matchbox

matchbox
713 h street NW, washington, dc 20001
tel: 202) 589-4441
hours: monday – friday 11am – close, weekends 12pm – close (the kitchen closes at 11pm)

what was consumed: mini burgers; salad (tuna, calamari, apple pear, spinach); pizza (spicy meatball, matchbox, flat-iron steak, q-special); pepperoni & meatball roll; salmon; steak; pasta; beer

when people come to visit, and i’m looking for a nice little place for a nice little meal, one of the first places that comes to mind is matchbox.

the first time i came was after i had already eaten dinner. granted, that hardly ever stops me from eating again, but i probably didn’t eat as much as i would have liked/could have. my friends had been waiting there for a while (probably close to an hour – very rarely have i not waited. if there was no wait, it was because i arrived at an off hour, such as right when they open, just before they close, etc.), but they said it was worth the wait. i totally agree. there’s a whole history behind how matchbox got its name, how it started, how it expanded, etc. i read up on it while waiting for the bathroom. (how fantastic is it that there not only is reading material to keep you preoccupied while you wait, but also, it makes you forget that you’re waiting to use the one restroom for patrons in the entire place! ok, so maybe that’s not too fantastic …) anyway, i had a few beers and tasted their mini burgers for the first time. yes, mini burgers are available at a number of different eateries; however, the mini burgers at matchbox are so delicious! the thick patties, the variety of cheese options, the buttered buns … YUM. they also come with these string-y friend onions that have been sprinkled with salt and cheese and stuff (i don’t know what the other stuff is, but …) so delicious! this was then followed by the grilled tuna salad – seared tuna in a bed of greens with a nice vinaigrette.

matchbox has a great selection of beers on tap. a couple of belgian drafts, widmer hefeweisen (which is often my choice … after a few belgian beers anyway), and so on. some of the beers are seasonal while others are there year round. they also have this really cool beer glass cooler that they put your glass on before serving your beers. another cool thing that they have is a dumb waiter between the bar on the first floor and the seating area on the 2nd and 3rd floors. keeps the beers cold! just the way i like it~ they have a couple of happy our specials as well, but it’s usually so crowded in there that i opt to be seated. (but that’s just my preference.)

since my first time at matchbox, i’ve returned to the eatery a number of times. each time, i try to get something different, though the same dishes often seem to find themselves before me. the people i tend to go with are also big advocates of “sharing is caring,” so i’ve been able to sample quite a wide variety of their menu options as a result. so, whether it’s for a date or just some friends out to grab a bite, matchbox is definitely one place to put on the “must eat” list.

online: http://www.matchboxdc.com/