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

[Al Dente]

Went to matchbox tonight "on a whim". Try the white pizza with prosciutto. But instead of prosciutto, have anchovies on the side. Mmmmmmmm.

[JLK]

I love that pizza - Prosciutto White, they call it. I keep the prosciutto, but often skip the olives to avoid salt overload.

Come to think of it, my second favorite Matchbox pizza leaves me guzzling water too: Matchbox Meat.

Hmm, a trend. Beer makes it better.

[TinDC]

I like the Q Special pizza.

And the miniburgers.

[DCMark]

I hear they may be expanding next door...

[Sthitch]

Tonight I spoke with Mark, on of the partners, he comfirmed that they are expanding and now that they have launched the Palm Springs branch he is concentrating on this. He hopes that it will be completed in November.

[brr]

had lunch there today

two of us split 6 mini-burgers and a small pizza - try as I might I could not convince my dining partner to order the choc chip bread pudding (I will thank her tonight as I weigh myself)

burgers were ok - they've been better and were more well done than the requested medium - sure we could have sent em back but its lunch and everyone's in a hurry

then had the portobello and artichoke white pizza - quite good, probably not as good as the white proscuitto pizza but not bad - drinking loadsa water this afternoon

our server was delightful

$32 incl tip and one soda

oh, and the expansion seems to be progressing well - when I queried, they said it should be ready in 5 months

[FunnyJohn]

Heard on News Radio this morning that Matchbox was going to expand into space next door -- 75 additional seats with some al fresco seating available. Anyone know when this will happen?

[Joe Riley]

Matchbox is awesome - the vintage brick oven pizzas are fantastic.

When they first opened, one of the owners (his name escapes me, sadly) told me that their brick ovens are heated to 800 degrees, or 200 degrees hotter than most pizza ovens, which accounts for the bubbling-effect of the cheese.

The mini-burgers are really good because they are made with a terrific grade of beef. Some friends I know call these things "sliders".

Matchbox has a terrific array of draught beers, with excellent microbrews (such as Dogfish Head) and imports, and their wine selection is better than decent if unremarkable.

Try to avoid the place on an event-night at the MCI Center, as the place will be packed, and deservedly so. On-street parking is a bear, naturally, but there are some large garages right nearby.

It is a fun place to go, and I've taken lots of friends from out of town there, especially if they like beer.

[alan7147]

Stopped by Matchbox tonight before seeing Clemens make the Nationals look like a little league team. Started with an order of three miniburgers which, overall, were excellent. The only complaint that I had with them was that they were cooked past the medium rare temperature that they are described as being served at. Also ordered was a bistro salad that had greens and frisee, with fresh pears, warm goat cheese croutons in a basil vinaigrette. I didn't try it but it looked good. We then split a portabella pizza which had sliced portabella, marinated artichoke, fresh garlic, extra virgin olive oil & mozzarella. It had a nice crispy thin crust and was quite good, but to me it had a little too much cheese. Personally I prefer a pizza that does not have a lot of cheese on it, much like 2 Amy's.

Also of note is the excellent selection of draft beers at Matchbox. I had a couple of Magic Hat No. 9's. Also on tap is Chimay, a Dogfish Head IPA, Anchor Steam lager, Rogue Shakespeare stout and Allagash White ale just to name a few.

[Sthitch]

Has anyone tried the crab cake app at Matchbox? I was at dinner with one of the owners last night and he was explaining them to me. They sound rather intriguing.

[DonRocks]

A small act of kindness at Matchbox tonight: one of the servers, Dave W, was in for a drink on his night off, along with his charming friend Tyese (means "life" in Arabic, and named after the Massenet opera Thais). He gave up his seat "so a guest could sit down," despite my protests that he not do so. Both Dave and Tyese are going to be working at Zengo, which will be opening October 11th. Haymi (pronounced Hi Me) was working the bar, and was friendly, professional, and pretty much perfect in her job. I sense a real comraderie amongst the staff at Matchbox right now, and it may be showing up in some of the cooking, too. The chef at Matchbox these days is Johnny Mack (Johnnie Mac?) who came from Copeland's in Rockville. The miniburgers which were flying out of the kitchen appeared to all be coming out medium-well, so I'd advise being a stickler for medium-rare if you order them. Onion rings are better than they used to be (slightly more juicy and plump, and less of the fried-flat-straw stuff), and the flatiron steak salad was good. But the pizza tonight was better than I've ever had at Matchbox, and from what I saw, it was consistent from pizza-to-pizza. 2 Amy's stands alone, of course, head-and-shoulders above anything else in town (well, there's the bar tart at Marcel's...), but if you can deal with mass-produced ingredients, the guys working the pizza station tonight were remarkable, the wood-burning oven was throwing (much-needed) heat across the room, and the sausage and onion was a really good pie. It's still pub grub, but it's good pub grub and well-worth grubbing.

