fight news
D.C.'s Fight Club bucks the conventions of traditional sandwich … – The Washington Post
A restaurant is not a metaphor, and I’m not the kind of guy who usually goes around trying to find deeper meaning in a place to eat, but every time I set foot in Fight Club, I can’t help but think that this Capitol Hill sandwich shop is here not just to feed us, but to remind us to take some chances. It’s as if the proprietors have absorbed the truth of a quote often attributed to filmmaker David Cronenberg, who never met a boundary he didn’t like to push.
“Everybody’s a mad scientist,” Cronenberg said, probably to a giant talking beetle, “and life is their lab.”
Fight Club started life as a pandemic-era pop-up inside Beuchert’s Saloon, serving up big, sloppy, sneaky-clever takeaway sandwiches at a time when we were all looking for something tasty we could eat anywhere but a restaurant. Fight Club is now a stand-alone operation, tucked into the former Hank’s on the Hill space, where, much like the characters in the novel from which the business borrows its name, the team continues to rebel against the numbing strictures of society. Or at least against the tired expectations of a sandwich shop.
Nothing is what it seems at Fight Club. The banh mi is not a classic banh mi — you know, a mini-baguette layered with Vietnamese mayo, pâté, meats, pickled veggies, ringlets of jalapeño and a scattering of cilantro — a considered collision of textures and tastes. No, the Fight Club version is just a collision. Chef and co-owner Andrew Markert grafts Chinese shrimp toast onto a Vietnamese banh mi with an application of a Philippine-style crab fat sauce, the latter fortified with enough crab meat to resemble a kind of pâté.
I was fascinated by Markert’s shrimp toast banh mi from the moment I saw it on the menu. The sandwich dares to double down on carbs, the so-called bad kind, in defiance of all things holy, or at least whole grain. I ordered this sucker twice. I still don’t get it. Nothing pops for me; the sandwich feels weighed down by its own ingenuity.
But you know what? It doesn’t matter. I may not love the shrimp toast banh mi, but I love what it represents: a fearlessness in the face of convention. A willingness to follow your passion regardless of what anyone thinks, least of all a food critic. Markert likes banh mis and shrimp toast, and he loves the combo together. Maybe he’s right. Maybe this Frankenwich will become his “Nevermind,” first panned, later beloved, ultimately a classic.
Markert is the link between Fight Club, the pop-up at Beuchert’s, and its bricks-and-mortar successor. He is mastermind of the menus that have graced both places. With the permanent location, Markert has partnered with beverage director/co-owner MacKenzie Conway and bar manager Cory Holzerland, and together, the trio have created a beast that follows its own impish impulses. The guys give off the impression, both online and in person, that they just want to take the starch out of this stuffed-shirt town.
You’ll find gnomes on the shelves, showing a little cheek. You’ll find draft punches and Jell-O shots on the cocktail menu, the latter in “seasonal flavors.” You’ll find Hamm’s on the beer list, injecting a little mid-century nostalgia into a decidedly modern shop that describes its sandwiches as “off center & on point.” You’ll find regular events at the restaurant, including the inaugural Fight Club Anti-Commitment Ball, a recent Valentine’s-themed promotion that mocked the very idea of romance.
Markert’s sandwiches may play fast and loose with their inspirations, but the chef clearly has respect for the classics, even if his creations test your ability to pick them up with two hands. His Primanti Bros. homage features Italian meats, provolone, cabbage slaw and a thick layer of tots (not fries), the entire stack enriched with the runny yolk of a fried egg. His FC Chicken Doink is a fried chicken-thigh sandwich by way of chicken and waffles, all served on dense housemade maple cakes. His Das Sandwich is a big breaded pork cutlet smothered with German potato salad, a combination that ridicules the toasted bun that tries to contain it. I lost the battle with each of these sandwiches, their contents spilling onto plates and takeaway boxes. But that didn’t stop me from using a fork, or my fingers, to scoop up every last bite.
I will confess, though, that my preferred sandwiches at Fight Club tend to hold their shape. Markert’s pastrami variation, dubbed Rarebit and Rye, comes packed with browned onions and Welsh rarebit, transforming this deli standard into something more sweet and luxurious. His French dip doesn’t even bother with the beef; the chef subs roasted oyster and maitake mushrooms for the animal protein and then pairs the fungi with grilled onions, the umami rush so deep and undeniable that you won’t miss the meat. His meatball sub, the Mamma Mia, is also vegetarian, replacing the ground-beef orbs with arancini. He then tops the risotto balls with marinara, pickled banana peppers, provolone and parmesan cheese. The surprising sandwich ranks up there with my favorites this year — any year, really.
The snacks, like the sandwiches, are created as if Markert believes the old William Blake saw that the road of excess leads to the palace of wisdom rather than, you know, angioplasty. His burnt ends flatbread is a hedonist’s paradise, the smoky nuggets of beef accessorized with coleslaw, scallions, fried onions, melted cheddar, barbecue sauce and a gnawing sense of regret. If his pork cheek nachos are five layers of wrong, then I don’t want to be right. Even the wedge salad lives in a fantasy world of Markert’s creation, the iceberg tower erupting with blue cheese dressing, bacon, tomatoes and, for good measure, everything bagel spice. I could not eat this thing fast enough.
