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Matchbox, a DC-Based American Chain Employing an Aggressive National Expansion - Now Controlled by Thompson Hospitality


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I was a bit surprised that the prosciutto is laid on the pizza after it's baked

I am not sure why this is surprising. This is often the way I see prosciutto used on pizza, personally I find that cooking prosciutto negates it of all that makes it good, i.e. the subtle flavor and luscious texture. But I can see how the those attributes would get lost amongst the strong accompanying ingredients you listed, seems to me that speck might have been a better choice for a meat.

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Matchbox is one of my favorite spots and I'm glad to have it my 'hood. That said, today's pizza was disappointing. After briefly considering trying a new brunch dish, I ordered a spicy meatball pizza. Unfortunately it was weighed down with about twice the cheese as usual. :P While the edge of the crust was its normal crisp, tasty self, the middle was a soggy mess. I didn't raise the issue, figuring "too much cheese" would be met with a quizzical look.

I only ate two and a half of the pieces and the rest is in my fridge. I'm hoping to crisp it up in the oven, try to salvage it.

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For the most part we have had a pleasant response to the food, drinks and space, but by far the most detailed positive feedback we have heard is on the Dyson Airblade, specifically in terms of its energy efficiency, less paper usage and cleaner bathrooms. It seems to have struck a cord with folks--quite a bit more than we could have imagined. :P A guest quipped the other day that we should print t-shirts with matchbox capitol hill on the front and a photo of the Airblade on the back.....

This is particularly amusing for me, as I am Dyson's outside legal counsel and worked extensively on the Airblade launch -- and in particular, getting FDA to approve it under the Model Food Code as safe for use in food establishments! I'll make sure to relay the positive feedback to the Dyson team in Chicago, who will be pleased to hear it! When I first tried the airblade in the UK, I loved it.

8Track

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Does anyone know if there's a lock on the bathroom door at Matchbox?

The reason I ask is because I've decided that I want to have sex with the Dyson Airblade.

Chorus: "It won't activate the infra-red sensor, Don."

Leave me alone. There's a potential high-speed maraca-like effect here that's worth exploring. Best case scenario: Imagine Ricky Ricardo playing the conga drum and singing "Babalu" - or, for a better audio-visual, the drum solo in "Wipeout." Worst case: gets pinned to one side, and no harm done. Very little downside here.

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Does anyone know if there's a lock on the bathroom door at Matchbox?

The reason I ask is because I've decided that I want to have sex with the Dyson Airblade.

Chorus: "It won't activate the infra-red sensor, Don."

Leave me alone. There's a potential high-speed maraca-like effect here that's worth exploring. Best case scenario: Imagine Ricky Ricardo playing the conga drum and singing "Babalu" - or, for a better audio-visual, the drum solo in "Wipeout." Worst case: gets pinned to one side, and no harm done. Very little downside here.

Question for Mr. or Ms. 8Track: As Dyson's outside legal counsel, how the fuck do you respond--and I believe you have a duty to respond, having outed yourself--to THIS?

Eagerly awaiting your reply, I remain

yr obdt servant, etc

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The best thing we had tonight (Capitol Hill) was onion strings that came with the mini burgers. They were great. The burgers were pretty good. The salads we had were ok, and the pizza was disappointing. The pepperoni on top was all shriveled up. The crust might have been all right, but not much else was. (We had half fire and smoke and half pepperoni.) Our server was excellent.

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I just read this thread for the first time in months and noticed the Airblade discussion. I have to be honest - I love those things. Of all the hand dryers I've encountered, I think that's the most effective one I've used.

Did anyone gorge themselves on miniburgers for 3/6/09? How was it? Has Pfizer sent anyone a complementary pack of Lipitor yet?

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Many years ago, Jaleo had boquerones -- whole anchovy filets, not the canned stuff we grew up with -- on the menu that they called "anchovies that will change your life." I'm not sure if they changed my life, but they were damned good, and they definitely left me more open to things that I previously had not enjoyed. Sadly, like many things on Jaleo's menu that I loved, they are gone.

But Matchbox has a new "White Anchovy & Capers" pizza on the menu that recreates the experience for me. It's the same whole fillets of anchovy, with a healthy dose of capers and buffalo mozzerella, red onion, arugula, roasted garlic, and a olive oil. It is a bit oily with both the cheese and oil, but it works great. If you love anchovies, you should to give it a try.