Cheers,

Rocks.

[alisa7]

I went to Matchbox last night with the intent of only taking advantage of their great happy hour, but ended up ordering a couple of pizzas. One was the white pizza with prosciutto, the other was their veggie pizza, which had yummy roasted red peppers. The staff there is so great and the pizza is amazing!

Went to matchbox tonight "on a whim". Try the white pizza with prosciutto. But instead of prosciutto, have anchovies on the side. Mmmmmmmm.

[crackers]

Where to go before watching the Caps trying to pull themselves out of the basement? I usually head to Full Kee, but this time I was with a few people who really like their beer and don't mind missing the first period of the game to have it. So Matchbox was it. Best to time arrival so the friends are there before you and order the drinks and get a table to open up one minute after you arrive, thereby avoiding the crush of humanity at the bar so dense that you wonder how the bartenders can possibly hear/see/serve anyone. A couple of us ordered a half order of the "simple salad." It was tasty and ample but IMO overdressed (the other person who ordered it had on a suit and tie and didn't think it was overdressed, while I was wearing my Caps fleecy. Salad was wearing a whole bunch of strong vinaigrette) Even with the place packed solid the food arrived pretty fast and still hot. The plate of nine miniburgers -seven with mozarella, my two plain- were >insert alternative adjective for delish here< and cooked to medium as ordered. In the middle of the plate was a pile of frizzy fried onions.

They look so light and non-caloric. right. Anyway, we also shared a large spicy meatball pizza which was >insert alternative adjective for scrumptious< and heavy on the fresh garlic:

and each tried several brews to tide us over during the game. Magic Hat #9, Dogfish Head, Chimay, something else that was definitely not Amstel Light. In and out in less than an hour, got there in time to watch Bondra score against the Caps [but Caps won].

[Meaghan]

It's wonderful that after waiting nearly 40 minutes for a table, the mini-burgers and pizza at Matchbox strutted to the frontline tonight. Mini-burgers are not trite-- the ones I had tonight really were cooked medium rare, and their perfectly pillowy buns glistened with just the the right amount of grease. Mmmm, you just want hold it in your hands and tell everyone around you that, "Raaaar!! This burger's goood!"

The onion strings were sweet and not quite falling apart, rather than overly crisp as those things tend to be...

As for the pizza, it was sweet sausage and portobella with mozzarella and marinara. The flavor combination was exceptional, and overall for a thiner, more gooey-crusted pizza, it's the best I've had in sometime. Good to see a place that's so packed doing a better job than the last time.

And nice shots, crackers!

[CrescentFresh]

Two thumbs up. Part of a rare Sietsema trifecta.

[DonRocks]

CrescentFresh said:

Two thumbs up.  Part of a rare Sietsema trifecta.

I was at Matchbox earlier this week, and am really happy to report that the miniburgers, onion straws, and pizza were as good as they've ever been in my ten-or-so visits.

(I'm also delighted to read about Tom's experiences at Obelisk and Vidalia. Coincidentally, I was a gnat's eyelash away from going to Vidalia this evening, deciding instead to veer towards Palena. And! A trusted friend told me tonight that his lunch at Bistro Bis this week was "noteworthy." It's a good week! )

[Skysplitter]

Just another "yay" for Matchbox. Finally got to head down there tonight, and it was already a 40 minute wait for two at 6pm (nor sure if there was anything going on at the MCI). The place was packed, but it was well worth the wait.

We got a small order of the mini-burgers, which were delicious and served up about medium. The onion rings were a bit cool, but nice, stringy, not overly greasy. I almost want to say someone sprinkled parmesan cheese over them, but I'm not sure. Either way, they were good. And with Widmer Heifeweizen on tap? Near perfect.

