Freshmen15: Georgetown + DC's top spots for freshmen foodies

Hello Nomsters,

This particular post is dedicated to the Freshmen who will be gracing our presence in the next two weeks and to all of the familiar faces we'll be seeing in our favorite food spots around G'town/DC.
If you're a freshmen at Georgetown, you've hopefully been following Vox Populi's freshmen features (the blog maintained by The Georgetown Voice) to get the inside scoop on what to expect. While Vox already covered some of the best food options around G'town, we figured we'd expand a bit and give you some more options and details!

With summer vacation quickly coming to an end, Georgetown and DC are about to be stupefied by a swarm of students once more. For freshmen, your battle with boxes, carts, and SWQ elevator frustrations will be stifling with the hot DC heat; but cool breezes, parent-paid dinners, and random floor meetings/parties will fill your nights. After your week long "welcome" onto the Hilltop, you'll no doubt want some insider information on where to get fed in the weeks following your parents' departure. So here we are to give you the skinny on the foodie culture around campus and in DC! Now, we're by no means encouraging gaining the "freshmen 15," but for the love of cake, be sure to explore your options. Up first, the basics around campus: Sandwiches & Pizza

Sandwiches: Nothing quite works as a the perfect combination of ingredients like a sandwich. Whether you're looking for a sub, croissant, pita, or bagel, you'll be able to find any of those options at one of these fine Georgetown establishments.

Wisemiller's Deli (36th & N. ) is a Georgetown favorite. With classics like the California Chicken (grilled chicken, honey mustard, avocado, lettuce, tomato, and sprouts, served warm on a croissant)
and specials like the "Hot Chick," (chicken fingers, cayenne ranch dressing, pepperjack cheese, and tomatoes) you'd be hard pressed to find a more flavorful sandwich. Wisemiller's (Wisey's) is home to fan favorites like the Chicken Madness and Burger Madness (both of which could easily send your body into a food coma), but they also play host to an array of sandwich options. So whether you're looking for a breakfast sandwich, cold cuts, or something that'll make your heart pound, you'll be sure to get your fix at Wisey's. Also, their cookies are pretty amazing, the most popular is the Oreo Cookie (a cookie with in a cookie!). Reviews/Number $5-$10
No delivery, you can call ahead though.

If you're looking for something a bit more green, "Healthy" Wisey's (Wisconsin and P) is also an option with smoothies, salads and wraps. Healthy Wisey's Menu $5-$10
Offers Delivery


Quick Pita: (Potomac & 33rd) Home to Mediterranean and Middle Eastern cuisine, Quick Pita provides options for students looking for an atypical sandwich. Quick Pita offers small plates like tabouli (salad-like appetizer, $4.45), hummus/pita ($4.95), and falafel ($8.64))and a variety of sandwiches ranging from chicken shwarma to eggplant sandwich Besides their Mediterranean flare, Quick Pita offers a daily lunch special, sandwich, fries, and a soda, for $6.82. Quick Pita also has a series of meat and veggie pies that you can purchase as a light meal or small snack.  Quick Pita Menu. $5-$11 Offers delivery

The Miami Burger, Booey's

Booey's (32nd & Prospect): A bit further off campus then Wisey's, Booeymonger's is another frequented spot by both students and residents. Booey's makes a mean sandwich and has a larger variety of breakfast options if you're looking to avoid Leo's. The Miami Burger is one of my favorites, it's your standard Lox & Bagel with all of the trimmings; and without buying the ingredients yourself, it's probably the cheapest you'll find in the Georgetown area ($7.25). I also know for a fact that the Fifth Avenue ($6.50) is also delicious, with hot pastrami, grilled mushrooms, muenster cheese, on a french roll (which is perfectly crispy), you can't go wrong. If you're looking for something a bit littler/veggie, the Natural is also a good option with spinach, tomato, turkey, melted provolone, and Russian dressing (6.50). Along with sandwiches, fries, salads, and dessert, Booey's also has some of the cheapest pitchers of *hem hem* beer ($7.25) in the neighborhood. $5-$13 Booey's Menu No Delivery