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The Chinatown Matchbox is a terrific place to go with a rowdy group, so you can surrender to the loud and just go along with it. A big plate of miniburgers, a few pizzas, and a couple of salads later, everyone is happy!! The vegetarian "they will warn you it's (spicy) HOT" pizza was VERY much so, such that, despite the tempting toppings, it was the only leftovers we had. Oooh, we also had the fried mozz bread, which is ridiculous and artery-killing and delicious. We snapped phone pics of its gooey splendor to torture the poor unfortunates who weren't able to make it out with us!

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I saw that Matchbox was dropped from this year's Washingtonian Cheap Eats. Any idea why?? Having heard such great things about the one downtown, I was really looking forward to trying the 8th Street location. Unfortunately, before I had a chance, I started seeing all of the bad press on the 8th Street version. Bummer! I'm still looking for good pizza on the Hill.

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I hadn't tried the pizza at the Verizon Center Matchbox in awhile now, and the one I had last night was very close to being a great pie.

Pints (note the plural) of Blue Point Lager are $6. I was in the mood for something light, but not fish or salad, so I went with a large Oven-Dried Tomato and Fresh Buffalo Mozzarella pizza ($19). All the components were in place - the crust in particular was as good as I can remember having here. Tomatoes, cheese, basil all checked out nicely. And yet, as I sat there eating my pizza, feeling lucky to have snared a seat at the bar, I coveted my neighbor's small pepperoni (*) pizza, which looked incredible.

The reason was the zesty tomato sauce, which is indeed zesty and also quite good, but this was a finesse pizza, and was overwhelmed by the spices. The best pizzas at Matchbox are the most assertive pizzas - the Matchbox Meat, the Spicy Meatball, or that incredible-looking Pepperoni. I understand when an operation cranks into high-volume mode, you want to keep things as simple as possible, but I think a second tomato sauce might benefit some of the pizzas here.

(*) And, in fact, a stray half-piece of that pepperoni somehow made it onto my wooden serving board. There was no way I was going to resist this - I ate it with a bite of my pizza, and it was the Bite of the Nite.

Cheers,

Rocks.

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Well, I tried Matchbox on Capitol Hill today and it was not bad. My friend had a crabcake sandwich which he enjoyed very much and I had the veggie pizza. Thin crust, not overly burnt edges, and complex tastes. As it cooled though, the crust took on something of a cardboard texture, so that each succeeding piece (I only managed two & 1/2) was less enjoyable than the previous one.

Did that stop me from taking the rest home? Not really, even if as a formality! Got a bit of a surprise there. When I picked up the "to-go" box with the remains of my pizza it popped open to reveal --- shock horror: pepperoni pizza. :huh:

Our waitress was nearby and she took the box from me and went back to the kitchen, returning with another box with some veggie pizza in it. Not sure where it came from as we'd had the mistaken pepperoni at our table for 20 min. :rolleyes:

The burgers looked good on the next table. I think I would try a mini-burger next time.

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Last night I tried the spicy meatball pizza at the Capitol Hill location and enjoyed it quite a bit. There's no comparison between it and the brittle and overly charred pizza I got last time. The crust on this one seemed slightly thicker and was more consistent in thickness and doneness. The meatballs on top were moist and flavorful.

Given that one reason I buy pizza is to have have some leftover cold in the fridge, I got a large one. Since I'd already eaten two mini burgers (with gorgonzola) and some of the wonderful onion strings beforehand, I got most of the pizza boxed up to go. Before I could react, the bartender brushed off most of the onion strings from the burger plate--I think into the trash--and put just a handful in the box with the leftovers. I'm not sure what the reasoning behind this is, but I was disappointed :rolleyes: . Those are good on top of leftover cold pizza. If I'm in the situation again, I'll know to request upfront that all of the onion strings be included, but I wasn't expecting that and couldn't react quickly enough. All in all, it was good experience. They were pretty busy but the service was good.

[Edited to clarify: I also had one mini burger left that was going into the box with the pizza. Hence my assumption the onion strings were going in as well.]

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I had a terrific Matchbox Meat pizza last night ($20 for a large) at the Capitol Hill Matchbox. By the time I got it home, it had cooled to room temperature, but it reheated perfectly in the oven. This is a fairly expensive pizza (14 inches, 8 slices), but they don't skimp on the meat, and I'd much rather pay a couple dollars more for something of this quality.

