It has been a very, very, very busy past few months, hence the lag between posts, but Eatnowrunlater is back! Yes, we are back and we want to introduce you to our son, Brendan Kieran Meyer! This big boy is now four months old! Following in his parents footsteps, he recently had his first big meal out, at Nicoletta Italian Kitchen.

Both Marnay and I had the day off, so we took the stroller onto the metro to Nicoletta Italian Kitchen, chef Michael White’s ode to the “Mid-Western style pizza” from his youth in Wisconsin. By the way, if you are going to be traveling to this restaurant with a stroller, we STRONGLY suggest using Judiciary Square. Gallery Place is just as close to the restaurant, but it requires three separate elevators to get to street level. On the other hand, Judiciary Square is only one elevator, from the platform directly to the street!

Now, we have heard of Detroit-style pizza, but Midwestern-style is new to us. If Nicoletta’s version is an accurate representation of the style, then let’s get some more Midwestern-style pizzerias in the DC area ASAP.

We ordered the Funghi pizza and the Classica. The Classica was similar to a margherita pizza. The pizza dough is a three-day process, and all that fermentation time lends itself to a marvelously flavorful crust. The Funghi was loaded with both beech and porcini mushrooms.  All those mushrooms were piled on top of a crust that isn’t exactly quite deep dish, but it’s certainly not thin-crust. Somehow, the crust tasted like a pretzel…it was different, but we really liked it.

The best part of the Classica was the chunks of sweet(ish) tomatoes in the sauce. I am a sucker for chunky tomato sauce on pizza (see our Corner Slice review).

We didn’t only eat pizza, although we could have. That wouldn’t be setting a good example for Brendan now would it?! Luckily, the crispy, crunchy Veggie Fritto Misto tasted like calamari for vegetarians. Particularly tasty were the breaded and fried hot peppers, although everything was good. I am not a ranch fan, but I couldn’t stop dipping the hot and crunchy veggies in the Calabrian chili ranch. Marnay said that the crunchy broccoli was one of the only times she’s ever been actually excited to eat broccoli.

Nicoletta was a great restaurant to go to with or without kids and we’d definitely make the trip again. In most ways, our lives have totally changed now that we have a baby. On the other hand, our love of food and running has never let up. Eatnowrunlater is here to stay!

Best Bite
Paul: Funghi Pizza
Marnay: Veggie Fritto Misto

Address
Nicoletta Italian Kitchen: 901 4th St NW Washington, DC 20001
Closest Metro: Judiciary Square