The Early Word on the Newest Matchbox on 14th Street

Pizza and mini-burger restaurant Matchbox has been cranking out locations, with Rockville open and Merrifield on the way. Their new 14th Street restaurant is the most ambitious to date. The historic building, the several levels of seating, the floating booths and an outdoor fire pit all added up to a splashy debut when the restaurant opened about two weeks ago. But does the food measure up to the design? Here's what the Yelp posse, bloggers and others had to say about the restaurant.

The Beyond Pizza and Miniburgers News: Been There Eaten That vows to try something new to the 14th Street menu, and the dish measures up. "Braised beef short ribs with turmeric vegetables, fingerling potatoes, and coconut curry sauce catches my eye immediately. It's a delightful dish! The meat is perfectly tender, and the creamy curry sauce is full of flavor." [BTET]

The Shareable News: Borderstan thinks the location will be a hit with larger crowds. "The mozzi carrozzi (a lightly fried basil, tomato, mozzarella sandwich), spicy meatball pizza and roasted tomato linguini at my table were all great and just begging for a big 'ol table of friends to dive right in." [Borderstan]

The Purely Pizza News: The Serious Eats slice column takes a look at Matchbox's pizza in honor of the new location. "So the answer to the all important question is that, yes, Matchbox slings some solid pies. Perhaps not good enough to sustain its business if they were served out of something as tiny and grimy as Dom DeMarco's one room operation, but pizza isn't the only thing Matchbox has going for it." [SE]

The Twitter News: Count @cheek_mundy as an early Matchbox adopter. "Date Night at the new Matchbox on 14th. In love with it." [Twitter]

The Heavy But Tasty News: Right now, Matchbox is averaging 3.5 stars on Yelp with just a handful of reviews. Alicia G. finds some of the dishes heavy, but satisfying. "The scallops were awesome- perfectly seared atop a bed of pork belly risotto. Yes...pork belly in the risotto. Again on the heavy side but so dang good. The chicken was juicy and had a great crisp skin. It was accompanied with mashed potatoes and collard greens. Just great comfort food." [Yelp]

The Disappointed Local News: Sarah J. did not have a good experience, though she liked the decor and service. "Being a local, I was excited for a new casual place for dinner, I was really disappointed.  I spent $12 for a tiny spinach salad that had freezing cold meally tomatoes on it. The pizza really soggy; no choice but to eat it with a fork and knife.  That said, it came out scalding hot with cheese on it that was plasticky." [Yelp]

The It's Matchbox, What Were You Expecting? News: Sean B. says you pretty much know what you're getting before you walk in the door. "In any event, this is Matchbox. You know what you're going to get since a) you've been to one of their other branches before or b) you can read hundreds of other reviews that will give you a good idea of what to expect. I'd say this locale is a better choice than the one in Chinatown simply because it is more spacious and has a lot more light." [Yelp]