Couldn't resist the pizzas, so we ordered 2 small ones thinking leftovers would make an excellent lunch the next day. The spicy meatball pizza my date got was good, but not great- the meatballs weren't terribly flavorful. I did a make your own with prosciutto, bacon and roasted pureed garlic (how on earth can one resist THAT?) with tomato sauce/mozzarella. Um, yum. Everything about the pizza was great and I'm currently pondering pizza for breakfast...

Even though the restaurant was loud and crowded, service was attentive and pleasant. A return trip will definitely be in order, but maybe a little earlier to nab a seat at the bar and take advantage of the happy hour specials.

[lackadaisi]

I have been to Matchbox several times recently and have been repeatedly impressed by the salads, the miniburgers, the pizza and the service.

Last night, I had the interesting experience of witnessing the owner (I believe) throwing out a couple of complete jerks that were throwing money around to try to get ahead on the waiting list for tables (or something similar, my details are fuzzy because the matter was being handled rather discreetly). Not only was Matchbox not going to permit them to jump ahead, they didn't want their business at all after they proved themselves to be so rude. Apparantly, these same individuals had come several times before and treated the staff poorly. I was happy to see an establishment sticking up for its staff and customers in this manner!

[Principia]

The onion rings were a bit cool, but nice, stringy, not overly greasy. I almost want to say someone sprinkled parmesan cheese over them, but I'm not sure. Either way, they were good.

Yes, the onion rings are sprinkled with Parmesan.

[DC in DC]

I loved their burger with gorgonzola cheese in the center...but was utterly dismayed to find that the burger is now served w/o the cheese. Is this still the case?

[JimRice]

I popped in to Matchbox for happy hour tonight. Had the 'fire and smoke' pizza. Yummy, smoky from the smoked gouda, spicy and smoky from the chipotle pepper tomato sauce. It's just right with a beer or two or three. Rogue Shakespeare Stout is on tap right now. I told Mrs Rice about it, and she said "So, we're going this weekend?" I said yes.

http://www.matchboxdc.com/

[TinDC]

Has Matchbox expanded into the space next door yet? Would love to go without a crazy wait.

[JimRice]

I don't think they have yet. I didn't have a crazy wait, but I got there around 5 PM.

[New Foodie]

I went to Matchbox for the first time last night and I have mixed feelings. I've always heard good things, so I was really looking forward to it. We arrived a little before 6:30 (on a Wednesday night) and had to wait about 30 minutes in the very crowded bar area for our table. Not a big deal cause it's a popular restaurant in a highly populated area.

Three of us split their Bistro Salad (crisp greens and frisee, with fresh pears, warm goat cheese croutons in a basil vinaigrette). Not bad, but nothing to write home about.

For my entree I ordered the Prosciutto White Pizza (prosciutto, kalamata olives, fresh garlic, ricotta cheese, extra virgin olive oil & mozzarella) but I asked for no olives. The waitress asked if I wanted to substitute something else so I settled on fresh basil. Well, when my pizza came out, there was indeed basil on it, but no prosciutto. When I pointed it out to the waitress she was apologetic and took my pizza away to fix it. Less than 3 minutes later my same pizza was brought back with a few slices of prosciutto laid across it.

The actual pizza (white with ricotta, garlic and basil) was pretty good, although half the pizza's outer crust was pretty burnt, but the prosciutto was fairly tasteless. Perhaps I would have enjoyed it more if I hadn't just recently eaten at 2 Amy's and had what could only be described as the best prosciutto pizza I think I've ever had.

I would definitely go back to Matchbox, to try a different salad or pizza and also the miniburgers I've heard so much about, but I think I might avoid the prosciutto in the future.

[crackers]

On July 4th, with the temperature hovering around 94 degrees, I headed indoors to the just re-opened National Portrait Gallery and Museum of American Art. After two hours of being utterly blown away and fascinated by the history, art and architecture of these curatorial tours de force (go, go, go), my daughter and I were getting hungry and decided to head a block up to Matchbox for an intermission. The guards as we were exiting recommended Ruby Tuesdays and Five Guys, so heh, glad they were funnelling the tourists there.

