Mt Vernon Triangle – Eat Now Run Later

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.

Paul and Marnay's son, Brendan

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.

Funghi pizza and the Classica pizza at Nicoletta Italian Kitchen in Washington DC

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.

Veggie Fritto Misto at Nicoletta Italian Kitchen in Washington DC

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!

Paul and Brendan eating at Nicoletta Italian Kitchen in Washington DC

Best Bite
Paul: Funghi Pizza
Marnay: Veggie Fritto Misto

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

We made reservations a month out for dinner at Kinship, the new restaurant in Mt Vernon Triangle from acclaimed chef Eric Ziebold (James Beard Award Best-Chef Mid-Atlantic, 2008).The menu is separated into “Craft”, “History”, “Ingredients”, “Indulgence” and “For the Table.” This is one of the few restaurants where an introduction to the menu from the server is actually necessary.

The restaurant feels like it is in someone’s narrow rowhome, with brick walls and low lighting. We knew going in exactly what we wanted to eat so we ordered drinks and food and the same time. I started with the Kinship Spritz (Cocchi Americano, Dolin Blanc, Blanc de Blanc Sparkling Champagne) and Marnay got a glass of French Chenin Blanc. For some reason, my drink came at least five minutes before Marnay’s. When it finally arrived, her glass of wine was brought by the manager of the front of the house (who happens to be the chef’s wife) instead of our server. The exact same thing happened when we ordered a second drink. There is no doubt that we received great service at Kinship and we left feeling like VIPs. There was just a lot of duplication of effort among the staff. Not really a critique, just something that we noticed.

Our meal started with the torchon of white mushrooms from the “Craft” section, a riff on a torchon of foie gras, with baby beet and wild mushroom salad served on top of a huckleberry gastrique along with slices of toasted brioche. The torchon was rich and earthy on its own but it was transformed when spread on the toasted brioche along with the gastrique.

We also ordered Kinship’s famous roast chicken, from the “For the Table” section. We got a little hungry waiting for it to be made (it takes at least an hour) but I am glad we did not order another dish because the chicken is a lot for two people. When the chicken was finished, the server presented it to us (perfect picture opportunity!) before bringing it back to the kitchen to cut into pieces. The garlicky, buttery skin was the best part of the dish. Second best was chef Ziebold’s famous Parker House rolls, pillowy and soft. Last, but certainly not least, was the well season fried potatoes.

Kinship is a cozy neighborhood restaurant with James Beard Award quality food at reasonable prices. The roast chicken, for example, cost less than two individual entrees. While we had to make our reservations a month in advance, the full menu is offered at the bar and there was no one sitting there when we arrived at 7:00pm on a Tuesday.

Now go and try it!

Best Bite
Marnay: Torchon of White Mushroom
Paul: Torchon of White Mushroom

Address
Kinship: 1015 7th Street, NW Washington, DC 20001
Closest Metro: Mt Vernon Square