Ryan McGorty

The Harris Teeter in Adams Morgan is a rare gem. The Adams Morgan neighborhood has very few chain stores, but the Harris Teeter brings convenience, quality, and low-price to the neighborhood. The alternative grocery store option is Safeway, which is in a very poor condition and always out of stock and busy with very few check-out clerks. Harris Teeter is well-stocked, clean, well-lit, convenient, and has a great variety of foods, as well as ready-made foods and salad/hot food bars. They have a huge beer and wine selection. This location does not have an in-store ready-made pizza option, though. They make sushi and grinders in-store. Some great convenience features include a free parking garage on premises, a pharmacy, and hours that mean the store is open until midnight every day. I live within two minutes walking distance so I frequent the store a lot (roughly 5-10 times per week). I know a lot of the staff members by name and they are very friendly, polite, and attentive. They have lots of checkout stations and clerks, as well as four self-checkout stations. I use Samsung Pay without any issues here. The store gets very busy on Sundays and Monday evenings, when most people do their grocery shopping.

I highly recommend signing up for a store discount card and signing up for the eVIC online specials. You will receive emails on Tuesday and Thursday nights with extra discounts and specials automatically loaded to your Membership card. Due to the email specials, I receive a free item or two almost every single weekend.

Etto puts together a comprehensive and creative menu of pizzas, cured meats, wines, and even a few interesting salads. It can be a bit frustrating to go through every item, so focus on the pizzas and the salamis (and a salad, if you want to be healthy). The staff is friendly, attentive, and ready to answer any questions you have. We started off with a Frisee, red endive, and grapefruit salad with gorgonzola dressing and pine nuts which left enough dressing and flavor to smear the bread in. If you’re going to pick something from the cured meats, make sure you try the fennel pollen or the hand-sliced prosciuto di parma.

We really came here to try out the pizza, though. Having a strong connection to 2 Amys, we were expecting an impressive pizza. It is different from 2 Amys, but in a refreshing way. The crust is the foundation of success and uniqueness for Etto’s pizza. Apparently, the dough is made using freshly milled flour each day on a stone mill and bakes at a higher temperature in their oak-fired pizza oven which translates to a thin, but firm crust that won’t droop when you pick up your first slice. Nice and crunchy – we loved the crust – but the ingredients weren’t overshadowed. There are some interesting combinations, so we selected two – the margherita (very good but could’ve benefitted from a bit more cheese) and the potato patata chorizo tomato (the chorizo and peppers made this pizza our winner). Each pizza is sized for one hungry individual, so order enough to encourage sharing. If you can only have one thing on the menu, go with a pizza that features some of their meats. We were full and couldn't fit any dessert in (sadly), but the assorted candies caught my eye. I'll try them next time.

The restaurant is located in the trendy and busy 14th St corridor right across from Le Diplomate. The interior is cozy, and nicely done – the food and oven are on showcase. There is an outdoor patio for when the weather permits. They open at 5 on weekdays and noon on weekends. Be advised that they don’t do reservations, so try to get there right at 5 and you can enjoy the restaurant before all the other loud patrons arrive.

I went to brunch at the cosmos club on a Sunday and it was a wonderful experience from the moment I arrived. There are several rooms that have the actual food available. There are lots of great offerings including omelet, seafood, meat/poultry, and dessert stations. There is even a food section for children. The dining rooms are spacious and meticulously decorated. You can eat as much as you can. Staff members are friendly and attentive. Christmas decorations were used throughout.