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Pizza Parts & Service (Formerly Taylor Charles Steak and Ice), on 13th and H Street NE from the Owners of Taylor Gourmet - Closed


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Taylor Charles Steak and Ice (from the Taylor Gourmet guys) opened on December 12 on H St. We happened to stop by yesterday to check it out and it was pretty busy.

First off, I think the decor is funky and fun. The graffiti and street lights and picnic-style tables certainly evoke the outdoor atmosphere of many of the Philly cheesesteak places. There aren't a ton of seats, but it is similar to other places up and down H.

The basic choices are ribeye, chicken, or portabello, wit or witout onions, and a choice of cheeses (provolone, American, whiz, or homemade white whiz). Adding mayo, tomato, and lettuce is an upcharge, plus some options for other toppings. There are also maybe 9-10 options of "specialty" sandwiches where they've put some combinations together. And a couple of hot dog options as well. Fries are available plain, with whiz, or with sloppy joe topping and whiz.

My +1 and I each had the ribeye, wit, with white whiz, and we split an order of sloppy joe fries. I think we both agreed that the flavor was good (from the bread to the steak, onions, and whiz), but we both prefer our cheesesteak meat to be a bit more chopped. I realize this is a personal preference, and there are places in Philly that do both chopped and whole pieces. I also realize ribeye is not a lean cut of meat, but I had far too many pieces pull out of my sandwich (making for some huge and awkward bites) and too many bites that were too chewy. I'm not sure if you can ask them to chop it more finely or not, but if not, I think I may steer towards one of the chicken sandwiches next time. The fries were good, but nothing spectacular (and were not that large of a serving for nearly $5).

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We also stopped in this weekend (Saturday), and quite enjoyed it. They are having a few (understandable) service issues, and as a result we did not get exactly what we tried to order (disappointed I didn't get to try the house-made white wiz), but liked the sandwiches that we did get very much. I am a big fan of the bread, and feel that the ratio of meat to bread was pretty much spot on. One of our sandwiches mistakenly came with grilled peppers, and these were a nice addition, one that I might order on purpose next time around.

The Taylor Balls (cheese fritters) were fine, but not something I'm likely to order again next time around. Like New Foodie, I really like the decor and layout. Since it is two blocks closer than Taylor, and since I can be quite lazy, I'm sure I'll be back.

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I am not an expert, but I am sure one exists here. I don't know who, but it seems using the terms "wit" and "wit out" must be offensive, to someone. Kind of like using Ebonics on a soul food menu.

Before anyone goes crazy, this is more of a question than a statement.

If the omission of an "h" is offensive to anyone it is a true sign the apocalypse is upon us. There is no pretension that this is the King's English. When you walk in the door, they are offering you a glimpse into the world of their youth. "Wit" is to South Philly vernacular what "hon" is to B'more. To who it does offend, I'd suggest any grammatically correct "steak and cheese" is far more offensive to the taste buds.

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I grew up in Philly, and the way you order a cheesesteak (not a steak and cheese) is to specify the cheese, then whether or not you want onions.

"wiz wit" - That's a cheesesteak with cheese whiz and onions. Simply the local dialect. I usually got "pizza wit" - cheesesteak with provolone, onions, and "red gravy" aka tomato sauce.

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Every time I look at the name I see Charles Taylor, not Taylor Charles and I think of the Liberian warlord who committed crimes against humanity. I know it is random, but I wonder if the owners ever thought about that?

It's not that random -- I think the same thing.

But the vast, vast majority of Americans have never heard of the guy.

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Or, they think of Chuck Taylors . . .

I had the Charles Taylor reaction too. My eyes just keep making me rearrange the words that way. I think I saw something when this was in the planning stage about why the Charles is in there, but Taylor Steak and Ice is a much better name.

