09.14.2016 | ELLE Decor
This all-American holiday dinner varies greatly throughout the country—and we don’t just mean baked versus fried turkey. Here, we asked top chefs from 15 cities for their own take on local Thanksgiving cuisine.
MASSERIA'S CHEF ON ONE YEAR OF ITALIAN COOKING IN NORTHEAST D.C. →
08.29.2016 | Eater DC
When Nicholas Stefanelli opened Masseria last year at 1340 4th St. NE, it was a unique entity — a free-standing, destination restaurant near Union Market. Since then, crowds have flocked to the chef’s elevated Italian cuisine — served in three- to six- course tasting menus — as well as for cocktails and wine al fresco.
GQ'S FAVORITE NEW DISHES OF 2016 →
06.08.2016 | GQ
We ate our way across the country to find the Best New Restaurants of 2016. These were the best things on the menu. As we spent months bouncing from restaurant to restaurant, eating non-stop for our annual Perfect Night Out piece, some things became clear. That we need to work out more. That the burger is rarely the way to go. And that sometimes a restaurant isn’t amazing, but there’s one thing on the menu that rises above the rest, and leaves you drooling whenever you think back on the first bite. For us, these were those dishes.
SUPER-STYLISH ITALIAN IN UNION MARKET →
05.18.2016 | Bon Appétit
When the hottest restaurants in town require an Olympian trial of line-waiting, Masseria is an oasis of “takes reservations” in the industrial Union Market neighborhood. You arrive on a sloped street lined with wholesale fashion importers. Then you step into Masseria’s gated courtyard and are transported to Puglia. Chef and owner Nicholas Stefanelli serves traditionally inspired, impeccably modern Italian dishes with a garnish of whimsy: Breads arrive in treasure chests and are ringed around porcelain octopus tentacles. A signature sparkling cocktail is served with a scoop of Belvedere-infused sorbet. And your receipt appears alongside a postcard of Sophia Loren. Come for the linguine with XO sauce, stay for the buttery branzino—or really, any of the seafood dishes. Ambitious stomachs should go for the five-course option with wine pairings, but with the surprises that pop up in between courses, you’ll be more than full.
WHY GLUTEN-FREE FRESH PASTA’S HARD TO MAKE — AND HOW ONE D.C. CHEF MASTERED IT →
03.07.2016 | The Washington Post
Conventional wisdom says the silky, slippery charms of fresh Italian pastas are lost to those who need or choose to avoid gluten, because that very protein is what puts the “give” in doughs that are stretched and rolled and shaped to glorious effect. Once cooked, fresh pasta absorbs a sauce, while dried pasta provides a clingy surface for it. There’s nothing quite like it.
WHERE TO FIND FEASTS OF THE SEVEN FISHES AROUND DC →
12.15.2015 | Washingtonian
Chef Nick Stefanelli’s hot new tasting room near Union Market will serve a prix-fixe menu complete with fritto misto (a seafood mixed fry); curried linguine al farouk; and poached cod with tomatoes, onions, and potatoes. As a bonus, every guest is sent home with a house-made pannetone cake.
AMERICAS BEST FOOD CITIES: WASHINGTON DC →
12.08.2015 | The Washington Post
Turn in your foodie badge if you haven’t heard about the debuts of Convivial, the Dabney, Maketto and Masseria — served to Washingtonians by homegrown talent.
THE 10 BEST THINGS WE ATE IN 2015 LINGUINE WITH MASSERIA XO SAUCE →
12.07.2015 | Zagat
For this dish, chef-owner Nick Stefanelli marries his love for the traditional Italian pasta preparation of aglio, olio e peperoncino — or “garlic, oil and chiles” — with his time spent cooking in Shanghai. He swaps the chile flakes with his own housemade XO sauce. He sources the prosciutto, dried scallops and dried shrimp from the wholesale markets in the neighborhood, then cooks them with olive oil and garlic for three hours to make a flavorful paste.
WASHINGTON’S SURPRISE ATTRACTION: URBAN FARMERS’ MARKETS →
11.23.2015 | The Wall Street Journal
Chef Nick Stefanelli makes almost daily visits to Union Market, in Northeast Washington, to pick up ingredients for Masseria, the industrial-chic eatery hidden behind a high wood-plank fence that he opened 2 miles north of the Capitol in July. He turns out winning Pugliese-inspired fare from an open kitchen using his market finds.
AN ESCAPE TO PUGLIA →
10.13.2015 | Washington Post
A banner year of cooking in Washington has been matched by one of transporting interiors. Consider Masseria, modeled after the country houses in Puglia, Italy, and the first stand-alone restaurant amid the warehouses outside Union Market.