zpizza

On days when I work late, I want dinner to magically appear on the table. Since I don't have a full-time magic dinner genie (B not included), the next best thing is picking up takeout on my walk home from work. Dangerously, there is a Five Guys located on the path home, and some days it takes a lot of willpower to pass up burgers and cajun fries. Recently, Five Guys got a new neighbor when zpizza moved into the old Blimpie's spot at 8th and H NW.

zpizza is a chain founded in Laguna Beach, CA (not far from where I was raised) and claims to be "inspired by California and a healthy way of life." Sounded perfect to me. They use 100% organic wheat flour in the dough and top the pizzas with skim cheese. In the true California spirit, vegan options are also available.

After a particularly long day at work, I called zpizza to order takeout. About 20 minutes later I arrived at the store. The atmosphere was a bit chaotic as the brand new staff was still finding its way around. However, I was served with a smile and updated regularly on the status of my order.

To get a sense of the menu's range, we ordered a rustica pizza. In contrast to the traditional round pizza, the rusticas are served on a free-form crust that is a bit thicker than the standard zpizza pie. More like a flatbread than a pizza. This one was topped with mozzarella, gorgonzola, pear, and fresh thyme. The liberal use of gorgonzola overpowered the delicate pears but all-in-all, this was a tasty pizza.

To test out the standard pizza offerings, we ordered a large half-cheese, half-mushroom and pineapple pizza. I don't think this pizza will win any awards, but the convenience factor makes it likely that we'll order again. The crust is a little too thin for me to fall in love, but it was a definite step up from standard pizza chain delivery fare.

If you're in the neighborhood for lunch and don't want to face the wait for a table at Matchbox, zpizza (located across the street) offers pizza by the slice and sandwiches. If convenience and not fine dining is what you're after, zpizza fits the bill.

Second Thoughts from B

OK, I admit it, for a second there I forgot what we got from zpizza. A lot of that has to do with the fact that this post has been waiting to be posted for quite some time. However, once J mentioned the rusticas, my eyes opened wide and I let out the obligatory "oh yeah!" with a wide smile. It isn't as if the pear/gorgonzola combo is revolutionary but having it as a to-go option on J's walk home should raise our property value a touch.

For those of you not lucky enough to be our neighbors, keep zpizza in mind the next time you're in the Chinatown area and in need of a quick bite. After all, fast food - like real estate - is all about location, location, location and in the case of zpizza, they couldn't have done much better in our book.

Punkin Chunkin

Sometimes there are just no words to adequately describe the stranger things in life. Perhaps that is why an event built around chucking pumpkins is called the Punkin Chunkin. There are just no words...

For 25 years, people from across the country have built remarkably sophisticated devices to heave autumnal gourds a mile through the air. Why? Because they can.

And it has become quite an event... So much so that a couple of weeks ago J and I drove to a remote cornfield in Delaware to take it all in. You, on the other hand, can enjoy the festivities while you're digesting your turkey from the comfort of your couch at 8pm, Thanksgiving night, on the Science Channel.

There were cannons and catapults and trebuchets and giant crossbows and who-knows-whats. It was like Sylvester McMonkey McBean had rolled into town and sold a whole town of Sneetches his latest inventions. But instead of green star-coveting characters from Dr. Seuss' imagination, you had a lot of guys that looked like this:

Who were being watched by a lot more people who were dressed like this:

As we approached through the mud and the masses of punkin-lovin folk, we'd hear play by play and the occasional blast, the first of which almost brought J to her knees. This would be followed by a frantic search of the skies for a thick-walled, white punkin that rapidly disappeared out of sight. Inevitably a distance of around 3000 feet (10 football fields) would be announced and the next contraption was on the clock.

Each one was built for distance; both punkin chunkin distance and transportation. Many of these devices had come thousands of miles to participate. That would explain the next time you're driving down the highway next to a school bus with a cannon growing out of the back...

Does anyone remember Northern Exposure? I remember sharing a couple of laughs with my dad but I don't remember anything about the show itself. With one exception. For some reason the gang from Alaska wanted to launch a cow (I think the cow was saved and substituted with a piano). I have no idea why I remember a piano being heaved through the air by some crazy contraption but I do remember laughing hysterically.

I think that's how I'll remember the Punkin Chunkin. 15 years from now I won't remember anything other than a good time we had as we giggled at the sight of chunkin punkins... and I still won't have any words to describe it.

