A German Import with an Italian Point of View

A German Import With an Italian Point of View

By Tom Sietsema

Washington Post

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/19/AR2007061900387.html

Wednesday, June 20, 2007; F03

The time: 12:20 p.m. on a recent weekday.

The place: Vapiano, a sleek new "European fresh-casual concept" in downtown Washington.

The scene: Mobbed.

A colleague holding a flimsy food tray is staring at me from several feet away, clearly disappointed that he took me up on my invitation to lunch at a self-service chain inspired by a former McDonald's franchisee in Germany. I can't blame him. We're both several people away from placing our orders in separate lines labeled "Pasta" (the slow-moving queue for "Pizza" being 12 feet long and growing longer by the minute), and the cooks in the exhibition kitchen seem to have at least five questions for every customer.

We take heart in the variety of fresh noodles and bright vegetables within arm's reach of the staff, as well as the tall tables with their comfy stools, where the two of us eventually hope to land. But at this moment, Vapiano (1800 M St. NW, 202-640-2127; there's also one in Ballston) looks a lot like Reagan National Airport the day before Thanksgiving, except the workers at the restaurant are friendlier. From the host at the front door, who asks if I've eaten here before and hands me a computer chip card to add up my purchases, to the assemblers of my meal, who ask me how hot I want a dish and coach me to flash that card on a computer in front of them, the genial staff appears to have been plucked from the ranks of Nordstrom or Disneyland.

Above the kitchen, a quirky mix of sayings and factoids written on a long chalkboard keeps us entertained as we wait our turn: Thanks to my time here, I now know how to curse in Italian, how to toast in Albanian, what was served aboard the Titanic, and to "never trust a skinny cook."

I like the bread that comes with the entrees. Salads are bountiful (go for the creamy arugula-

mustard dressing). But in two visits, the pasta in my bowls, no matter the shape, has been, as a friend put it, sticky and "extra al dente" -- in other words, undercooked. The pasta toppings fall into four price categories ($6.75-$9.75) and show imagination (lime butter with mint, crayfish with lobster sauce). Yet tonno fresco (stir-fried tuna) begs for salt, as does tacchino piccante (turkey in an orange-chili sauce that's more sweet than spicy). Pizza ($6.75-$9.75) is a better course of action. Prosciutto and figs finished with a swirl of honey on a bubbling, thin crust is a satisfying meal for two.

This not-so-fast fast food can be eaten outdoors, beneath oversize red umbrellas, or along the perimeter of the bustling kitchen, on one of those high surfaces set off with cruets of oil and vinegar and pots of herbs meant to underscore the "fresh" theme. Overall, the look is sleek and clean, the price is right, and the food has more personality than the fare at the nearby salad bars and other quick fixes.

But next time I go, I want to be in the minority. (Anyone for lunch at 11 a.m.?)