Cheers,

Rocks.

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There's really no good reason to order something that's not a burger or a pizza from Matchbox (SE), but I really didn't want to cook tonight and I was craving onion straws, so I ordered some for takeout, along with the grilled tuna salad bronzed medium rare / baby spinach / pine nuts / cucumbers / sake-ginger vinaigrette / orange ($15). The salad was shockingly good, the tuna cooked exactly as rare as asked, and not overdressed because I ordered it for takeout (woohoo). The cucumbers and orange wedges lent the salad a bracing quality that cut through both the velvety tuna and the fried onion straws, and there was a cabbage slaw mixed in that added just the right crunch factor (the pignoli were extraneous and didn't really help in any way; they could be eliminated, at least from the takeout version, without anyone noticing -- but in house I know this shows up as a composed salad so maybe they work more succesfully that way).

I ate a lot of fried onion tonight, that's for sure. But in all ways, this dinner hit every note I wanted it to, and it took me less than 12.5 minutes to pick it up from garage exit to garage entrance. Where I live, I can't ask for more.

Unless it's more fried onions. Seriously.

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There's really no good reason to order something that's not a burger or a pizza from Matchbox (SE)

This is my typical thinking as well, but when my friend and I decided to meet up for a snowy lunch on Saturday neither of us was in the mood for pizza (and I didn't relish the thought of carrying the leftovers home through the blizzard).

I had always eyed a couple of the sandwiches on previous visits, but always ended up with pizza. However, this time I went with the matchbox chicken sandwich

buffalo mozzarella / roma tomatoes / prosciutto / balsamic mayo / fresh basil / house-cut fries and was glad to venture out of my comfort zone. I'll probably still stick to the pizza and burgers most of the time, but the sandwich was really quite tasty. The bread was soft and not overwhelming, and the prosciutto added a nice saltiness. The fries were excellent and my friend stole half of them off my plate :angry: . Her Bloody Mary burger looked huge and juicy and delicious, and the regular burger brought to a neighboring table made me look forward to ordering it on a future visit.

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I split a Spicy Meatball pizza with a friend for lunch at the Capitol Hill location today. I was tempted by the meat pizza, based on Don's recommendation upthread, but I'd had the meatball pizza before and liked it. Such a creature of habit :angry:. The ingredients for the two are actually pretty similar.

Aesthetically, this pizza presents very well (does it sound stupid to say that?), with one meatball centered on each slice. The construction is such that the meatball stays in place for eating. Perhaps I find that impressive because I doubt I could produce a meatball pizza that wouldn't devolve into a mess. My friend ate with a knife and fork, while I picked the slices up with my hands and folded them. Both strategies were equally successful. She likes spicy food only to a point and thought the meatballs were spicy without crossing into the realm of too spicy. I thought they were just right. Service was excellent.

When I saw onion straws being brought out with someone's order, I regretted not having any, but I'll just have to get them next time :lol:.

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Thank goodness Matchbox was open on New Year's Day--I definitely needed miniburgers and pizza to absorb the previous night's...uh...beverages. :angry:

Folks can certainly argue about who has the best burger in town, but for my money, Matchbox wins in the slider category. The miniburgers were well-seasoned and cooked perfectly (for us, that's medium rare), and they were just greasy enough to be the ideal hangover food. They are just so darn meaty and satisfying, it's no wonder I can't walk into the place without ordering at least six of them. The pizzas were also tasty--we had the coppa and arugula and the serrano and pecorino, and the former was our favorite (the bitterness of the arugula was a really nice contrast to the cheese and meat). However, when you got the perfect bite of the latter, with serrano and cheese and tomato, it was also a really nice combination.

Service at the bar was fantastic, and husband really enjoyed his spicy Bloody Mary. Brunch options looked tasty, but I just couldn't stray from what I love about Matchbox.

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Folks can certainly argue about who has the best burger in town, but for my money, Matchbox wins in the slider category. The miniburgers were well-seasoned and cooked perfectly (for us, that's medium rare), and they were just greasy enough to be the ideal hangover food. They are just so darn meaty and satisfying, it's no wonder I can't walk into the place without ordering at least six of them. The pizzas were also tasty--we had the coppa and arugula and the serrano and pecorino, and the former was our favorite (the bitterness of the arugula was a really nice contrast to the cheese and meat). However, when you got the perfect bite of the latter, with serrano and cheese and tomato, it was also a really nice combination.

