Jonathan

Menu looks and sounds delicious. As does your ode to Rock n' Zeibold.

I think it has changed its name, though I see nothing mentioned on the web regarding the closing of Los Jimenez.

Sadly, as I came to realize on Sunday driving home from New Jersey, this place is no longer worth a trip from out of town, cross town or across the street. It seems as if they have changed ownership--their menu even has a different name on it. The food a shadow of what it was this summer, which was stunning. The world has lost an amazing taqueria.

Amen, brother, amen.

And thanks for trusting me, Don

I had the pleasure of running 2 marathons in 2013, my first and only two. Such an amazing sense of accomplishment. And finishing that first one was one of the best and most emotional experiences of my life. Unfortunately through the training and opening of Ghibellina I developed plantar fascitis during the training of the second one, and even though I finished the training and completed it at my goal, it left me out of commission for all of 2014. So I am looking forward to this one, as I'm healthy and ready. I am glad I played a small part in your training. Thoughts of food and drink tantalize and torture me during long runs. But man is the food rewarding when you finally sit down and eat.

It is true that I have left Ghibellina. It was a matter of wanting free time to pursue my own restaurant. It's tough to do when there is very little to no free time, or when one is always tired during said free time. I felt, after two-plus years, this was as good as time as ever to leave. Upon getting hired, I had three goals, and I accomplished them all. I promoted dishwashers to prep cooks, prep cooks to line cooks, and was able to make food that was near and dear to my heart. But at the end of the day, my goal is ownership, not working for someone else, no matter how gracious and encouraging they are. So, with the help of a good friend, I will be spending more time at Miriam's Kitchen as an employee, have free time to run and train for the Marine Corps Marathon, and finalize my business plan and search for money to open my own casual eatery where I am quite sure you all will love. Thank you for your past and continued support.

Have you found anyone yet?

Best espresso in the city, in my opinion. Always poured perfectly. Filled with complexity and nuance.

It is a hole-in-the-wall taqueria with a stack of cookbooks at the register with names like Vetri, Keller etc...oh, and the food was delicious. And to boot, 3 tacos, $6...probably the cheapest tacos I've ever had.

Hit this place up on recommendation from my fish purveyor, and had the best fish tacos of my life. Apparently the owner was a line cook at Vetri, and is from Puebla. We were the only ones there at 1pm on a Monday, except his Pat La Frieda driver who was delivering and also eating (smart man). It's on 6th and Oregon.

This article got me salivating: http://www.thrillist.com/eat/nation/mexico-city-food-scene-tacos-in-mexico-city

The tacos are ironically not what makes this place so great. Go for the mole poblano, the adobo puerco rojo, the chile relleno, lots of their fresh tortillas. Apparently there is a woman that does some (or supplies some) of the cooking for this place but not all of it. Her food is the one to get. It's very, very good.

Thank you! I will be by and check them out.

Was in Chatlottesville for 18 hours for a wedding and made my way to Wayside for some good fried chicken (not amazing) and my first ever taste of caneles from MarieBette Bakery. The caneles were amazing and I need more...need to find them. Make them. Eat them.

The seating at the counter overlooking 14th street and the patio are also available for happy hour. As are the high-tops. The dining room is not available.

I apologize for not responding earlier, I actually did not see Tony's first post until this morning. And Tony, thank you for graciously coming in to Ghibellina and eating dinner. I'm glad you enjoyed our pizza. I am not the owner of Ghibellina, and do think you have nailed it when it comes to our lack of recognition for our pizza. Ghibellina is intended to be a GastroPub with pizza. My enthusiasm, passion and dedication to the craft has made the pizza what it is today. Also, I do agree with your criticism of the pizza being a bit thin at times. Our pizza is not supposed to be true Neapolitan pizza. I have worked at Neapolitan pizza joints and worked with 900-1000 degree ovens. I wanted our pizza to be a bit crisper on the bottom and more developed flavors in the crust. So I use a mix of flours (one being 00); I do not cook my pizzas in a 900-1000 degree oven, and I cook them ideally for 3-3.5 minutes. Lastly, I do not consider myself a pizza snob, but more a pizza lover. When I worked at Franny's in Brooklyn, I ate pizza every day. And then on my days off, I ate more pizza. More often then not, it was slice joint NY style pizza. But I also frequented the Lombardi's style places and I also went to the Neapolitan joints sprouting up all over the place. I love pizza. No matter the style. Roman, Naples, Sicilian, NY, NJ (i bet I'd like good deep dish if I tried it). I too have studied pizza. I am aware of what constitutes Neapolitan versus NY. I am aware of why a deck oven operating at 500 or 600 degrees can't use buffalo mozzarella or 00 flour. That NY style pizza tends to use oil and sugar in their dough to keep it tender to make up for the long bake time, etc. My initial criticisms of Wise Guys probably had more to do with expectations, which is not your fault, Tony. Todd Kliman raved about it. And I read it. And I went. What I ate did not live up to the expectations of what a food writer expressed. And this, unfortunately, is what all of us in the restaurant community have to deal with. Sometimes trying to live up to unrealistic expectations. I owe you a second visit and will be in to try it. I promise. As for Grana and Pecorino. I love the cheeses. Parmeggiano is great too, the king of cheeses probably. I find them all to be delicious. As for the olive oil on the pizza: we use http://superolive.com/Frantoia-Italian-Extra-Virgin-Olive-Oil-3-Liter-FREE-SHIP-limited-time-P5101367.aspx It is one of my absolute favorite olive oils. We do use a different olive oil on the table. As for tomatoes, I use canned tomatoes as well. I don't know a single pizza joint that uses fresh tomato. We strain our canned tomato, mill it, add back some of its liquid, weigh it and add salt. Any spices go on the pie directly. I tried true red because a friend of mine in the know told me that a venerable pizza establishment that I respect uses it in their sauce. So I got a sample from my purveyor. Upon trying it, I found it not to my liking at all. More like tomato paste with spices than something bright and blank canvassy (for lack of a better descriptor). Any way you slice it....hehehe...pizza is amazing and I love how it elicits great passion in people here and around the world. Some people would crucify me for putting shaved raw fennel on a pizza (see Anthony Mangieri) or having a 2-3 day ferment. But I make the pizza that I want to eat and do not confine myself to any rules. Heck, even the pizza places that supposedly follow the rules (I'm looking at you 2 Amys and Pupatella) don't...they just probably find it a nice marketing strategy.

