Liza and I have noticed that President Obama has been an occasional diner in the Washington, D.C., area since his arrival in our Nation's Capital last year. According to The Washington Post, our illustrious President has dined at Five Guys in Alexandria, Ray's Hellburger in Arlington and the posh Citronelle in Georgetown.
What? No pizza?
What's up, Barack?
It has also been noted that President Obama has visited Ben's Chili Bowl on U Street. Ben's is a D.C. landmark, of course, and the place seems to have a lot of character. Reminds me of a neighborhood diner where all the locals gather. There is always a lot of hustle and bustle outside Ben's Chili Bowl--a lot of people just hanging out, perhaps because it's open until 4 a.m. on weekend nights.
Ben's does not serve pizza, though.
Across the street from Ben's is Ulah Bistro, a hip bar and lounge. It is a two-story restaurant, plus it has an outdoors seating area which blocks the front door of a bank. (Not sure how the bank feels about that.)
Liza and I were guided to the upstairs and we sat at a window table, overlooking U Street and Ben's. There were some comfy-looking couches across from our table, adding to the trendiness of Ulah. Perhaps I could take a nap after my meal...
Of course, Ulah's menu is eclectic, featuring a variety of salads, seafoods, burgers and steaks. And pizza. Ulah has a wood-fired oven and the restaurant offers all of the traditional pizzas, plus a Ulah special that adds crab meat.
I wasn't that hungry on this evening, so I let Liza do the ordering. She selected a watermelon salad and a margherita pizza. (Liza always orders a margherita.) The watermelon salad was interesting--the combination of watermelon, cherry tomatoes and feta cheese had an odd flavor.
The pizza was a good size for two and it was literally dripping with cheese. The ingredients were fresh mozzarella, tomatoes, Parmesan cheese and fresh basil.
At some point, the Ulah chefs must have poured a load of salt on the pizza, because there was a definite taste of saltiness to it. I could live with it, but this upset Liza's sensitive tummy.
I thought the crust was outstanding--among the best that I've had so far in D.C. It was soft and chewy, just how I like it. I had promised myself just one slice, but I had a second slice just to confirm the quality of the crust.
I ate tooooooo much, though. The couch beckoned.
Overall, I thought the pizza was decent quality, although I agree it was very salty. Unfortunately, Liza couldn't get past the saltiness.
Gary's Rating: 3 stars
Liza's Rating: 2 stars
Showing posts with label U Street. Show all posts
Showing posts with label U Street. Show all posts
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Coppi's Organic Restaurant -- U Street
We finally made our way back to Coppi's, located in the U Street area in Washington, D.C.
Now as soon as you walk into Coppi's, you are assaulted with photos of bicycles and bike races, as well as racing jerseys, all over the wall. Forgive our ignorance, Italians! Both Liza and I were perplexed on this. What's up?
Now I knew that the Italians were big on cycling, thanks to one of my all-time favorite movies--a true classic!--"Breaking Away" directed by Peter Yates in 1979. The main character, played by Dennis Christopher, idolized the Italian race team.
He signed up for a cycle race at Indiana University, and he recruited his three friends, played by a very young Dennis Quaid, a very young Daniel Stern and, of course, Jackie Earle Haley who was best known as Kelly Leak from the 1970s "Bad News Bears" movies.
They were called the Cutters, because they cut school apparently, and they showed those rich, arrogant college jerks a thing or two about guts, grit and heart. *Pounds Chest* This is a 4 star movie, folks.
Back to Coppi's--the restaurant. As soon as we got home, I googled Coppi and discovered Fausto Coppi was a legendary Italian cyclist from the 1940s and 50s. He twice won the Tour de France. He won the Giro d'Italia five times.
So Coppi's is essentially a shrine to good 'ol Fausto. Bonus points to Coppi's for uniqueness. The restaurant has a very Italian feel, an authentic feel. It's a little dark, but that adds to a warm atmosphere. We like.
We sat down and ordered an obligatory glass of wine. We each ordered a salad and decided to split the Melanzane, which includes roasted eggplant, cremini mushroom, and red pepper, with smoked mozzarella and baby artichoke.
Now sometimes when you eat eggplant, it can taste somewhat bland. For example, when I eat eggplant parmigiana, I usually pour on the gravy (that's what the Italians call red sauce) because eggplant doesn't always have a distinct flavor.
The lack of flavor was noticeable in Coppi's Melanzane. There wasn't any sauce, so regrettably this pizza wasn't very tasty. Couldn't taste the 'shrooms or the red peppers. The smoked mozzarella was the only discernable flavor.
Crust was fine, but the pizza was a little droopy as well.
