If It Smells Like Urine, GET OUT!

Last week I was in our nation's capitol for work. I had previously lived there for two years before moving to Los Angeles several months ago. Mostly things have remained the same - the same poilitical junkies, the same Hill issues, the same food. DC has been slowly evolving into a culinary city, but it is taking its sweet time - I guess that's just how things move south of the Mason-Dixon line. I hit a couple of my favorites on the Hill.

I met up with friends at the new Matchbox location for pizza and sliders (because that's what you get at Matchbox - anything else is a waste of time). The new venue had the same decor as it's older brother in Chinatown, but they have solved the noise-level issues, added sidewalk seating and large french doors. The open feeling is a welcome offset to the industrial brick and metal piping, but I can't imagine will be open much after the first heat and humidity wave hits the city. Our server seemed overwhelmed by our large party, and was very concerned that she was forgetting something. She thought our table was too easy for such a large group - give us food and beer and we become pretty easy going. She was sweet, but not a professional server.

I grabbed lunch at Good Stuff Eatery. The opening of this restaurant created quite a stir with Hill staffers when it opened about nine months ago - it could have been a prayer answered for a new lunch spot or could have been it's famous chef/restaurantuer, Spike from Top Chef, Season 4. After the crush of curious onlookers, the lunch business remained steady. There was a continuous stream of patrons, but the only difference was the much more efficient behind the counter staff. The grill and cashier system moved quickly, which prevented the lines once seen down the block.

One other thing that hasn't changed was the terrible taxi system in DC. My colleague and I had our concierge call a cab service for us, so we could pay with credit card (I would say about 10 cabs in the city have the ability to pay by credit card). Well, it was about 20 minutes late, smelled like the SW fish market (later I learned it was a musty urine smell) and the credit card machine didn't accept three different cards. Earl gave us a little attitude when we suggested it was his credit card machine, not our corporate cards. Well, I directed him to an ATM in L'Efant Plaza, because he didn't know where it was - thank goodness I lived in the city for two years - got cash and sat in traffic that we desperately tried to avoid. We finally made it to Dulles with 15 minutes to spare before our flight. To top it all off - my colleague then informed me that while I was getting cash that Earl urinated in a bottle, poured it out the window, sealed it and put it in the passenger's seat. My lesson - wait for another cab if it smells like urine!

Matchbox - Capitol Hill
521 8th St., SE
Washington, DC 20003
202.548.0369
http://www.matchboxdc.com/capitolhill.shtml

Good Stuff Eatery
303 Pennsylvania Ave., SE
Washington, DC 20003
202.543.8222
http://goodstuffeatery.com