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Went there two weekends ago. I had a chicken whiz wit which was sloppy and delicious, but a little salty from the cheese. The sliced chicken product they've come up with was terrific. I'd read they designed a proprietary system to make tender sliced chicken for the subs. I give this product two thumbs up. It's nothing like the typical chicken cheesesteak meat, which is a great thing. We got the Taylor balls, which while they're fun to say, they don't taste very good. There was an odd flavor i couldn't ID and didn't appreciate. The thin mustard sauce didn't help in the least. The nearby fries looked great, so that'll be the next side dish. They were handing out samples of ice and I'm glad I tried it. It's new to me and I enjoyed the refreshing lemon version they were giving away. There were pieces of lemon zest present, so it seems the Taylor guys aren't cutting corners here, either.

Great space. Great music. The one knock (besides being 30 minutes from my house) is that lunch cost about $28 for two subs, two drinks and an order of Taylor Balls.

post-6926-0-28542400-1357069724_thumb.jp

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Went today on a whim and really enjoyed it. I had the broccoli rabe with extra long hots, while the wife had the Red. Long hots were surprisingly not spicy, but did have a bit of a kick. The combination of broccoli, provolone, and rib eye would have been good enough, so next time I think I'll skip the hots. Wife enjoyed her sub, which was basically a chicken parm. Service was fast and the proprietary fountain soda they have was pretty different from your standard Coke/Pepsi fountain. Proprietary fountain soda on H Street... the idea scares me, but only a little.

Best sandwich shop named after a war criminal in DC! Or at least until Spike Mendelsohn opens his Serbian fusion lunch stand, MILOseVICH.

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Best sandwich shop named after a war criminal in DC! Or at least until Spike Mendelsohn opens his Serbian fusion lunch stand, MILOseVICH.

Taylor Charles is definitely promoting understanding -- a Liberian colleague says he finally understands how upset some people get by those ubiquitous Che Guevara t-shirts!

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I kind of naively ordered a plain steak and provolone...with no other toppings. It still ended up tasting amazing. The cheese tasted aged. Bread had a nice chew. Fries looked like they came out of a Sysco truck but were fried perfectly crisp so I can't complain much.

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Unconfirmed, but I heard Taylor Charles Steak and Ice may be closing.  Has anyone heard anything more on that?

When I walked by yesterday the windows were papered over and there was a sign in the window with a giant question mark and a cryptic message that read something like "Don't worry, be happy".

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FWIW they've been using Taylor Charles branded drink cups at the H Street Taylor for a month or so now.

Maybe just getting rid of the supply. Wonder what will become of Taylor Charles -- maybe the two shops a few blocks from each other was not really what the market was interested in on H (though, of course, the menu choices were different). Or with the recently paired down menu at Taylor Gourmet, maybe they can add cheesesteaks to the menu there?

I went to Taylor Charles a few times. I enjoyed the cheesesteak on my first visit. The next couple times I found the sandwiches way too salty -- and I came expecting sodium bombs but these were like salt licks on a roll.

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DCDiningGuide.com: All The News That's Fit To Print (and giving credit where credit is due).

Source: Washington City Paper Young & Hungry

steak.jpg
Image: Jessica Sidman for Washington City Paper

City Paper reports that Taylor Charles Steak & Ice, Taylor Gourmet's cheesesteak concept on H Street NE, has been closed recently and paper covers the windows. The news was first relayed on December 31st by DonRockwell.com member JoshNE, who reported that the restaurant might be closing and later confirmed on January 2nd by member clchurch, who noted: "When I walked by yesterday the windows were papered over and there was a sign in the window with a giant question mark and a cryptic message that read something like "˜Don't worry, be happy.'" According to City Paper, Co-owner Casey Patten did not respond to requests for comment but Taylor's publicist Doug Rashid responded that "all we can say right now is cheesesteaks are not dead."

Read full article >>

Get all the news at DCDiningGuide.com >>

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There's little doubt that Taylor Charles was conceived to eventually be a chain. Their website (which is still active) has a section titled "Locations," and that type of template is almost always a sure bet of intent. If I were a restaurateur, and wanted to play my cards close to the vest at first, I would never have something like this on my website. In reality, it's not a bad thing, but it might alter people's perceptions in the early stages. I'm sorry this place closed - people seemed to like it.