J Says

Like B, I have no words to describe Punkin Chunkin. However, I'm never at a loss for words when it comes to food. Behold the majesty of the pumpkin funnel cake!

Since we were standing in a freezing corn field for hours, we decided to take breaks to stroll through the food stalls and sample different items. While the funnel cake was my favorite, B loved his crabcake sandwich.

The buttery ear of roasted corn with spicy salt warmed our cold bones.

And the pulled pork sandwich from the BBQ truck didn't disappoint.

I love quirky events and people watching so Punkin Chunkin was my idea of a great time. Only 346 days until the next chunk! Plenty of time for me to practice my Miss Punkin Chunkin wave and the Punkin Chunkin Anthem!

Crumbs Bake Shop

Just what DC needed... another cupcake shop! Crumbs Bake Shop is a New York import that opened its first DC location last Saturday on 11th and F, NW. Since we live in the neighborhood (and J can't turn down cupcakes), we decided to stroll down for a cupcake breakfast on their second day of operation.

What impressed me most was the sheer variety of cupcake offerings. They feature over 50 flavors of cupcakes ranging from the standard vanilla cake with vanilla frosting to the quirky cosmo or peanut butter and jelly.

Another unique thing about Crumbs is the ability to order the cupcakes in different sizes. The adorable one-inch Taste size can be ordered in packs of 12 and would make a perfect party treat. The Classic is your standard supermarket cupcake size while the Signature is better for sharing. If you've always dreamed of eating a cupcake the size of your head, Crumbs offers the Colossal which feeds 6 to 8 people. At that point, I think we've moved solidly into cake territory, but it still has the cute look of a cupcake.

We ordered three Signature size cupcakes to share. My choice was the Cookie Dough. B chose the Raspberry Swirl. For the third, the cashier said that the Good Guy was like "Funfetti gone crazy." There are few things on this planet that I love more than Funfetti, so the choice was easy.

To make for a perfect morning that matched one love with another, we walked home to eat cupcakes and watch Beverly Hills, 90210 reruns on Soapnet. I have to say that while the cupcakes were pretty good, the most memorable part of the experience was watching the West Bev clan tackle race relations (in awesomely terrible outfits) when Vivica A. Fox and family (also in terrible outfits) moved from Inglewood to the Walsh hood. I don't know whether this shows that the cupcakes weren't mind blowing or that this episode was truly a masterpiece. Probably a bit of both.

The cupcakes were fun to try but they haven't torn me away from my sworn devotion to Baked and Wired. The fun cookie dough and Funfetti flavors on top weren't carried through to the cake. For example, the cookie dough cupcake had a nice shot of chocolate ganache in the middle but no cookie flavor to be found once you worked your way past the frosting. I don't know if cookie dough chunks would be possible in a cupcake, but that's what I was hoping for. Overall, it was a bit too much party on top and a bit too little substance underneath. Sort of like Steve Sanders and his curly-topped mullet... Anyway, the wacky flavors and unique sizes will probably draw me back when I'm looking for a last minute item to bring to a party.

If you want to check it out for yourself, Crumbs will be giving away 1,000 free cupcakes on Friday, November 19th!

Second Thoughts from B

I'm no cupcake expert (even though I play one on the interwebs - see our Great Cupcake Taste Test of 2009), but I will say that Crumbs stands out above the masses. Look, every single bake shop, coffee house, ice cream parlor, pet food supplier, fast food joint, car wash, hardware store, dive bar, sushi house, and hair stylist is selling cupcakes these days. OK, I may have made a few of those up, but the point is that there are a lot of options out there.

So how can you possibly differentiate yourself (other than a reality show that is as over-hyped as your product)? I'd like to say that I can detect the subtle difference between a good cupcake and a great one, but the fact of the matter is that they usually fall into one of two categories: eyes-rolling-to-the-back-of-my-head great or "not worth the calories" (read: still good but I'd rather have something else).

J mentioned the variety at Crumbs. Unlike other cupcake makers, any flavor or size combination can be met. Smart move. I'd much rather get a cupcake in my favorite flavor from my second favorite bakery than a flavor I don't like as much from the best bakery in town.

And then we get to value. Putting aside any comparisons to the $1.99 versions at Giant (or those cupcake making hardware stores), these were noticeably larger but not noticeably more expensive than the competition.