Maybe the chef was having an off-night. Both Liza and I have been to Coppi's before, in the pre-Blog era, and found their pizza to be high quality.
Coppi's gets bonus points for going organic with its food. They offer only the freshest "in season" ingredients in their food, which is good. Their food is inspired from the Ligurian Riviera in Northern Italy. I shrug. "Never heard of it," Liza says. Forgive our ignorance, Italians!
We'd go back to Coppi 's for the atmosphere and authenticity, but in terms of taste, Coppi's Melanzane pizza was lacking on this day.
Gary's Rating: 2.5 stars
Liza's Rating: 2 stars
Arrivederci!
Now as soon as you walk into Coppi's, you are assaulted with photos of bicycles and bike races, as well as racing jerseys, all over the wall. Forgive our ignorance, Italians! Both Liza and I were perplexed on this. What's up?
Now I knew that the Italians were big on cycling, thanks to one of my all-time favorite movies--a true classic!--"Breaking Away" directed by Peter Yates in 1979. The main character, played by Dennis Christopher, idolized the Italian race team.
He signed up for a cycle race at Indiana University, and he recruited his three friends, played by a very young Dennis Quaid, a very young Daniel Stern and, of course, Jackie Earle Haley who was best known as Kelly Leak from the 1970s "Bad News Bears" movies.
They were called the Cutters, because they cut school apparently, and they showed those rich, arrogant college jerks a thing or two about guts, grit and heart. *Pounds Chest* This is a 4 star movie, folks.
Back to Coppi's--the restaurant. As soon as we got home, I googled Coppi and discovered Fausto Coppi was a legendary Italian cyclist from the 1940s and 50s. He twice won the Tour de France. He won the Giro d'Italia five times.
So Coppi's is essentially a shrine to good 'ol Fausto. Bonus points to Coppi's for uniqueness. The restaurant has a very Italian feel, an authentic feel. It's a little dark, but that adds to a warm atmosphere. We like.
We sat down and ordered an obligatory glass of wine. We each ordered a salad and decided to split the Melanzane, which includes roasted eggplant, cremini mushroom, and red pepper, with smoked mozzarella and baby artichoke.
Now sometimes when you eat eggplant, it can taste somewhat bland. For example, when I eat eggplant parmigiana, I usually pour on the gravy (that's what the Italians call red sauce) because eggplant doesn't always have a distinct flavor.
The lack of flavor was noticeable in Coppi's Melanzane. There wasn't any sauce, so regrettably this pizza wasn't very tasty. Couldn't taste the 'shrooms or the red peppers. The smoked mozzarella was the only discernable flavor.
Crust was fine, but the pizza was a little droopy as well.
Maybe the chef was having an off-night. Both Liza and I have been to Coppi's before, in the pre-Blog era, and found their pizza to be high quality.
Coppi's gets bonus points for going organic with its food. They offer only the freshest "in season" ingredients in their food, which is good. Their food is inspired from the Ligurian Riviera in Northern Italy. I shrug. "Never heard of it," Liza says. Forgive our ignorance, Italians!
We'd go back to Coppi 's for the atmosphere and authenticity, but in terms of taste, Coppi's Melanzane pizza was lacking on this day.
Gary's Rating: 2.5 stars
Liza's Rating: 2 stars
Arrivederci!
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Busboys and Poets-- U Street
We wanted to go to Coppi on U Street for some afternoon 'za on a chilly Sunday, but it turns out that it doesn't open until 5 p.m. on Sundays. Who can wait? Not us.
Just down the street is Busboys and Poets, a place Liza and I have been to before for peanut butter and banana sandwiches. Yes, you read that right. Liza is a devotee of PBBs, and while the combination seems a bit odd, I can testify that it's a pretty okay sanny.
So we walk in to Busboys and Poets.
In an instant, we are smothered in urban hipness. Those who know me understand that I am not the hippest of people, but I try hard. Let me tell you, my hipness quotient improved dramatically just being in Busboys and Poets.
This place is way cool--a combination bookstore and cafe and bar and restaurant. If I were 20 years younger, I'd be hanging out here every day drinking four cups of coffee and shots of Bailey's Irish Cream. There are comfy sofas scattered throughout the main area, a spacious back room with more tables, free Internet, a steady rhythmic musical beat and racy art on walls. Oddly enough, the movie comedy "Captain Ron" (not a classic) was playing on the one flat-screen TV above the bar...Now one might think this movie starring Kurt Russell and Martin Short is not very hip, but in retrospect, it's perfectly eclectic.
Busboys and Poets is more than its offerings, though.