Lest you think Fight Club is just one stoner joke after another, I’d like to point out a simple fact: At present, the menu does not include the Heir to the BLT, arguably Markert’s masterpiece, a sandwich that landed on my best sandwiches list in 2021. The chef won’t make it available till tomato season. I respect his caution, which underscores something perhaps not instantly apparent inside the four walls of Fight Club: Underneath all the fun and cleverness, there is real intention.
633 Pennsylvania Ave. SE; 202-885-9714; fightclubdc.com.
Hours: 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Sunday through Thursday; 11 a.m. to 1 a.m. Friday and Saturday.
Nearest Metro: Eastern Market, with a short walk to the restaurant.
Prices: $4 to $18 for all food items on the menu.
The last Fight Week prior to the mega Fulton-Inoue/Spence-Crawford showdowns offers up some interesting action.
FRIDAY
Thompson Boxing sadly bids farewell after 23 years of promoting boxing in Southern California. Their final show is headlined by welterweight Louie Lopez (13-2-1, 4 KOs) against an opponent TBA. You can catch the action on YouTube and Facebook.
SATURDAY
ESPN presents former undisputed lightweight champion George “Ferocious” Kambosos Jr. (20-2, 10 KOs) against Maxi Hughes (26-5-2, 5 KOs) in a twelve round IBF world title eliminator from the FireLake Arena in Shawnee, Oklahoma.
UFC Fightpass has exciting junior middleweight KO artist Serhii “El Flaco” Bohachuk (22-1, 22 KOs) against former world title challenger Patrick Allotey (42-4, 32 KOs) at the Chumash Casino Resort in Santa Ynez, California.
ProBox TV has a pro fight card from the Radisson Victoria Plaza in Montevideo, Uruguay, with middleweight Amilcar Vidal Jr (16-1, 12 KOs) rebounding from his first loss against Domicio Rondon (17-5, 11 KOs).
So we have a fighter from Australia against a UK fighter at a venue on Oklahoma. Looks like this one will go the distance!
My thoughts (re the fighters and venue) exactly but why do you think that this means a distance fight?
Am I ridiculous for thinking that Hughes has a chance in this one, Pete?? He’s been on a nice little run as of late against some decent guys including a former world champion, albeit a blown-up featherweight.
I was just thinking the same. Maxi is on a nice run; If you take away the win against a mentally and physically compromised Teo, has George done much?
Getting whitewashed against Haney twice and close wins against Bet and Selby doesn’t make a great resume. I think Maxi is a live dog.
Don’ think so-has five losses and not much KO power. Kambosos pretty average as well but should have enough to beat this guy.
Only time he got f’d up was vs someone who wore Reyes gloves. As long as Kambosos isn’t wearing those, Hughes may not be psyched out. He like kept the Reyes gloves and showed them off about how much he hated the padding and feel to them. It was in a YouTube video.
I think he does have a chance. I always felt the stars aligned perfect for Kambosos when he fought Lopez. Lopez was overconfident and fought a fight that gave Kambosos a chance. Plus he was better at taking Lopez’s power then we thought which I also think caught Lopez off guard. Other then that, like Streetgang said…what else has he really done that separates him from Hughes? I maybe in the minority but I thought Selby beat him.
So yes I think Hughes could outpoint him. I am not sure if that is my pick but it is a reasonable outcome. Just to clarify when I earlier said it would go the distance I was referring to their KO % …that comment had nothing to do with the venue which I do not think will be relevant as to whether it goes the distance or not.
I remember the Selby fight and thinking it was close but Lee may have nicked it.
I will be pulling for Maxi, George has become a bit unbearable for me.
I think I might just take this week off and just save the excitement for next weekend
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The IBF’s 38th Annual Convention will kick off this weekend at The Fairmont Chicago Millennium Park, in Chicago, Illinois from May 28 – June 1, 2023. After 38 years, the organization will be returning to the Midwest to celebrate the IBF’s 40th year. The IBF celebrated its 2nd Annual Convention in Dearborn, Michigan in 1985 and a return to the region is long overdue. “We are excited for this milestone event and are looking forward to gathering with the boxing community in Chicago and the Midwest,” said IBF President Daryl Peoples.
During the convention the IBF hosts several events and seminars. Notably, the IBF also presents annual awards at each convention, and proudly announces its top award recipients for 2022 to be presented at the Awards Banquet closing the organization’s convention festivities on Wednesday, May 31, 2023. The IBF is proud to announce some of it’s top awards for 2022 in anticipation of the upcoming convention.
