Eat To Survive, Indulge To Be American

Wednesday, February 9: The USDA has just targeted its first fancy-food victim in the War on Fat: pizza. It turns out that a slice of American factory-franchise pizza is supposedly not good for you. But what about the gigantic triangular cheese slabs purchased on the vomit-crusted streets of Adams Morgan, or the slices served out of atruck by a college graduate? And what about Pizzeria Paradiso, which serves excellent pizza that's probably even kind of good for you, if you stick to a traditional thin-crust pie with tomato and olive oil and garlic and basil and a light sprinkling of Italian cheese? Select pizzas are half-off Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 5-7PM. [ New York Magazine / Pizzeria Paradiso ]

• Wednesday, February 9 through Thursday, February 10: During this pre-spring lull when there's nothing better to do while we wait for the crushing heat and wilting humidity to return, at least there's free coffee to be enjoyed: SeamlessWeb will be giving out free coffee from their coffee truck today at Farragut North and tomorrow from various locations in the Chinatown area. [ SeamlessWeb ]

• Sunday, February 13: February is supposed to be the month you learn random facts about black people, but, uh, here's one about Italians: Sunday is National Tortellini Day, and to celebrate the Copper Pot Food Company will be giving out Tortellini stuffed with pheasant, duck and boar, for free, at the Dupont Circle Farmer's Market. [GregsList DC ]

• Food Trucks: The Fojol Brother's Food Truck was THE food truck thatconvinced Washingtonians that ethnic food served from a truck is better than ethnic food served in buildings by actual ethnic people -- and the truck was just recognized by Eater.com as one of the top food trucks in ALL OF AMERICA. Huzzah! And Tex-Mex chain Austin Grill will soon have its very own food truck, which means food trucks have gone corporate, so maybe we can go back to eating inside now? [ Eater,   Washingtonian ]

• Food to look forward to: How many high definition teevees can fit in a 2,200-square foot sports bar? The new bar Touchdown on U Street, NW will have 15, but that's because it’s NOT TRYING HARD ENOUGH. How can we continue to watch Al Jazeera Live during March Madness if there are only 15 teevees in the bar? Though not an answer, right below Touchdown will be Codmother, a London-influenced fish and chips restaurant that just barely has a worse name than its upstairs neighbor. [Washington Business Journal ]