2am Miracle

Pizza: Now, you have a couple of options for pizza. If you're looking to order in, a quick fix, or a post party late night slice then Tuscany's (Prospect & 33rd) is your best bet. Offering a quarter-pie slice of either cheese or pepperoni for about $3.75, you can't go wrong. Just make sure you ask for a side of ranch!! I know, I know, "why ranch." But have faith in this blog and the majority of the Georgetown student population, ranch-dipped pizza is like french fries dipped in a Wendy's Frosty: it just works (especially at 2am). Fun fact: If you're looking for more than pizza, Tuscany's Turkey Pesto Sandwich is a great choice. It's both fresh and gives the appearance of being healthier. Keep in mind though that the sandwiches are huge there, so sharing is caring. 4am on weekends, 2am weekdays.   Order Here $4-$10 Offers Delivery

Ledo's pizza is also a good option for delivery if you're in search of a full pizza. Their claim to fame is providing the public with square pizzas that are cut in the same shape. The overall taste and quality may be a bit better than Tuscany's jumbo slice, but you can't beat the convenience of Tuscany's. $12-$22 Order Here 

Ledo's, courtesy of Serious Eats

If you're in the mood for a sit down pizza option, there's both Uno's Pizzeria or Pizzeria Paradiso on M. Street. Being a Chicago native, I tend to shy away from Uno's and their claims to "Chicago-Style" deep dish, but they do have a good thin crust option. On the other hand, for those of you in the 21+ club Uno's has a phenomenal happy hour, which occurs twice daily in the afternoon and late-night. Pizzeria Paradio is home to more traditional Italian style pizzas. With very thin crust, light sauces, and fresh ingredients, Paradiso is usually a good option for a nice dinner out that won't completely rip through your pockets. Paradiso also has really good happy hour specials on both pizza and drinks. $12-$20 Uno's Menu  Paradiso Menu

Finally, if you're up for a walk, the Safeway up Wisconsin has a variety of cafe options, including pizza, sushi bar, salad bar, and sandwich station.

That's all for now and let us know if we were helpful! Comments always appreciated :)
Follow us on Twitter
Like us on Facebook

Happy Nomming,

The Georgetown Foodie

A Taste of Greece on a Slice of Italy-Greek Inspired Pizza

Hello Nomsters,

Long time no see, summer's been a bit busy for us over here, especially since we're working out Nightly Noms plans for the fall/spring at Georgetown. Regardless of being busy, one must always take a moment to refuel, and this homemade Greek-inspired pizza is a perfect way to boost your mood. The original recipe came from Giada's Food Network Show; however, the version here has a few modifications along with the fact that I decided to make the pizza dough from scratch (which you can choose not to do of course!).

The pizza itself was pretty easy to make, the only difficult spots that could arise would be due to working out the timing so that all of the ingredients are ready to hit the oven at the same time! The flavors from this pizza are incredible tasty and aromatic, the combination of the spinach, feta, and kalamata olives (my own addition) all add to the Grecian flare; the addition of mint and garlic takes this pizza's flavor overboard. Also, if you opt to make the homemade crust, be assured that it is well worth the time. With a crispy outside and fluffy inside, this dough recipe truly enhances the overall taste of the pizza, but of course store-bought dough is a bit easier if you're in a time pinch!

Crust:
Ingredients
-1 packet of dry active yeast
-1 cup warm/hot water
-2 Tbsp olive oil
-1 tsp sugar
-1 tsp salt
-2 1/2 cups flour(+1/4 for kneading)


Method
1. Empty pack of yeast into a bowl, add warm water and stir until yeast has dissolved,

2. Add the sugar and salt, mix well,

3. Pour about half of the flour into the liquid mix, using a spoon to incorperate, add the oilive oil and
continue to mix,

4. Add the rest of the flour, and mix/begin to knead,

5. Use about 1/4 extra flour spread out on counter to knead dough, knead dough approx 5-8 minutes,
until springy,

6. Place dough back in bowl and cover lightly with a dish towel or clingwrap and let sit for 20-30 minutes.

Topping:

