^{The New York Times}

Junk Food Is a Source of Comfort on Capitol Hill

By JENNIFER STEINHAUER

WASHINGTON

As Congress passed a law last week that would stuff more fruits and vegetables into school lunches, several blocks away the people lined up for hot dogs. The choices were many: all beef with peppers and onions; a deep-fried Angus number; one wrapped in a pretzel roll, topped with Cheez Whiz.

The dog doings were at DC-3, a new aviation-themed hot dog spot that takes its place among many high-end junk-food purveyors that have popped up around Capitol Hill recently. Over at the White House, a farmers’ market has sprouted, a garden has been cultivated and holiday guests are being offered poached fruit. But the area surrounding the Capitol is awash in milkshakes, grilled cheese sandwiches and mildly baroque pizza.

Leading the charge is the Matchbox Food Group, DC-3’s parent company, which began with a pizza joint in nearby Chinatown and has recently opened a sister “pizza bistro” on Eighth Street, along with Ted’s Bulletin, a midprice comfort-food outpost.

On H Street, the other side of the Capitol, Liberty Tree is serving pigs in blankets, macaroni and cheese and fried clam sandwiches. On the pizza front, in addition to Matchbox, there is We, The Pizza, dished out by “Top Chef” graduate Spike Mendelsohn, and Seventh Hill Pizza, a new spot near Eastern Market.

Very little that occurs inside the Beltway is a genuine allegory for national passions, but the proliferation of food that is affordable, nostalgic and deeply accessible may be about as close as it gets.

Mr. Mendelsohn has worked with Michelle Obama extensively on her anti-obesity campaign. But that didn’t stop him from starting a Capitol Hill-area burger spot, Good Stuff Eatery, and We, The Pizza, which opened four months ago.

Click here to read the rest of the article.