It's the people. These are urban hipsters, a mix of all races and identities. These are young pros focused intently on their laptops, typing up reports that will almost certainly change the world (or at least provide us with better cell phone service). Pretty much the only type of people you wouldn't find in Busboys and Poets are Republicans.
It's about 2:30 p.m. on a Sunday, and Busboys & Poets is packed. There's a 30-minute wait for a table! As mentioned previously, this place is spacious, so to see it packed at the time of day was surprising--and a tribute to the hipsters of the world.
Liza, who is hip already, guided me through a maze of people to the bar. We sat down and perused the eclectic menu. Listed last: Pizza.
We were all over it.
Liza and I spent time on Saturday on a Virginia wine-tasting tour, so neither of us were in the mood for alcohol. I ordered a Sprite and Liza ordered a Diet Coke. Not very hip, I know.
Our friendly bartender took our order: Poet Pizza. As a literary devotee, I like the sound of that. It had portobello mushrooms, roasted red peppers and sundried tomatoes and garlic sauce.
One bite, and thoughts of the world's great poets raced through my mind: Yeats! Frost! Baudelaire!
Seriously, this was surprisingly good pizza. Lots of mushrooms and peppers piled on top, with the tomato and garlic sauce giving it a good tangy taste. I wasn't really that hungry when I walked into the restaurant, but I couldn't stop eating this pizza. Good stuff.
The pizza was a little greasy--one time a slice fell apart after one bite, and there were grease blotches all over the bar. Amazingly, none got on my clothes. Also, there was more crust than usual.
I can overlook these flaws, though.
Liza: "I liked the flavorful sauce, but I wasn't a big fan of the crust. It wasn't crispy enough. I liked that we were able to pay--including tax and tip--less than $25 for the entire meal."
Liza and Gary's rating: 3.5 stars
Super Cool!
Just down the street is Busboys and Poets, a place Liza and I have been to before for peanut butter and banana sandwiches. Yes, you read that right. Liza is a devotee of PBBs, and while the combination seems a bit odd, I can testify that it's a pretty okay sanny.
So we walk in to Busboys and Poets.
In an instant, we are smothered in urban hipness. Those who know me understand that I am not the hippest of people, but I try hard. Let me tell you, my hipness quotient improved dramatically just being in Busboys and Poets.
This place is way cool--a combination bookstore and cafe and bar and restaurant. If I were 20 years younger, I'd be hanging out here every day drinking four cups of coffee and shots of Bailey's Irish Cream. There are comfy sofas scattered throughout the main area, a spacious back room with more tables, free Internet, a steady rhythmic musical beat and racy art on walls. Oddly enough, the movie comedy "Captain Ron" (not a classic) was playing on the one flat-screen TV above the bar...Now one might think this movie starring Kurt Russell and Martin Short is not very hip, but in retrospect, it's perfectly eclectic.
Busboys and Poets is more than its offerings, though.
It's the people. These are urban hipsters, a mix of all races and identities. These are young pros focused intently on their laptops, typing up reports that will almost certainly change the world (or at least provide us with better cell phone service). Pretty much the only type of people you wouldn't find in Busboys and Poets are Republicans.
It's about 2:30 p.m. on a Sunday, and Busboys & Poets is packed. There's a 30-minute wait for a table! As mentioned previously, this place is spacious, so to see it packed at the time of day was surprising--and a tribute to the hipsters of the world.
Liza, who is hip already, guided me through a maze of people to the bar. We sat down and perused the eclectic menu. Listed last: Pizza.
We were all over it.
Liza and I spent time on Saturday on a Virginia wine-tasting tour, so neither of us were in the mood for alcohol. I ordered a Sprite and Liza ordered a Diet Coke. Not very hip, I know.
Our friendly bartender took our order: Poet Pizza. As a literary devotee, I like the sound of that. It had portobello mushrooms, roasted red peppers and sundried tomatoes and garlic sauce.
One bite, and thoughts of the world's great poets raced through my mind: Yeats! Frost! Baudelaire!
Seriously, this was surprisingly good pizza. Lots of mushrooms and peppers piled on top, with the tomato and garlic sauce giving it a good tangy taste. I wasn't really that hungry when I walked into the restaurant, but I couldn't stop eating this pizza. Good stuff.
The pizza was a little greasy--one time a slice fell apart after one bite, and there were grease blotches all over the bar. Amazingly, none got on my clothes. Also, there was more crust than usual.
I can overlook these flaws, though.
Liza: "I liked the flavorful sauce, but I wasn't a big fan of the crust. It wasn't crispy enough. I liked that we were able to pay--including tax and tip--less than $25 for the entire meal."
Liza and Gary's rating: 3.5 stars
Super Cool!
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