Ingredients
-3 tablespoons olive oil
-3-4 scallions (pale green/white parts only, thinly sliced)
-Salt & ground black pepper
-3 cloves garlic (minced or chopped)
-1 bag or 12oz spinach leaves
-1 (4-ounce) chunk feta cheese (crumbled)
-1/2 cup chopped fresh mint (optional)
-8-12 Kalamata olives (thinly sliced or chopped, optional)

Method 

For the crust, preheat the oven to 475 degrees F. Then, coat a baking tray or pizza stone with olive oil, roll the dough to desired thickness (you can use a bit of flour or olive oil on your hands to prevent the dough from sticking) and place on the tray/stone. Finally, using a fork, prick small holes into the dough as to prevent bubbles. Set aside.

For the topping,
1. In a large frying pan or skillet, heat the 3 Tbsp of oil over medium-high heat.

2. Add the scallions and season with salt and pepper. Cook, frequently stirring until tender (approx 5 minutes).

3. Add the garlic and cook for about 30 seconds.

4. In batches, add the spinach and cook until wilted (approx 5 minutes), then add the olives and mint.

5. Remove the pan from heat and distribute mixture over the dough, crumble the feta cheese on top and add salt/pepper to taste. Finally, drizzle a bit of olive oil over pizza.




Bake until the dough is golden and crunchy, 15 to 18 minutes. Cut into squares and enjoy!

Simple Recipes and Common Sense: Sweet Potato Fries

Hey Fellow Foodies and Readers,

Sorry I haven’t been around for a bit. Between Lollapalooza taking over my life and pretending to clean/pack for college, I’ve been a bit consumed. But! I’ve decided to drop a quick post to let you know I’ll have a great Lollapalooza feature soon; for now, I thought I’d leave you with a recipe.

I love sweet potatoes, mashed, chips, baked, and even in muffins! However, something I’ve been craving lately are sweet potato fries. So, I figured I’d experiment with a recipe/common sense to see if I could come up with a recipe that didn’t require the fries to be fried, but rather baked, you know, to at least attempt that healthy alternative!

I found a recipe in Cook’s Country for regular baked potato fries, a recipe online, and a recipe in a cookbook I own. After reading through each recipe, I decided to use a bit of each. This is a great recipe for all you Georgetowners and college students that want an easy recipe that tastes great and will satiate your craving for fried foods or sweets!

My family decided to grill burgers today. So as my mom and dad grilled, I baked up these fries. The overall result was a satisfactory, soft, sweet fry with a nice crisp. Next time, I may add more seasonings (paprika, garlic salt), and also let the fries dry a bit more before I coat them so that I get a more crispy texture, but overall, they were very tasty!

SO here you go!
3 Large Sweet Potatoes, washed, and thickly julienned (cut into spear shapes)
6 tablespoons of olive oil or vegetable oil
1 tablespoon cornstarch (if you don’t have this, I don’t think it’s a huge deal, but let your potatoes dry a bit after microwaving/blotting)
Seasonings (optional: salt, pepper, garlic salt/powder, paprika)

-Preheat the over to 450 (f)
-Microwave sweet potatoes in large bowl covered with saran wrap for 4-6minutes to slightly cook,
-Remove the sliced potatoes from bowl and blot dry (gives fries a crispier texture), let sit for five minutes if you aren’t using cornstarch,
-As fries dry, use 5 tbsp of the oil to coat a cookie/baking sheet, then place sheet in oven for 5-7 minutes (until the sheet begins to smoke),
-While oil heats, mix remaining oil (1 tbsp) with cornstarch (optional) and, then toss fries in mixture, making sure to coat each, add seasonings,
-Place fries in single layer rows on the heated cookie sheet, place back in oven and cook for 25-35 minutes, flipping fries halfway through cooking time,
-Remove from oven and place fries on paper towels to blot excess oil, lightly salt if desired.
-Enjoy!