THE WASHINGTON POST • FRIDAY, MAY 28, 2010
16
DinnerDeals
Meals under $15
AMERICAN FLATBREAD’S CLARENDON HEARTH
1025 N. Fillmore St., Arlington Contact: 703-243-9465 or
www.americanflat-
bread.com Hours: Monday- Thursday 4:30-10 p.m., Friday: 4:30-11 p.m. Saturday noon-11 p.m. Sunday noon-9 p.m. Prices: Appetizers and salads $4.99-$9.99, flatbreads (intended for two) $11.99-$21.99.
Wheelchair access:
Good. Kid-friendly: The restaurant has plenty of highchairs, and there is a flatbread recom- mended as a kids’ favorite. Service was patient when I dined there with my toddler.
PHOTOS BY SARAH L. VOISIN/THE WASHINGTON POST
The Med Bread is one of nine pizzas anchoring the menu at American Flatbread’s Clarendon Hearth. The restaurant also has two specials each week.
A slice of local flavor
by Justin Rude
At a glance: Vermont-based American Flat-
bread has found success with a very simple for- mula: unpretentiously serving up a menu of piz- zas and salads with a focus on locally grown and sustainable ingredients. Sticking close to that formula worked for Scott Vasko when he opened the area’s first American Flatbread in Ashburn in 2007, and that’s the plan at the newest loca- tion in Clarendon, which opened in October. At the core of the restaurant, both figuratively and literally, is a wood-fired clay pizza oven that, in a tradition going back to the first American Flat- bread in Waitsfield, Vt., is built by hand on-site from local clay. That the lovingly crafted oven looms large in the restaurant’s open floor plan should allay the fear that there is anything be- yond a branding connection between the food cooking within it and the American Flatbread frozen pizzas available at Whole Foods.
On the menu: Unsurprisingly, the restaurant’s
focus is on flatbread pizzas, with a set menu of nine varieties that will be familiar to patrons of the Ashburn location, and two specials each week. The flatbreads themselves are thin with a crisp bottom while still having a nice amount of chewiness. For such a well-balanced crust we can thank chef Evan Buchholz, who mans the aforementioned clay pizza oven and dreams up the specials based on whatever fresh seasonal ingredients are on hand that week. The specials, one of which is vegetarian, are always worth a try, often featuring more adventurous flavor
At your service: Though there is a bar in the front of the house that offers a full menu, the fo- cus is firmly on maintaining a comfortable feel in the dining room. Vasko is not conflicted about his casual and easy vision. “This is a neighbor- hood place,” he says. “We close early; we don’t want to be a gin joint. If you come in after work in a suit, you should feel comfortable sitting down with people who just came from the gym.”
Baker Sylvia Iparraguirre works the clay oven in the center of Clarendon Hearth.
combinations than the regular pizzas. Of the permanent pies, two are standouts: the Punctu- ated Equilibrium (a favorite from the Vermont flagship’s ovens), which contrasts salty kalamata olives with sweet peppers and smooth goat cheese; and the New Virginia Sausage, which us- es caramelized onions and sun-dried tomatoes as supporting notes to showcase Bluemont farmer Steve Baker’s pork sausage. The menu offers a modest selection of salads and appetizers. Uncluttered salads such as a fen- nel and orange option with almonds and goat cheese reflect American Flatbread’s philosophy of using simple presentations to highlight the freshness of the ingredients. It’s a style that suits Buchholz just fine. “I’ve never been in a restau- rant that’s been able to be this fresh,” he says. “We prep daily. And it lets us have the open floorplan. We have nothing to hide.”
What to avoid: The antipasti plate features so- pressata and salami with Parmesan, olives and marinated vegetables but feels like a flat after- thought when presented next to the crisp salads.
Wet your whistle: Clarendon Hearth features a robust list of American craft beers, and as with the rest of the menu, location is of the utmost importance. Mid-Atlantic breweries dominate the list, with healthy selections from Heavy Seas, Flying Dog and others. And the Hearth boasts that it is the only location in Arlington to serve Dogfish Head’s 90 Minute IPA on draft. In fact, beer is a big enough deal to American Flatbread that Vasko and Buchholz have begun hosting monthly beer tastings, inviting breweries and preparing a special fixed menu to pair with them. The first three tastings sold out well in ad- vance.
Bottom line: The Clarendon area is hardly starved for dining options, but by offering cre- ative flatbread pizzas and a deep craft beer menu in a family-friendly dining room, Amer- ican Flatbread may have found a comfortable niche in the crowded market.
rudej@washpost.com
The crisp Evolution Salad; New Virginia Sausage Pizza.
WORTH A TRY
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