So what's the bottom line? We still love Baked and Wired in Georgetown and Hello Cupcake in Dupont, but when there are 47 untasted varieties of pure caloric joy just a couple blocks from our house and next to our favorite Metro station (Metro Center), I think we might have a new favorite destination.

DC-3

Will hot dogs join cupcakes, frozen yogurt, hamburgers, and pork belly in the long line of recent culinary trends? The team behind Matchbox and Ted's Bulletin hopes so. Their brand new venture, DC-3, seeks to raise the level of the hot dog above the dirty water variety that you'll find at the carts on most street corners.

DC-3, located on 8th Street SE/Barracks Row, is named after the Douglas DC-3 airplane of the 1930s and 40s. The interior carries the vintage airplane feel through to every detail. From rivets on the tables to menus shaped like plane tickets, they didn't miss a thing.

DC-3 features over a dozen specialty hot dogs reflecting different regions of the U.S. The photo menu on the wall helped us narrow down our selections. It is a fairly tiny order-at-the-counter operation and the lunch time atmosphere was a bit crazed, but the staff did an admirable job of churning out orders accurately (especially for a brand newly opened restaurant).

We agreed to choose 3 specialty dogs to share and it wasn't easy narrowing things down. In a last minute selection, B chose the Seattle Pike Place Ultimate Fish-Dog. I don't know about you, but the name "fish-dog" does not make me hungry. However, I'm glad I ignored the name and just dove in. This was a hefty piece of deep fried cod (not a hot dog) on a (local!) Heidelberg Bakery deli bun, topped with coleslaw and malt vinegar. More reminiscent of fish and chips than a hot dog, this was a unique but very tasty treat. We also got a side of "frips" which are a half-fry, half-chip DC-3 creation. I'm glad we tried this waffle-fry like invention but I'll probably stick to regular fries on my next visit. I looked longingly at the fried pickles but my wonderful husband doesn't like getting within 10 feet of pickles.

B also ordered the Bay Bridge Pretzel Dog (left) that pays homage to our local beach region. It sports an all-beef hot dog topped with homemade crab dip and Old Bay served on a Heidelberg pretzel roll. Another unique combination that worked surprisingly well. When we first saw the dark color of the pretzel rolls we were worried they'd be too hard but they were pleasantly soft and chewy.

I chose the Ahtie's Philly Cheesesteak-Style Whiz Wit (Certified Angus Beef Dog, Heidelberg pretzel roll, Cheese Whiz, sauteed onions). Just like a Philly Cheesesteak without the 'tude from the guys at Geno's or Pat's.

If none of the regional specialties sound appealing, you can also customize your dog. Make sure you use the clever DC-3 lingo to order. For example, if you want ketchup on your dog, ask them to "Ruin It." My mom hails from NY and would definitely agree with the DC-3 team that putting ketchup on a hot dog is sacrilege.

You can also ask them to "Fire It Up" (add sriracha sauce), "Make It A Splitski" (butterfly it and flat- or char-grill it), "Make It A Ripper (deep fry it - at your own risk), or make it "Achin' For Some Bacon!" (bacon-wrapped).

Playing off the wildly popular 3.6.9 mini burgers at Matchbox, DC-3 offers 2.4.6 mini hot dogs. Corn dogs, veggie dogs, veggie chili, foot long hot dogs, and an italian beef sandwich round out the menu. For dessert, they'll spin you a fresh cotton candy or dish up soft serve ice cream with a variety of toppings.

Second Thoughts from B

Some may rejoice and some may rush to stock up their bomb shelter for the apocalypse, but regardless of your point of view, gourmet hot dogs are invading our city. Whether it's DC-3 or the Madhatter or half-smokes at Nats games, ordering a plain hot dog is becoming a rarity. Hot dogs are now full blown meals that barely resemble the staple of BBQs and baseball games from just a few years ago.

That's not to say there's not room for improvement. The only time we ever eat a plain hot dog is for nostalgia (Dodger dog) or necessity. Tailgates long ago ditched the wiener on white bread for Polish sausages and garlic toasted French rolls. It is that evolution that DC-3 seems to be harnessing by combining the familiar with the interesting.

Each of the three dogs were the happy marriage of a familiar dish within a hot dog concept. The place was fun and the menu was versatile. In other words, a great place to go with friends and another casual hot spot in DC.