Matchbox at lunch was about half full and I had my best meal there so far, though I didn't stray from my favorites: mini-burgers and pizza, because this was an All-American day afterall. The mini-burgs were perfectly medium rare, compared to the cooked through and through we had the last two times I tried them. Those onion frizzles are beyond addictive. We also had the sausage and onion pizza, with anchovies, also very good, although with a bit too much orange grease pocking the cheese. Good fuel for museum wandering.

[DLB]

When will the expansion be completed? The National Portrait Gallery is awesome. There are many good places for our vistors to the city to eat around gallery place now.

[Sthitch]

I heard that it is still several months away. They are doing most of the work themselves.

[TinDC]

I heard a rumor that the newly expanded Matchbox is open. Can anyone confirm or deny? Considering dinner here tonite if so.

[mnnchas]

I heard a rumor that the newly expanded Matchbox is open. Can anyone confirm or deny? Considering dinner here tonite if so.

I heard the same rumor last week

[rbh]

Confirmed... was there last night for dinner... didn't peek in the expansion area but people were walking back and forth from it. Didn't have a noticeable effect on relieving the demand... we waited about 30 minutes for a 2-top at 6pm last night. But once seated, pizza (Q Special) came out pretty quick and still able to make our movie. went with a non-red meat eater.. so no mini-burgers this time

[mdt]

After a visit to the National Building Museum this past Saturday it was lunch time and we decided to walk over to Matchbox. Well I finally got an order of the mini-burgers (How long have they been trite?) with cheese and was very pleased with them. The onion tangle served with them is addictive.

We had the spicy meatball and prosciutto white pizzas after the mini-burgers for an app. The pizzas were good and the crusts were nice and crisp. There was a nice bit of spice on mine, but the meatballs were pretty dry. The slice of the white that I had was good, although I think less olives would be a plus. I liked the fact that they did not cook the prosciutto with the pizza and placed it atop the already cooked pie.

[jiveturk21]

I have been a member for quite some time, but this is my first post. Some of you may ask, "Why have you waited so long to post?" Honestly, no real good reason, maybe it was my laziness or my apathy, but I have a good feeling that once I take this first step, you won't get me to shut up, so I apologize in advance for that.

Anyway, I am sad that my first post has to be negative in nature, but since I was just there on Saturday evening, I feel that I have to make my feelings known...

Why did Matchbox even bother expanding their space? Don't get me wrong, the expansion is nice, the new space is really cool, but why have it if you refuse to use it? This is the fourth time that I have been there since they completed the expansion and it is the fourth time that I have seen masses of people waiting for tables and dozens of tables open in the new space. Do they just not have enough servers to man the sections? Is their kitchen space too small to keep up with the orders? Or, do they just want to create a crowd so people that walk by see it and say, "This must be a cool place to hang out, why don't we just jam ourselves into this tiny bar and make everyone more miserable!?"

No matter what the reason, it doesn't make any sense to me. Is it that hard to get wait staff? Is it difficult to build a bigger kitchen when you had plenty of space to build out the tables? And, could a restaurant these days really think that it is a good idea to make people wait for no reason at all? Didn't that trend end like five years ago?

Anyway, it makes me upset to say it, because I have always liked Matchbox (their food, their drinks, their atmosphere), but I cannot imagine going back again. Only once during those four trips did we wait for a table, which happened to be this Saturday because I had to make a work phone call and the others didn't mind waiting in a space like canned sardines, so they missed out on huge bills three times simply because they are unable to seat people. I hope that things change there or at least someone can explain to me why they can't fill dozens of empty tables with people waiting to eat.

[mdt]

I have been a member for quite some time, but this is my first post. Some of you may ask, "Why have you waited so long to post?" Honestly, no real good reason, maybe it was my laziness or my apathy, but I have a good feeling that once I take this first step, you won't get me to shut up, so I apologize in advance for that.

Anyway, I am sad that my first post has to be negative in nature, but since I was just there on Saturday evening, I feel that I have to make my feelings known...

Why did Matchbox even bother expanding their space? Don't get me wrong, the expansion is nice, the new space is really cool, but why have it if you refuse to use it? This is the fourth time that I have been there since they completed the expansion and it is the fourth time that I have seen masses of people waiting for tables and dozens of tables open in the new space. Do they just not have enough servers to man the sections? Is their kitchen space too small to keep up with the orders? Or, do they just want to create a crowd so people that walk by see it and say, "This must be a cool place to hang out, why don't we just jam ourselves into this tiny bar and make everyone more miserable!?"

