I Always Approve of Exposed Brick

After the movie, we followed MCB's suggestion and went to Matchbox for dinner. I've actually never been there before, and I was very happily surprised by how much I liked it. I was ready to blot when we first got there and they told us it would be a 1 hour - 1 hour 15 minute wait. Yikes! I hate waiting that long. But I was convinced to stick it out, and I'm glad cuz we actuallly got a table after only about 20 minutes. So, the food rundown....

Appetizer: We split a plate of their sliders. Mmmmm, boy, were they tasty! A discussion arose about why their sliders were so good as compared to our other favorite sliders, at McCormick & Schmick's. Matchbox goes for a buttered roll and a big thick pickle slice, wheras M&S goes for a usual bun but a slice of cheese. We all agreed it was pretty much the pickle that made the difference. If we ever had a slider with both the pickle and the cheese, watch out!

Salads: MCB and I both eyeballed one of the side salads when we first got the menu, and our server strongly endorsed our choice. So we each started out with a small bistro salad - mixed greens, sliced pears, and a goat cheese crouton with a basil vinaigrette. I believe many of you already know of my love for goat cheese. I could eat it with a spoon. And have! So this salad was definitely a great choice, and it was a way to make sure we actually ate some greens today.

Entrees:
Moi: I again followed a recommendation from the server and got the grilled mahi, which came with chive mashed potatoes and grilled asparagus. Very tasty overall. It was a huge portion of fish and I couldn't eat it all. Those potatoes were yummy. The only downside was that it was a pretty salty dish when you ate all of the pieces together, so I kept on grabbing for the beer. Not a bad thing, really.
MCB: She went with a signature pizza. I can't remember what it was called, but I know it had sausage and onions on it. I think she liked it overall, but again the portion was too big. She was able to share one piece and still bring two pieces home as leftovers. And I bet even that is enough for a full lunch tomorrow.
MH: She also went with a pizza, that I think was called something like the "Fire & Smoke." It was marked as one of the hot 'n spicy pizzas on the menu. She said she really enjoyed the first 2 pieces, but by then the spiciness kicked in and it was too hot for her to finish. MCB also tried a piece and agreed that it was a little too hot. No leftovers went home there.
The Johnson: He also picked fish, going with the grilled salmon. It came with a side veggie and some sort of potato cake. He really liked the dish and was happy to see that it all came on a square plate. (Square plates are pretty funky.) As the only guy at the table, he filled his role of being the one to lick the plate clean. Good job, Johnson! ;-)

All the Rest: The service was very friendly and I did really enjoy both recommendations that I picked. I liked the decor - exposed brick and three levels. It was a bit of a drag to only have a single bathroom each, esp. as we were all enjoying items from the bar.

We did have a really good time on the whole -- so I give it 2 happy thumbs up! I'd love to hear about other experiences people have had there.

PS - Woohoo! This is my 200th post! Can't believe I've made it there that quickly. I guess I'm chatty - can you tell I live alone? :-)