Todd Kliman Awards Brookland's Menomalé 2.5 Stars

Todd Kliman has been talking up the pizza over at Brookland's Menomalé for some time now and today he officially weighs in with a 2.5 star rating for a Neapolitan pizzeria with great promise. Noting that it really could have skated by as a dependable spot in an under-served neighborhood, Kliman writes that owners Leland Estes and Ettore Rusciano have instead created something that "has entered the conversation about the area's best:"

Rusciano ... is an attentive craftsman, with an understanding of balance—at their best, his crusts are thin and crisp in the center, puffy and chewy on the perimeter, and with so many air pockets in the billowed edges that doughiness is never a problem—and proportion: Toppings are applied so evenly you'd swear he was working from a template. He also knows how to use salt.

So why not a higher rating? Well, Kliman points out that his pies haven't been as consistently great as he'd like. But, he concludes he's "inclined to believe that great things await." [Washingtonian]

Nevin Martell takes a look at the quinoa-packed dishes at Penn Quarter newcomer the Protein Bar for the Washington Post this week. He's not crazy about the protein shakes, but writes "The six quinoa bowls look small but are belly-fillers nonetheless. My favorite: a cradle of slightly wilted spinach filled with creamy, pesto-laced quinoa, a little Parmesan and bits of chicken breast." [WaPo]

The City Paper checks out the brand new happy hour at Posto, deciding that the best deals are the pizza rather than the small plates. That said, "My top pick is the $6 burrata (below) with heirloom tomato sauce, roasted garlic, asparagus, and micro-basil. Attention happy hour spots: more burrata and fewer mozzarella sticks, please. (Speaking of which, cheese and meat plates are also discounted on the happy hour menu.)" [WCP]

THE BLOGS: DC-Wrapped Dates finds a "surprisingly well-curated" menu at The Passenger; Bitches Who Brunch declare that the rooftop brunch at Masa 14 is not as good as the brunch the restaurant offers downstairs; the Bitches also award Shaw's Tavern a B and suggest it figure itself out a little.

Menomale [Photo: Facebook]