Fight Club head chef and co-owner Andrew Markert has a core food philosophy that’s perhaps unsurprising, given his new restaurant. “If you’re going to create a dish, it should always be able to become a sandwich. If you can put it in bread and make it a sandwich, I think it’s a good dish at the end of the day,” he says.
Hence why sandwiches of all shapes and sizes, as well as a selection of draft boozy punches, are the centerpiece of Markert’s new Capitol Hill spot. Formerly a pop-up operating out of neighboring Beuchert’s Saloon, Fight Club gained popularity throughout the city as a spot to get a sandwich piled high with housemade ingredients and sauces and attracted a loyal following of regulars.
“In the pandemic there was so much seriousness for everybody, I think people want to have a lot more fun in what they’re doing and where they’re going,” said Markert.
Now in its permanent home just a few doors down from Beuchert’s, Fight Club continues its mission of serving great food that encourages good times and in a place where the team doesn’t take itself too seriously. The 62-seat restaurant, located in the former Hank’s Oyster Bar location on Pennsylvania Avenue SE, is dotted with angry gnomes and has a whimsical, garden-like atmosphere welcoming in guests in to the dining room, bar, or patio seating for draft cocktails and indulgent sandwiches.
“Fight Club is supposed to be kind of like a fuck you kind of restaurant. We are who we are, take us or leave us,” Markert adds. “Obviously with hospitality in mind.”
The sandwiches nod to Markert’s childhood memories and feature innovative takes on classics. The salami-and-slaw is one that sticks out as a memory from Markert’s father, who used to fry up salami for sandwiches for Markert as a kid. Fight Club’s version chefs it up a bit with fried genoa salami, napa cabbage slaw, hot mustard, and potato sticks all served on garlic bread.
And while the team carries the attitude of keeping it light, a serious attention to flavor is clear throughout the menu. Markert, a former chef at Beuchert’s with years of fine dining experience under his belt, has engineered additions like brown butter mayo and pistachio butter that elevate Fight Club’s sandwich game.
“Sandwiches are something I’ve always gravitated to, it’s a part of my childhood, a part of my travel — I always try to get a good sandwich wherever I go,” Markert says.
Other spins include a play on a fried chicken sandwich, the FC Chicken Doink, which is a favorite from the pop-up menu that has a crispy buttermilk brined chicken thigh, Crystal hot sauce mayo, bread-and-butter pickles, shrettuce, and tomato all served on maple pancakes. There’s also two vegetarian options: a cashew and tofu falafel wrap and another filled with tempura cauliflower, Tso sauce, a carrot and broccoli slaw, chili relish, and puffed rice.
The drink menu at Fight Club packs just as strong of a punch as the sandwich menu. Cory Holzerland, the bar manager and GM, worked with Fight Club co-owner and beverage director Mackenzie Conway to tailor a few different cocktails that could work with a draft system.
Both Hozerland and Markert agree that the Sad Boyz Tea — a punch made with Wheatly vodka, earl gray tea, passionfruit tea, lemon, and mint syrup — pairs best with every sandwich on the menu.
“You can’t really go wrong with spiked tea and a sandwich,” Markert said.
Cocktail drinkers will find riffs on classics with hilarious names throughout the beverage offerings. The names, such as “A ‘Strong Female Lead’ in an HBO Miniseries” — a mix of vodka, cointreau, lavender syrup and raspberry reminiscent of a fruitier sidecar — and “I Came Here to Chew A** and Kick Bubble Gum,” a riff on a negroni, are two staff and guest favorites.
“Every time I deliver it to a guest I’m like here’s your Sarah Jessica Parker, here’s your Kate Winslet. People really enjoy that,” Hozerland jokes. “I have some coming down the pipeline that could be pushing the limit.”
Fight Club is already evolving since it opened in May. It just launched the cocktail program and started being open daily in late July, and it’s now offering three daily happy hours: from noon to 2 p.m., 4 p.m. to 6 p.m., and during the final hour of service. They also are looking to add karaoke, trivia, and DJ sets.
“Whatever fun things we can add to the environment to bring out some more young vibes to Capitol Hill,” Markert said. “We want to add to this neighborhood that we love so much.”
The team at Fight Club also debuted their brunch offerings in late July. Every Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., they’re serving up meals to to cure any hangover, including “A Small Donkey,” a breakfast burrito stuffed with taco meat, fritos, pico de gallo, scrambled eggs, cheddar, and hot sauce, and the “Devilish Chivito” with toasted steak, ham, bacon cheddar, tiger sauce, deviled egg, shrettuce, and tomato.
Fight Club is located at 633 Pennsylvania Ave SE. It’s open Sunday-Thursday from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. and Friday-Saturday from 11 a.m. to 1 a.m.
