Nomadic pizzaiolo Edan MacQuaid (ex-2Amy's, ex-Red Rocks, ex-Pizzeria Orso, currently consulting at Local 16) is reportedly at work on a new "casual, dive kind of place with a wood-fired oven" on 14th Street NW. Don Rockwell has the scoop, noting that the concept will be "all about the pizza." The place apparently has no name [...]
Deviled eggs, like the common hot dog and macaroni and cheese, are one of those classic comfort foods that have lately taken on a sort of contemporary chic—and, in some cases, sheen. To wit: One recent evening at Boundary Stone in Bloomingdale, a plate of the $3 hors d’oeuvres arrived in the standard fashion—hard-boiled, bisected, [...]
Aspiring prosecco mecca Graffiato isn't the only D.C. pizzeria with wine on tap. 2Amys proprietor Peter Pastan recently debuted his own house wine: a “carbonic” sangiovese made in California at a vineyard co-owned by his wife and a former employee. Y&H alum Tim Carman takes a sip for WaPo, describing the wine as "incredibly drinkable, [...]
Smoky wood aroma? Check. Light, puffy crust? Check. Char marks that leave an ashy black residue somewhat resembling coal dust all over your fingers? Yeah, pretty much. All indications suggest that Edan MacQuaid is in the house. Washington Post critic Tom Sietsema broke the news Wednesday that the prominent D.C. pizzaiolo is back at the [...]
The first Young & Hungry column I wrote, almost five years ago, was a review of Miss Saigon in Georgetown. I was auditioning for the job of food columnist for Washington City Paper, and these were my marching orders in December 2005: critique a Vietnamese restaurant that no one cared about. I was puzzled, but [...]
Red Hook Lobster Pound truck: street food makes the Dining Guide WaPo's Tom Sietsema released his 2010 Dining Guide online yesterday, and in between other tasks, I've been combing through it to understand how the critic views the current restaurant scene. Before I get to the nuggets that I've mined, though, I should note what [...]
If there’s one thing I’ve learned from talking to Peter Pastan, it’s that he doesn’t give a rat’s ass what I (or anyone else) think about his restaurants. I’m not even sure he follows the food media. His singular attention is on his two establishments, 2Amys and this little rustic Italian eatery off Dupont Circle, [...]
With a turn on Top Chef and a nice run under one of the country's most famous chefs, Mike Isabella was just waiting for the right moment to leave his comfortable perch at Zaytinya. That moment will be August 7, when Isabella cooks his last meal at José Andrés' raucous Penn Quarter restaurant. The chef [...]
As soon as the pie hit the table at Pizzeria Orso, I knew I was in the presence of Edan MacQuaid, the pizzaiolo who has worked the wood-burning ovens at 2Amys, Pizzeria Paradiso, and RedRocks. I'd recognize his margherita pizza anywhere. It's not just the puffy crust, mottled with char and radiating a wood-smoke aroma [...]
Until I met Tony Meeks last week, I don't think I had a full appreciation for the many complexities of seasoned hardwoods — their moisture content (and how to determine that content by look and feel), their densities, and even their ability to ignite quickly for a fast lunch service. The latter is one quality [...]