Oval Room Mintwood Place Rasika Osteria Morini DBGB Iron Gate Izakaya Seki Ripple

Full Red Fully Prepared Pizza Sauce As for killer slices in New York, I often inhabited Bleecker Street (especially their Sicilian) when I worked at the Spotted Pig, and La Pino Forchetta in Park Slope when I worked and lived in BK. Also DiFara if you just take it for what it is...a slice joint, not pizza nirvana. As for DC...I'm stumped. If have to compare Alberto's or jumbo slice with wise guys when sober or drunk to evaluate.

As a pizza guy and a guy who has lived in both Manhattan and Brooklyn, I have to agree to disagree. I went because Todd Kliman effusively praised the place and I was famished and it was 3:30 and I had just run 10 miles and I was famished (did I say that already?). I got three different slices and thought them all to be mediocre at best. It reminded me of mediocre NY slice joints, not good Or great NY slice joints. And after I ordered and ate and judged, I had the privilege of watching their delivery come in and was equally disappointed by the extremely low quality tomato product (see full red tomato sauce) and flour and cheeses that were being carted in. Friendly people, just not very good food. And the photo above, might have some dark on the bottom from the deck of the oven, but it has absolutely no char or yeasty goodness in the lip of the pie.

Had burgers at the bar for lunch today, and it was delicious... For $21 you pick your burger, an accompaniment (salad, fries or onion rings), a non-alcoholic beverage, and a milkshake. Tried the lamb burger and the classic, all three sides and had a very refreshing West Indies limeade and a strawberry shake. Gluttonous, very good, and dare I say, a very good value. Plus you can tell your friends you "lunched at the 4 Seasons."

What is that dish?!? It looks like something from a bad Sci-Fi movie. Or cigarettes stamped out into an ashtray.

Had an excellent meal at Vernick Food & Drink last night on my way out of town. It was the best meal I had in Philly this weekend (and probably the best I've had in all of my trips to Philly). Everything we had was thoughtful, seasonal and very delicious. It was not overwrought or over-thought. Just for comparison's sake, I would say it reminded me of Mintwood Place or the old Palena Cafe (when you could order off both menus); but with more polished service and slightly younger/hipper atmosphere. Just really solid cooking, classic flavors (with a twist or two) and great execution all around. Ordered: Two Toasts (Beef tartare and Spinach/Fontina) Asparagus, Romesco, Crispy Egg Pea Ravioli with Rabbit Ragu Date Cake with Coconut Ice Cream, Orange and Cardamom And petite brownie a la mode ($3.....who sells $3 desserts?!?) No misses. Will be back. And will recommend enthusiastically.

Thank you for your kind words and support. We go to work every day just trying to do a bit better than the previous one. As for the dessert program...we would love to have Noel do the desserts at Ghbellina, but unfortunately he has a full-time day job, and also works part-time at Posto doing the desserts there. At Ghibellina he works solely as a food runner or server assistant. The desserts are all done by me. They are simple and hopefully very flavorful, and should fit right in at a Gastropub. I was fortunate enough to get some experience making gelatos and other pastry stuff at Franny's when I was working in New York.

I think you have to look at specific requests and specific reactions. In this case, it seems highly reasonable to me to do Saltimbocca sans dairy, unless the veal was all portioned and soaking in milk or cream (which I doubt to be the case). It's not as if the diner requested the saltimbocca vegetarian....or with chicken instead of veal.