Dish of the Week: Sliders
Where: Matchbox, Co Co. Sala, The Source, White Castle
Once within the strict, steamed domain of fast food chain White Castle, sliders morphed into a staple of appetizer menus everywhere within the last decade. The bite-sized burgers, served on downsized buns, make for a convenient way to fit a burger within a more refined meal and for chefs to showcase their take on the iconic burger in refined smaller packages. They’re also great bar food.
Matchbox has long held the title of slider king in the District. Busboys sport “3.6.9” t-shirts, a reference to the multiples in which the kitchen will accept orders of the little parcels. The restaurant adds a new feather in its cap this weekend as it opens up the doors to a new location on 14th and T Streets NW, joining the Chinatown flagship and Capitol Hill and Rockville outposts. Salty, beefy, juicy patties topped with a pickle slice sit between an almost—almost—too buttery brioche and under piles of addictive flash-fried onion straws.
Other purveyors offer their own takes on the slider. Co Co. Sala makes use of mole sauce. The Source spreads smoked onion marmalade on theirs. I love going bun-less at home, wrapping a seared disc of lean ground meat in a piece of lettuce with some feta cheese for a somewhat healthy snack.
Small Bites
Doughnut Delivery
Astro Doughnuts & Fried Chicken is gearing up for a January opening in Metro Center. But as they finish the build out of their 13th & G Street location, they’ll be biking out into the cold with doughnut deliveries. There is a twelve doughnut minimum, and the delivery area is limited to the area bounded by Ninth and 15th Streets and E and H Streets NW. The doughnut selection, all in the $2-$3 range, includes five daily flavors like maple bacon, peanut butter & jelly and crème brulee, along with five additional flavors available on different days of the week. Fret no longer about the demise of Hostess—Friday’s Twink-nut has golden vanilla cake and butter cream filling. Orders must be by phone (202-599-8440) or e-mail (info (at) astrodoughnuts (dot) com) by noon the day before they are needed.
Good Evening, Vietnam
Out with the raw bar, in with the banh mi. Eric and Ian Hilton have converted Blackbyrd Warehouse, just next to Marvin at 14th and U Streets NW, into Hanoi House. They opened the doors this week to Vietnamese with a sexy, stylish, late-night vibe. Marvin Chef James Claudio has brought in his Vietnamese grandmother to help get things started in the kitchen, turning out bowls of pho and plates of bun and banh mi for prices in the $9-$12 range, which is quite affordable for the neighborhood. Tea-based cocktails from a list created by Gibson’s Brendan Murphy will bump up the bill.
For Footie Fans
Drafting Table built their restaurant concept around the clean, simple lines of an architect’s desk. Apparently they love the right angles and rectangular boxes of the soccer pitch too. Their big screens behind the bar end up being a pretty good place to catch a game, or fixture as they call it across the pond. The 14th street eatery will debut a Futbol Weekend Brunch this weekend and will reportedly be giving out free “Sexy Egg Sandwiches” from 9-11am on Saturday to go along with $5 bloody marys and a Premier League doubleheader.
Isabella Book Signing
Looking for some ink with your pepperoni sauce recipe? Chef Mike Isabella will sit down for an hour at Hill’s Kitchen on Saturday afternoon to sign copies of his cookbook, Mike Isabella’s Crazy Good Italian. The event runs from 1-2 p.m. at the Eastern Market kitchen wares store. You can pickup a D.C. cutting board while you’re at it.