We tried the serrano and pecorino pizza last night and quite liked it. The shavings of ham on top made it seem somehow light. Our dining companions enjoyed their pepperoni pie. Two large pizzas for four people and not a bite left of either one. Ditto for the half dozen mini burgers and onion straws. Oh, the onion straws...

I also had a taste of the mushroom soup special, which a couple of people ordered. It was a cream soup with an interesting seasoning. Ginger?

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My guess is that the pie I was served last week (Matchbox Meat) had been pre-made earlier in the day and refrigerated until we ordered, then placed into the oven to get it out as quickly as possible to keep the tables turning. The flavors were the same as I have had in the past, but the crust was terrible: The edge was blackened, but the rest of the crust was spongy. As we left, we took at look at the pies served at the bar, and they looked to have a decent crust. But, ours was more like I remember from the elementary school cafeteria. Has anyone else had this experience, or was ours a one-off?

On the other hand, the mini-burgers and the onion strings were better than ever!

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Has anyone else had this experience, or was ours a one-off?

Which location? Not sure it matters, nor is it an excuse, but I'm curious; I feel as though everything I've compared head-to-head has been stronger at the Hill location, but I also don't think I've had a pizza at the one in Chinatown for at least a year and a half.

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Which location? Not sure it matters, nor is it an excuse, but I'm curious; I feel as though everything I've compared head-to-head has been stronger at the Hill location, but I also don't think I've had a pizza at the one in Chinatown for at least a year and a half.

Chinatown. And, I haven't had one there in probably two years as it didn't really seem as child-friendly as some of the other alternatives given the waits. Surprisingly, there was no wait even with for a table for 5 at 6:30 but the hostess seemed extraordinarily annoyed when I refused to put my child in a high-chair that was stacked on another one so that it would reach the raised table at which we were seated.

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a high-chair that was stacked on another one so that it would reach the raised table at which we were seated.

;)

(I am not so much regretting that I don't get back to the Chinatown outpost much.)

I do tend to think it's likely a volume issue, although I may have no idea what I'm saying. After all, the restaurant on the Hill is by no means a hole in the wall, and it's often been absolutely slammed when I've been there -- but the quality has never suffered in my experience, while the one thing I felt I could count on in Chinatown was inconsistency, particularly with the pizzas and particularly on weekends (Tuesday nights, conversely, served me well there). But, again, I'm talking about nothing more recent than summer of 2008.

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Chinatown. And, I haven't had one there in probably two years as it didn't really seem as child-friendly as some of the other alternatives given the waits. Surprisingly, there was no wait even with for a table for 5 at 6:30 but the hostess seemed extraordinarily annoyed when I refused to put my child in a high-chair that was stacked on another one so that it would reach the raised table at which we were seated.

Lackadaisi - I am sincerely sorry about the welcome (or lack there of) you received with your family. This is a challenge we have been dealing with as long as the restaurant has been open and while I do believe we are getting better, I know we are still far from perfect. As a parent of a 18 month old, I wouldn't be comfortable putting my child in that configuration of high chairs. Please know our host staff will be educated to seat those with little ones in an area more high chair friendly.

With regard to your pizza, please know it is absolutely impossible for us to premake pizzas and let them sit. If we sent out an inferior product, I am sincerely sorry and would like to make it up to you. I'd encourage you to message me through Donrockwell.com so I might have the opportunity to remove the bitter taste from your mouth. I'd enjoy the opportunity to welcome you back and show you why matchbox might be worthy of your time (and money).

Sincerely

Chris

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Tonight I came from the 8th St. location for the third time in a row. Normally the techno-pop turns me off, but I've been eating late-night pizza here since starting rehearsals for a show in Baltimore about a week ago. When I get back to DC at about 11pm, Matchbox is the only place on the Hill where I can get something decent to eat. They only offer pizza at that hour, and they do so while rolling up the floor mats. And still I cannot be sure if they really can serve me after 11. The whole myth of DC "nightlife," at Barracks Row or elsewhere in DC, tends to disintegrate at that hour. The pizzas were good, especially the sopprasata and wild mushroom.

