mushrooms on top and old fries on the side.

[hjshorter]

Time for a little update...y'know, Matchbox is almost as good as Comet Ping-Pong and at far gentler prices. My mom and I split spicy meatball and white prosciutto pies - both had excellent crust and cheese and just enough toppings. A touch too much sauce for my taste but nothing worth bitching about online. The kids' miniburgers weren't quite the requested medium-rare, but were gobbled up anyway along with all of the onion straws. Widmer hefeweizen with lemon is a fine beverage choice for a steamy DC summer day but be warned that it only come in one (enormous) size. I finished about a third of the glass.

Best to arrive early; we arrived right at 11:30 and waltzed right into booth in the sunny addition. When we left at 12:30 there were probably thirty people waiting downstairs and outside.

Edited June 20, 2007 by hjshorter (log)