No matter what the reason, it doesn't make any sense to me. Is it that hard to get wait staff? Is it difficult to build a bigger kitchen when you had plenty of space to build out the tables? And, could a restaurant these days really think that it is a good idea to make people wait for no reason at all? Didn't that trend end like five years ago?

Anyway, it makes me upset to say it, because I have always liked Matchbox (their food, their drinks, their atmosphere), but I cannot imagine going back again. Only once during those four trips did we wait for a table, which happened to be this Saturday because I had to make a work phone call and the others didn't mind waiting in a space like canned sardines, so they missed out on huge bills three times simply because they are unable to seat people. I hope that things change there or at least someone can explain to me why they can't fill dozens of empty tables with people waiting to eat.

Welcome! I saw the new space when I was there Saturday afternoon, but it looked like it has never been used. I guess I was right.

Not shutting up should not be a problem here.

[Sthitch]

Welcome! I saw the new space when I was there Saturday afternoon, but it looked like it has never been used. I guess I was right.

I have been seated in the new section the last three times I have eaten there.

[jiveturk21]

We were seated in the new section on Saturday evening, but as we walked with the hostess to our table, there had to be 15 to 20 tables that were just empty and maybe 50 people waiting in the bar area to be seated (and we all know that 50 people in that bar is a debacle).

[DLB]

We were seated in the new section on Saturday evening, but as we walked with the hostess to our table, there had to be 15 to 20 tables that were just empty and maybe 50 people waiting in the bar area to be seated (and we all know that 50 people in that bar is a debacle).

I noticed this on Friday night as well. The new section is very nice, however it seems that you are at a disadvantage if you are a party of two; most of the tables seem to be for large parties. We got there at 6 and was told it would be only 30 min. for a table but it took an hour before we were seated. I only waited because my wife really wanted mini burgers and I already had some skin in the game after waiting the first 30! It also seems as if the the quality of the pizza is not what is used to be, and the mini-burgers were way over salted!

[mr food]

We ate there recently. Decent wine list and I appreciate the freshness of the pizza-dough and ingredients . Not a worldbeater but good for what it is-glass or two and maybe a pizza to eat there or take home. My preference is to sit at the bar.

[rbh]

interesting... everytime I go at either lunch or dinner, the demand seems to be the reason for the wait.. I've never encountered the empty table issue. What was a bit interesting one time for lunch last week is the hostess said it would be 10-15 minutes, but it was for the hostess and her assistant to be able to run parties to their tables, not that there weren't empty tables.

I also noticed the tables are numbered for 2-tops... but often if there's a group of 3 or more, they will move tables together to seat the party.... so I don't know if you're necessarily at a disadvantage.

[Laura24601]

Not that Matchbox is hurting for more fans, but I am happy to be added to the list. It is worth the wait, I think, for the coziness (well, it is a bit loud, but it is also warm and the service friendly), the fresh basil and buffalo mozzarella pizza, and the South African wine by the glass. (I think it was called vinum Africa on the menu, very light and I tasted lime.) Our server was very gracious on a busy Friday night.

Cursed Lent, no mini-burgers for me. Next time!

[DPop]

In my opinion, the quality of food offered in this place has plummeted in the last 6 months. I would say the same about the seating/service, which appears to be everyone else's beef, but that was never good to start with.

With the expansion of the dining room area, one might have expected that the issues with seating people and thus not making the bar area a cluttered mess would help things. For whatever reason, it has not helped at all. Matchbox is still poorly managed and remains a nightmare to be seated during lunch, happy hour, or dinner. Even after you are seated, you are lucky to get an attentive server and fresh food.

With all that said, it used to be worth it to go and wait the 20 minutes or so to be seated because the mini burgers, pizza, and beer selection were the best you could find in a casual atmosphere in the downtown area. Unfortunately, it appears those days are gone, what with Fado's offering better mini-burgers and beer selection a couple doors down and the pizza seeming to get greasier and overcooked every time I have been there. I noticed this starting during the summer, but I have given the place a chance several more times just to make sure that my favorite lunch/happy hour spot by work hadn't officially jumped the shark. It really looks like it has, which is a damn shame.