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I don't think I've seen reported on the site that Matchbox will be opening another location this year in Rockville in Congressional Plaza. It will be in that cursed spot where the likes of That's Amore, Shelley's Woodroast and PGA have failed. The existing structure will be torn down and a multi-level restaurant with outdoor decks will be built. Seems like good news for MontCo as well as this site that can't seem to work out for some reason.

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I don't think I've seen reported on the site that Matchbox will be opening another location this year in Rockville in Congressional Plaza. It will be in that cursed spot where the likes of That's Amore, Shelley's Woodroast and PGA have failed. The existing structure will be torn down and a multi-level restaurant with outdoor decks will be built. Seems like good news for MontCo as well as this site that can't seem to work out for some reason.

Tonight, the Miniburgers (3 for $8, $1 extra with smoked gouda), with an unnecessary amount of (good, but seemingly pre-prepped (i.e., cold) and highly salted) onion straws, were wonderful, ordered medium-rare (served medium), and well-seasoned. A small pizza of Serrano Spanish Ham and Pecorino Romano ($15), served with roasted garlic purée, ricotta, buffalo mozzarella, and oven-dried tomato masquerading as hollowed red pepper was less than compelling, with the crust somewhat mealy and flat, the highlight being the wonderfully thick-cut serrano ham. Great Lakes Dortmunder Gold ($6) was surprisingly mediocre, and a Great Lakes Blackout Stout ($9) was on special, and slightly more interesting. A Diet Coke ($2.50) was expensive, but completed the meal. Service was Disney-esque: friendly, but seemingly scripted, with plates cleared the moment they were finished, and somewhat ill-timed check-ins. Once again, I'm afraid to stray from the still-interesting miniburgers here because I don't trust the kitchen enough to risk my own money on mediocre food, though this could easily be bias, or even prejudice, on my part, based on limited past experiences. I would LOVE for management to write me (publicly or privately) and tell me where I'm wrong - I promise I'll come in again and try what you recommend with an open mind.

In case I sound like a curmudgeon here, it was a very good meal on whole, and we both left happy.

Cheers,

Rocks.

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Once again, I'm afraid to stray from the perpetually good miniburgers here because I don't trust the kitchen enough to risk my own money on mediocre food, though this could easily be bias, or even prejudice, on my part, based on limited past experiences. I would LOVE for management to write me (publicly or privately) and tell me where I'm wrong - I promise I'll come in again and try what you recommend with an open mind.

Chinatown or Southeast? I can recommend certain other items in Southeast, but based on personal experience wouldn't stray from your formula in Chinatown.

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Not if the restaurants are being marketed to the public as the same brand - the onus on consistency is entirely on them.

No dispute (and if you want to take this offline at some point, understood). But: they're absolutely not consistent, and I have no problem calling them out as such here. I will add in fairness that I haven't been back to Chinatown in a while (half a year? at least) after bouncing back and forth between the two locations for a while; and my preference is not just because I live closer to one, because the Chinatown site is a pre- or post-movie spot with all the friends who live in NW (i.e. the majority of people I know) and thus was in fairly heavy rotation for some time, particularly as I only moved to SE a year ago anyway.

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Not if the restaurants are being marketed to the public as the same brand - the onus of consistency is entirely on them.

Jaleo - website (Downtown, Bethesda, Crystal City) - Only the downtown location is noteworthy

Why is there a difference between Matchbox and Jaleo?

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I don't think I've seen reported on the site that Matchbox will be opening another location this year in Rockville in Congressional Plaza. It will be in that cursed spot where the likes of That's Amore, Shelley's Woodroast and PGA have failed. The existing structure will be torn down and a multi-level restaurant with outdoor decks will be built. Seems like good news for MontCo as well as this site that can't seem to work out for some reason.

I had initially missed this, but just saw pizzandbrew's post looking for chefs in the help wanted section. always nice to have another lunch spot close to the office.

Pizzaandbrew - Any guesstimates as to opening day?

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I had initially missed this, but just saw pizzandbrew's post looking for chefs in the help wanted section. always nice to have another lunch spot close to the office.

Pizzaandbrew - Any guesstimates as to opening day?

Targeted date is Tuesday, December 7th. Employees are being trained, contractors are rocking and rolling. Looking good!

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