Stuff and Sense: Good Stuff Eatery

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SPIKE MENDELSOHN is a man with many hats.

The Culinary Institute of America alum informed his palate by spending extensive periods in kitchens of France and Vietnam before returning to New York as part of the team that reopened the world-famous Le Cirque in 2006. He just finished a stint as the chef de cuisine at Mai House, an estimable Vietnamese restaurant in Tribeca.

Now, he and his business partners — his parents, his sister and his best friend (and sous chef) Mike Colletti — have formed Sunnyside Group LLC, a Capitol Hill-based restaurant group that launched its first Washington eatery, Good Stuff.

Oh, and he was also a strong presence as a contestant on Bravo's epicurean game show, "Top Chef." He didn't take the grand prize, but he did win a following, and now he's cooking with gas.

"This is only the first of many concepts we want to perfect," Mendelsohn says. "We have the ambition to open a series of restaurants, from a trattoria to a small plates menu to a bistro. As for pressure, we've experienced it with every restaurant we've opened. But we've conquered before. We were the team that reopened Le Cirque; [New York Times food critic] Frank Bruni gave us two stars, which is fantastic, especially from him."

Tall and lanky, with a wiry beard and a rotating collection of porkpies, fedoras and panamas, Evangelos "Spike" Mendelsohn left his job and his digs for what he calls the next gastronomic frontier: "D.C. is the next big food city. It's like Vegas was a few years ago. And nobody is doing what we are yet. We're paving a way for ourselves here in D.C., but also, we're paving a new direction for the food culture here."

Good Stuff will specialize in a classic American dish: hamburgers. Among the menu's flame-kissed sandwiches are a barbecue burger, a melt with plump mushrooms and caramelized onions, and a kicky burger with habanero, aioli and pickled daikon. Spike's Village Fries, a trans fat-free side, are seasoned with rosemary, thyme and black pepper.

Customers are encouraged to dip the tender shards of potato in one of his homemade chutneys or horseradish mayonnaise instead of ketchup (although its's available). For power-lunchers, Mendelsohn and Colletti are bringing back the wedge salad, described by the latter as "a light, creative throwback." The dishes may not be sophisticated, but they're certainly classic and comforting.

"You won't find too much exotic food here," Mendelsohn says. "No foie gras and no molecular gastronomy. We want to gain repeat customers. We don't want to alienate anyone with price or with overly thought-out dishes that don't eventually satisfy."

Mendelsohn is surfing the crest of Washington's new wave cuisine. For too long, this steak-and-scotch town has rooted itself in Southern flavors. It's still a little bit country, but thanks to joints like Good Stuff Eatery, it's also a little bit rock 'n' roll.

» Good Stuff Eatery, 303 Pennsylvania Ave. SE; 202-543-8222. (Eastern Market)

Written by Express contributor Christopher Correa
Photo by Lawrence Luk for Express