Jersey Joe Walcott Award
The Jersey Joe Walcott Award, the organization’s highest honor, will go to Naoya Inoue. In spectacular fashion, Inoue unified the Bantamweight division with a second-round knockout win over Nonito Donaire. Naoya won the IBF title in 2019 and defended six times.
Female Fighter of the Year
Receiving the IBF Female Fighter of the Year Award is Chantelle Cameron who unified the Female Jr. Welterweight division. Cameron put on an exciting performance when she beat Undisputed Welterweight Champion Jessica McCaskill by unanimous decision and became the Undisputed Champion in the division.
Fight of the Year
IBF– Sivenathi Nontshinga vs. Hector Flores
Female – Katie Taylor vs. Amada Serrano
Intercontinental – Mark Heffron vs. Lennox Clarke
USBA – Robeisy Ramirez vs. Abraham Nova
Jessica McCaskill and Murodjon Akhmadaliev are recieving Championship Rings for 3 successful title defenses.
“We proudly celebrate the notable achievements and remarkable careers of our champions, and the boxers that participated in IBF title fights. These are very well-deserved distinctions as all these fighters have worked incredibly hard to attain these accomplishments. We look forward to celebrating them,” noted Daryl Peoples.
Big weekend coming up with four of the top welterweights not named Terence Crawford or Errol Spence seeing action.
FRIDAY
DAZN kicks things off with unbeaten WBO #3, WBA #11, WBC #12 super middleweight Diego Pacheco (18-0, 15 KOs) will take on Manuel Gallegos (19-1-1, 16 KOs) from the Cintermex in Monterrey, NL, Mexico. Pacheco is a 20:1 favorite.
SATURDAY
DAZN is back for the second consecutive night with a mouth-watering clash between unbeaten WBA regular welterweight champion Eimantas Stanionis (14-0, 9 KOs) and WBA #1 Vergil Ortiz Jr. (19-0, 19 KOs) at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas. Ortiz is a 4:1 favorite to dethrone Stanionis.
Showtime delivers undefeated IBF interim welterweight champion Jaron “Boots” Ennis (30-0, 27 KOs) defending against IBF top-rated Roiman Villa (26-1, 24 KOs) from the Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, N.J. Ennis is a 13:1 favorite.
ESPN+ offers up exciting former world champion and current WBC #2 super bantamweight Luis Nery (34-1, 26 KOs) against Froilan Saludar (33-6-1, 23 KOs) from the fairground in Metepec, Mexico (90 minutes west of Mexico City). Nery is a 12:1 favorite.
Stanionis vs Ortiz is a cracking matchup. I wonder if Virgil’s momentum will be disrupted by illness. I guess we’ll see on Saturday.
Not anymore because Ortiz pulled out with his fake disease of not being able to make weight again. He did this last minute again to the Lithuanian. He should be sued and banned from the sport. Scumbag!
One of these days Boots is gonna walk all over Crawford and Spence. There’s starting to be a lot of buzz on how good Boots is, but I think he’s even better than advertised. Like Spence and Crawford, he boxes on a different level and has an extremely high boxing IQ as they say. It’s not just his speed, power, experience, and skills; he’s a thinking man and knows exactly what he’s doing. I just hope he doesn’t continue to be avoided.
The thing with boots is he seems to leave himself open for shots. Hopefully he corrects that.
Kris…I have to agree with you about Boots….Boots is “special”…..of course time could change that…but watching his fight against Karen Chukhadzhian…studying that fight …I saw something special…and Karen is as tough fighter and Karen maybe a future world champion..very good skills…guys In my opinion Boots is really good…on that level of “special”….
Best of luck to both stanionis and Ortiz. I like both so I’ll be happy for the winner and bummed out for the loser.
SATURDAY
Showtime delivers undefeated IBF interim welterweight champion Jaron “Boots” Ennis (30-0, 27 KOs) defending against IBF top-rated Roiman Villa (26-1, 24 KOs).
– Not shown on the FightNews “Upcoming TV Fights”.
ESPN+ offers up exciting former world champion and current WBC #2 super bantamweight Luis Nery (34-1, 26 KOs) against Froilan Saludar (33-6-1, 23 KOs) from the fairground in Metepec, Mexico (90 minutes west of Mexico City). Nery is a 12:1 favorite.
– Same as above.
– I see FightNews added these bouts to their schedule…..
I’ll be watching the Ennis vs Villa fight as I do not have DAZN, but subscribe to SHO. Can’t go wrong either one, two solid fights. Boots vs. Ortiz, make it happen powerbrokers after they both come out victorious this weekend.
I think Stanionis – Ortiz has the potential to be a fight of the year candidate. That match has seemed cursed with all the postponements, but barring a blowout either way (which I don’t see happening but is possible), I don’t know how those two get together without it being a great fight.
Sooner or later one of the top guys at welterweight will have to face Ennis, now, if Ortiz defeat Stanionis many will be asking for Ortiz vs Ennis, exceopt Oscar DE La Hoya, no way that will happen.If not the Crawford vs Spence winner, but rather the winner of Thurman vs Ugas could be excellent
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