Ladies Who Lunch

Yesterday, the girls from work and I decided to get out of the office and enjoy the beautiful (88 degree!) weather.  We decided to get away from the office and have lunch at Matchbox on 8^th street.  I was excited, I had never been to Matchbox and heard good things about their menu.  I was not disappointed.  I loved the look of the restaurant; it was classic, simple, and the whole storefront opened up onto the sidewalk.  We had a great table that was right inside the open doors, great for enjoying the weather while avoiding the hot sun.  I was impressed by their cocktail menu, featuring creative and refreshing sounding concoctions that were surprisingly not overpriced (in DC, I have come to accept that cocktails under $10 is a steal).  Each of us decided to indulge in a libation and each ordered something different.  I started with a Melonball, a lime green cocktail that reminded me of the sweet syrup you got on snowcones as a kid.  The service was a little slow to start, it took a little longer than I would have liked to get our drinks and order, but I did like that we didn’t feel rushed or hovered over by our server.  It took awhile to decide what to order, they had a lot of great selections, though I knew for my first trip I had to try the wood oven pizza.  The numerous topping combinations had me deliberating quite a while- I wanted to try everything!  I settled on the sausage and onion pizza with red peppers and mozzarella.  The crust was perfectly crispy, the sauce not too sweet, and the sausage was perfect, not too greasy.  The onions should have been sautéed first, but otherwise it was a great combination.  The sweetness of the peppers balanced the spiciness of the sausage perfectly.  I’d definitely order it again.  My coworker got a delicious looking chicken sandwich with homemade potato crisps that none of us could keep our hands off of.  They were waffle cut, and so delicate and crisp I couldn’t figure out how they kept them together.  Topped with Parmesan and just enough salt, they were so good I would order a sandwich just to get the chips!  We thoroughly enjoyed the environment, the drinks, the food, and most of all, the time out of the office.  We were surprised by the number of people we saw out and about and couldn’t help wondering what these people did that they could just be out walking the streets in the middle of the workday.  Jealousy kicked in, if they could all be free, why not us?  We could totally be ladies who lunch!  Life would be so luxurious and enjoyable if one didn’t have to worry about the stresses of work, bills, and everyday life.  Someday…until then, we’ll definitely make a habit of taking the time to enjoy life’s little pleasures!