[DMcCabe]

---"In my opinion, the quality of food offered in this place has plummeted in the last 6 months"---

I must agree with the above statement...I went yesterday and thought it was just not memorable in any way. It used to be great, but it has just been in steady decline the last few times I went. I wrote a quick bit about it at dcbites.blogspot.com

dcbites

[wolverine]

---"In my opinion, the quality of food offered in this place has plummeted in the last 6 months"---

I must agree with the above statement...I went yesterday and thought it was just not memorable in any way. It used to be great, but it has just been in steady decline the last few times I went. I wrote a quick bit about it at dcbites.blogspot.com

dcbites

Really? Maybe they're becoming inconsistent, but that last couple of times I have been there the food has been great. I just tried the fire and smoke pizza and highly recommend it. As always, the spicy meatball was delicious.

[Seanchai]

Now that I no longer live in DC and live in the wilds of central VA, I accept the fact that I am always going to be hopelessly behind the times in knowing what's good and what's not. In fact, I just picked up this flashy Members' Only jacket with these loops on the shoulders that I thought made me look really chic and edgy, but I am given to understand that it is somewhat out of fashion. Oh well. And so after I read about the fall of Matchbox following its expansion, I actually had the poor taste to really enjoy my lunch there yesterday.

After a morning of touristing with my wife and lively 6 and 4 year old boys, a lunch of mini burgers with the onion straws and a large pizza with oven roasted tomatoes and buffalo mozzarella really hit the spot. Trust me, having a great draft beer selection and good service was much appreciated by the wife and me after dealing with the scrum of the Air and Space Museum. Luckily we were seated in one of the oversize booths on the 3rd floor so we didn't add that much to the din of the place. As I said, I'm just a rube now but I definitely added this to the list of places that I can enjoy both with/without kids. Parents out there know that can be a very short list indeed.

[lackadaisi]

I had the chopped salad the other night, and I loved it. I have been craving another ever since, but the wait is always so long (that time it was over an hour, although we had been told 20 minutes by one host and momentarily by another). Maybe I can convince my husband to bring me home one sometime. . .

[wdcbrucefan]

I have it on good authority that Matchbox will soon announce 5 new locations, including Bethesda and Northern VA.

Also, they're searching for a solution to the gas fire pit over the sidewalk downtown. The city forced them to shut it down after a few weeks over the winter.

[mdt]

I have it on good authority that Matchbox will soon announce 5 new locations, including Bethesda and Northern VA.

Also, they're searching for a solution to the gas fire pit over the sidewalk downtown. The city forced them to shut it down after a few weeks over the winter.

What is this gas fire pit?

[DonRocks]

I didn't know about Matchbox expanding further, but they have opened a second location in Palm Springs, CA. I was there earlier this week and the miniburgers were as good as ever. That said, the boring mountain of onion straws was cold, and the pizza - a Matchbox Meat with "Sautéed Cremini Mushrooms" - was the worst pizza I've had in probably a dozen visits (and I've been a big fan of the pizza here in the past). It was genuinely bad, salty as hell with pepperoni that tasted like it came up from the nitrate-ridden bowels of beef-jerky Hell, limp-crusted, with sheets of white, blandish demi-melted cheese on top. Half of it was left untouched - didn't even take it to go because it was neither worth the calories nor the potential for eighteen pounds of unwanted sodium-bloat. Anyone who compares this pizza with 2Amys (and that means you, my talented chef friend) has a neuron misfiring somewhere deep within their otherwise rational and well-functioning cortex.

Cheers,

Rocks.

[Al Dente]

I have it on good authority that Matchbox will soon announce 5 new locations, including Bethesda and Northern VA.

Can 30-minute delivery be far behind?

[mbalaver]

I don't know how new this news is, but I was at Matchbox last night and saw a sign above the bar saying they're now open on Sundays. I'm a big fan of Matchbox but rarely go because the waits are always so long (we got in last night with only a 5 minute wait -- the trick? arriving shortly after 10 pm). Sunday's always seemed like a good option crowd-wise, so I'm glad to hear it's now open then.

[wdcbrucefan]

What is this gas fire pit?

The fire pit is between the "new" outdoor patio & the H St. sidewalk. Its now been relocated to about 10 foot off the ground, directly above where it was, which should keep the DCFD from having to respond to Jersey Girl hair on fire.