Pet Worth: This Month's Highly Adoptable Animals
New Whole Foods to Open Up Exactly Where it is Needed Least
The Weekly Feed: Experimentation Edition
Jack Evans Hops Aboard a SmartBike at Bike Lane Unveiling
Morning Roundup: Change Edition
Dish of the Week: Cheesesteaks
Where: JJs Cheesesteaks
Cheesesteaks are delicious. Beef, cheese, bread... what could go wrong? And for some folks, all those fancy cheesesteaks with provolone, cheddar or American just won't cut it. Some of us were maybe, just maybe, fed a lot of Velveeta by their grandmas when we were younger. We want... need the Whiz, the scary electric orange goop that melts oh so nicely. And that's where JJ's Cheesesteaks enters the scene.
JJ's Cheesesteaks is located in the old 14U coffeeshop at the corner of 14th and U Streets. The cheesesteak joint officially opens on Saturday with a $1.99 special for their sandwiches from noon to midnight.
Managed by brothers Jamal Mufti and Ali Hawa, they offer a menu of classic sandwiches named after famous Philly landmarks, public figures, and pop culture references for $5.75. Or you can go off menu and create your own for $7.75. And like the other Philly-style sandwich place, Taylor, they get their bread from Philly, using the same Amoroso rolls as the famous Pat's and Geno's.
Aside from steak filling, they offer chicken, ham, tuna, and turkey. They didn't forget vegetarians; there's also a veggie burger option chopped up in the style of a cheesesteak, and they make sure to prepare your veggie burger on a separate part of the grill, away from any animal bits. If you don't want to fill up on a cheesesteak, you can order fries with cheese and/or turkey bacon. They have yet to set their hours, but are definitely gearing up to be open after last call.
Small Bites
Hola Estadia
Tom Sietsema reports on the Going out Gurus blog that Proof owner Mark Kuller plans to open Estadio, a Spanish-themed restaurant in Logan Circle. Headed by Proof chef Haifar Karoum, the 80 percent Spanish menu will feature tapas and larger raciones, as well as cold plates of Spanish meats and cheeses. Interestingly, Kuller sought the approval of local Spaniard Jose Andres while designing his restaurant's concept as a play off of Mario Batali's Casa Mono in New York. Expect the floors to run red as diners have the option to order wine in a porron (think glass watering can). I'm guessing local dry-cleaners will be cashing in soon after its opening.
Scotch in a box
Compared to some D.C. apartment prices, $500/year for a downtown booze locker doesn't seem so extravagant. That's the price restaurateur Mark Weiss has set for a personalized scotch locker in his new gastropub, Againn, set to open October 27 at 1099 New York Ave. NW. Weiss tells Zagat that on top of the high-end pub favorites, such as shepherd's pie and bangers, and the 75-beer list/1000-bottle wine cellar, the focus on single-malt Scotches will be a unique addition to D.C.'s happy hour scene.
Ray's your glass
In the ever-burgeoning spread of the Ray's empire, Michael Landrum has decided to add wine proprietor to his repertoire. But don't expect a brick-and-mortar shop with witty signage. Instead, Ray's Retail Wine will offer custom order and direct purchase services of wines by the case for pick up at Ray's. The services, including party planning and cellar building, are available through Ray's the Steaks sommelier Mark Slater, formerly of Citronelle. For those of you living from bottle to bottle, with barely enough closet space to function as a "cellar," Ray's is licensed to sell singles up until midnight. More information is available by emailing raysretailwine@verizon.net.
Small Bites written by Eddie Kim
add to stumble upon
add to reddit
tweet this
post to facebook
Ass wine proprietor? Yum.
Taylors does not use Amoroso rolls. However, Philadephia Water Ice factory a few doors down from them H does. Taylor uses Sarcones.
Oops maybe it wasn't clear. I meant that like Taylor who gets their bread from a bakery in Philly, they use Philly bread (Amoroso).
You misread, it merely says that both joints get their bread from Philly, it doesn't say that Taylor uses Amoroso rolls:
"And like the other Philly-style sandwich place, Taylor, they get their bread from Philly, using the same Amoroso rolls as the famous Pat's and Geno's."
I'm excited about this place. The NW can definitely use a good late-night cheese steak place.
I hope their bread carpools together.
Aaaughghlaaachchlaaaachh..
Hey! That's not an easy sound to onomontopeia. Hats off.
+1 there, homer simpson
Barf. The only thing I hate about Philadelphia are those cheesesteaks. Just looking at that picture makes my clothes stink of grease.
Funny - the only thing that I like about Philadelphia is a nice greasy whiz wit'
"Liberty Fries" on the JJ's menu? C'mon, I thought we were past that
I'm guessing that's a reference to the Liberty Bell, but tied into Freedom.
