Germantown did not become a dining destination over night. For 20 years, Mad Platter and Monell's have lured diners to the quaint streets north of the state capitol and the Farmers Market. Almost five years ago, Germantown Café reinvigorated the historic district with its contemporary cuisine and seductive view of downtown. But in the last year, Germantown has experienced an infusion of restaurant business that makes it suddenly one of the city's most interesting culinary corners.
On this new-and-improved menu of dining options, City House, opened in late 2007, is clearly the entrée. In a former art studio both rustically and sleekly adorned with exposed brick walls and stainless-steel chairs—not to mention an open chef's bar unself-consciously laden with citrus fruits, locally grown vegetables, olive oil and blocks of Italian cheese—chef Tandy Wilson has created a neighborhood landmark equally inviting for a romantic celebration or a quick dinner for one.
If City House has one shortcoming, it is that the popular nightspot only serves dinner. Fortunately, a handful of casual eateries have popped up to fill some of the area's breakfast, lunch and grocery needs. Those demands are growing because of the neighborhood's many new urban dwellers, whose gleaming lofts line the presidentially named and numbered streets east of Rosa Parks Boulevard.
A dining day in Germantown might start at DrinkHaus, the jewel box of a coffeehouse started by new Germantown residents Kat Roos and her husband, Tennessee Titans offensive lineman Michael. Stepping into DrinkHaus, located in the ground floor of the Summer Street Lofts, is like dipping a toe into a glass of fresh-squeezed lemonade. Cool white walls accented with splashes of yellow and stainless steel make the tiny room feel larger and airier than it is. With a handful of polished white tabletops, silver chairs and a bar facing out the front windows, DrinkHaus offers a welcoming spot to while away a morning over espresso and teacakes. The succinct menu of sandwiches, quiche and desserts is a who's who of local products. The gelato in the affogato—espresso poured over ice cream—comes from Bravo Gelato; the thin, crusty focaccia on the paninis comes from Silke's Old World Breads in Clarksville; and the teacakes are from Tutto Bene Bakery in Goodlettsville. We enjoyed a splendid mocha cappuccino—made with coffee beans from Batdorf & Bronson in Washington—spiced with fresh orange zest, though the tangerine crème (a fruity milkshake made with tangerine-flavored powder) was less inspiring. At lunch we had a lackluster spinach-and-cheese quiche but a stellar panini with pear, prosciutto and goat cheese. For $5, the sandwich arrived on a pretty white plate with slices of fresh pear, salt-and-pepper potato chips and a Lu chocolate-covered cookie—making the simple meal one of the best lunch deals we've stumbled across.
On one visit to DrinkHaus, we could barely eat for talking to so many foodie friends checking out the new hot spot. Farmers Market maven Marne Duke was having coffee with cookbook writer and new Germantown resident Tim Davis, while pastry chef Sydney Garrett-Hayes of Sydney Trading Company was dropping off some desserts. (Her fig jam makes its way onto DrinkHaus' sandwich with bleu cheese on raisin challah.) As welcoming as the environment is, with so many neighbors swapping Germantown chitchat, it's easy to feel a little like an auslander.
In this tight-knit community, the merchants are as intertwined as the pattern of bricks in the pedestrian-friendly streetscape. Around the corner and a few blocks down Fifth Avenue, Tom Lazzaro churns out homemade pasta for City House, and when he's ordering Italian meats and cheeses to stock the refrigerators of his tiny Lazzaroli Pasta Shop, he buys a little extra prosciutto—for Kat Roos to make the paninis at DrinkHaus. Lazzaro (Tommy Noodles, as he's known in the local blogosphere) moved Lazzaroli Pasta from the Farmers Market to Germantown in the summer of 2007. His tiny store stocks his homemade spaghetti, fettuccine and ravioli, with decadent flavors such as goat cheese-pear, eggplant, mushroom and Gorgonzola. If you are in a hurry, don't ask the garrulous Lazzaro about the finer points of the many olive oils that line the shelves at Lazzaroli—though if you do have time, he's happy to let you sample them.
One dinner of Lazzaroli's fresh fluffy noodles with homemade marinara or roasted red pepper cream sauce is enough to make you swear off dry noodles and canned sauce forever—or at least for as long as you can afford the fresh stuff, which sells for $9 a pound of spaghetti or about 75 cents a raviolo. Don't leave Lazzaroli's without a few of the crisp cannoli, which Lazzaro fills to order with rich ricotta riddled with bits of chocolate. Of course, being from Philly, Tommy Noodles drops his vowels in all the right places, so you might want to ask for some canole.
Back near the intersection of Fifth and Madison, Mike Trigiani, another Pennsylvania transplant, opened Zackie's Original Hot Dog in the ground floor of the Summer Street Lofts last Halloween. The tiny storefront, trimmed in light wood and stainless steel with dark blue accents and counter seating in the window, delivers a frank and sturdy repertoire of dogs, brats and Polish and Italian sausages, available on white or wheat buns from local Charpier's bakery. Zackie's is also one of few places in town that serves pierogi—deep-fried pockets of dough stuffed with mashed potatoes and cheese—but Trigiani is apologetic that he does not make them from scratch.
On any given day, folks are sitting at the two tables on the sidewalk in front of the blue awning, drinking Boylan sodas and noshing on Nathan's hot dogs covered with bright green relish and celery salt, Johnsonville brats laden with grilled peppers and onions, and crinkle-cut fries smothered in homemade beef chili and shredded cheddar. Trigiani also offers veggie and turkey dogs. In the spirit of brotherly love, we concluded our lunch with several packs of Tastykakes, the cream-filled dessert staple of Philadelphia cuisine, which Trigiani stocks dutifully.
For people with slightly, er, different tastes in chocolate, Germantown will be getting its own artisan chocolatier this fall when Bethany Thouin relocates the five-year-old Cocoa Tree from downtown Franklin to Fifth Avenue, next door to Germantown Café. The mother of five, including a newborn, Thouin is an avid blogger on the subject of all things chocolate. Her book Chocolate Covered Friendship debuts this fall and explores how her friends' personalities are reflected in her specialty truffle flavors. The Cocoa Tree will stock artisan chocolates by Bethany Chocolatier and will serve hot chocolate and desserts in a lounge environment.
But for all the pasta, caffeine and cocoa making its way into Germantown, almost any resident will tell you that the neighborhood is still thirsty for a good old-fashioned bar. This is German-town, after all, named for the land of rathskellers and beer gardens. So, as good as it's getting in Germantown, there's still room for improvement. Give it some time. These things don't just happen overnight.