Thanks again to JoshNE and clchurch for being the first people to report on this. You should have gotten credit, but that's not how the vast majority of publications in this town work. If it wasn't for DCDiningGuide.com, I wouldn't know we ever broke any news - if you don't have DCDiningGuide.com bookmarked, and are interested in the DC food scene, you should be reading their news section daily. Right now, it's the best news outlet in town.

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Having only eaten there once, I can't really comment on the food--I was satisfied enough with my sandwich--but I found the space to be kind of loud and obnoxious. If I had returned, I would have been more inclined to do take-out. But that name surely didn't help matters, either--even if you didn't make the Charles Taylor connection, it was still awkward.

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Is it the best delivery on the strip?

Delivery? I think so. I'm not in love with it, but when we want the ease of pizza delivery theirs is the phone number that I call. 

Agreed with Mark. Our pre-PP&S go-tos were We, The Pizza and, when we were wanting more of the Midwest-style that reminded us of home, Armand's, both of which I feel are inferior to PP&S. In terms of pizza joints close to me (3rd and H NE), Tim Carman gave some love to Wiseguy NY, but they don't do delivery as far as I know... PP&S isn't anything incredible, but it gets the job done on a random weeknight (or after stumbling home from Boundary and Big Board).

(edited to point out: delivery is available from Union Station to RFK, and from NY Ave. to East Capitol)

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Ate there Saturday. It's not bad, and perhaps the best pizza on the strip. But it's certainly nothing special.

That's (the "nothing special" part) how I think of Taylor Gourmet more broadly and tend to avoid them. Ever since the great "Sarcone Scandal" a few years ago, seemed pretty clear this was one of the food businesses prioritizing revenue growth over quality and authenticity.

http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/articles/40254/dc-restaurants-moveable-yeast/

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I don't know what's going on mostly due to indifference. But really think so much of what these guys have done since first opening TG has consistently screamed $ over quality or doing something meaningful for the communities in which they operate. Of course places have to make a profit and that's a totally fine objective. But from a purely business standpoint, I always think it myopic or worse when a business is more focused on the revenue than on doing something different, better or special. Especially since the latter drives the former over longer time horizons for many, But, hey, it's absolutely a free market so to each his or her own.

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I don't know what's going on mostly due to indifference. But really think so much of what these guys have done since first opening TG has consistently screamed $ over quality or doing something meaningful for the communities in which they operate. Of course places have to make a profit and that's a totally fine objective. But from a purely business standpoint, I always think it myopic or worse when a business is more focused on the revenue than on doing something different, better or special. Especially since the latter drives the former over longer time horizons for many, But, hey, it's absolutely a free market so to each his or her own.

I've never been to PP&S, but I don't disagree re: Taylor's. When they first opened, they seemed to be focused on being a creative presence in underserved neighborhoods, especially H Street. Now H Street can hardly be described in those terms and Taylor's approach seems more marked by cynicism.

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I've never been to PP&S, but I don't disagree re: Taylor's. When they first opened, they seemed to be focused on being a creative presence in underserved neighborhoods, especially H Street. Now H Street can hardly be described in those terms and Taylor's approach seems more marked by cynicism.

Not much to disagree with there...These days I have about as much interest in going to Taylor for a sandwich as I do to Subway. (Feel the same about ?&Pizza, to be honest.)

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Not much to disagree with there...These days I have about as much interest in going to Taylor for a sandwich as I do to Subway. (Feel the same about ?&Pizza, to be honest.)

At least at Subway you see the cheap rolls coming out of the in-store ovens. No duplicitous nonsense about Sarcones rolls taking long rides down I-95.

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Frozen Tropics is speculating PP&S's closure may have to do with its recent settlement agreement process re: wine and beer sales. Maybe retooling for that?

Could be, but it would seem that for a shop that has previously closed due to a perceived failure of the concept, they would want to be out in front with what they are doing...

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The business is already sold.  The rumor is that Spike bought it and will open another of his pizza spots here.  I preferred Pizza Parts to We the Pizza, but ranked it last on H Street after RedRocks, H & Pizza and Liberty Tree.  I bought slices and occasionally ordered delivery, but I preferred the pies at each of the other spots.  If We the Pizza is the next spot to land here, that will remain the case. 

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