It's "Whiz Wit", not "Wit Whiz." I'm guessing you assume the wit just means "with whiz," but wit actually means "with onions." Not a mistake anyone who has been to Pat's or Geno's would ever make.
Thank you for pointing this out, I was about to do so as well :)
same here!
Me too, but I didn't know that. Good trivia. That sandwich looks revolting, to be honest, and I think I like Philly cheese steaks.
Fortunately, the Church of Cheesesteak is Unitarian Universalist and not Catholic. You won't get burned at the steak (Ha!) for preferring Whiz to Provo. And when you these unhappy tales relate, tell them of one who loved Philly Water Ice Factory Cheesesteaks not wisely, but too well.
I tried the veggie steak at JJ's yesterday, and it was delish. I'm from Philly so know what a cheesesteak should taste and look like, and was quite impressed with how the veggie version stood up to my memories. Bonus points to them for thoroughly cleaning the meated grill before cooking, and for giving me a free soda because the wait was longer than they thought it should have been.
I was rather unimpressed with the veggie sandwich. The "steak: was pretty obviously Boca meat .. it even had the fake grill marks. Also it was really weak on the Cheese Whiz.
Stinks, cause I was looking forward to this place having the veggie cheese steak option.
Well, compared to Soul Veg's cheesesteak, which does not even resemble a cheesesteak and is served in a pita with sprouts, JJ's wins by a mile. My fave veg cheesesteak is at Gianna's Grille in Philly, but JJs is considerably closer to my apartment.
The idea of ordering a sandwich with something on it called 'whiz' disgusts me.
Next week: Philadelphia Cream Cheese Steaks
I'd order it! I agree about the 'whiz' though--no ma'am.
How 'bout that other phine Philly treat, scrapple? Or are you averse to anything with crap in the name?
Not only would I happily devour the pictured sandwich - you could lay some crispy pan fried scrapple on top of it and I'd be in heaven.
Have I said too much? I'm going home now.
Any word on whether or not the guy working the cashier is going to stay true to Philly and refuse to serve those who order incorrectly?
Or refuse to serve people who look like they could be immigrants and place on sign on the door that reads, "This Is AMERICA: WHEN ORDERING Please 'SPEAK ENGLISH'"?
Can the Philly dialect actually be considered English?
When will Obama endorse it? That's all I care about.
In case you were wondering, I hate the word gastropub and think it should never be used by anyone.
Now, get off my lawn!
i'm intrigued by the veggie option. and for $2, there's no reason not to try it.
I personally am a traditionalist and do not fall for the tourist trap places (Genos and Pats) with their cheese whiz but for $2 and an Amoroso roll this can overlooked.
Yes Philadelphian is a dialect of the English Language.
And it's pronounced "fluf yən", thank you.
I'll give you a reason, and it rhymes with "smile-o-rrhea."
Gah, Cheese Whiz is NOT for a true Philly Cheesesteak -- bloody tourists always fall into the Geno's trap (though I'm not too keen on Pat's or Jim's, either). Any neighborhood shop in Philly can run circles around the tourist fare -- I'm personally a fan of my neighborhood haunt Dalessandro's. One kudos to this place in DC, though: at least they got the bread right. Amorosso rolls are an absolute key.
boo on this place. i waited in line for a half hour and the person taking orders didn't take one order the whole time i was there. they had 7 people working behind the counter and half of them weren't doing anything. i ended up leaving. good riddance.
i went in yesterday and was disappointed. i know it was ramp-up day, and they were slammed, so i might give them one more chance.
fact was, though, that the veggie cheesesteak was mighty disappointing. the didn't chop up the boca burger finely enough to make it approximate the beef in the real cheesesteaks. and they only gave me about a tablespoon of cheese wiz. unacceptable. there should have been quite a bit more. not nearly enough onions either.
the whole $2 promo wasn't handled well, either. you have to have a coupon to get that price when i went in. unfortunately, this review didn't make that clear.
Their "coupon" didn't really seem to indicate to me that it was required for the discount. It seemed more like a concert promotion-type piece. My bad.
It's so simple to make a decent vegetarian cheesesteak, a retarded monkey could do it. I've done them for friends using Morning Star crumbles, portobello mushrooms, and lots of peppers and onions. You can even throw in vegan cheese if that's how you roll. Beating the $h!t out of a Boca Burger and pooping a tablespoon of cheese is a f**king insult, to Philadelphia, DC, vegetarians, America, and Liberty. Here's to the Army and Navy and the battles they have won; here's to America's colors, the colors that never run. May the wings of liberty never lose a feather.
I didn't need a coupon. I just ordered and got a full size for $1.99.