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Kramerbooks
The Top List of Best Brunches - Washington, D.C.
There are many brunch experiences to choose from in this city.
by Magda Nakassis & Judy Leaver
My research has revealed that "brunch" may be in the eye of the beholder in the Washington region. For example, some residents (who grew up in the South) believe brunch only happens on Sunday and that the equivalent meal on Saturday is simply breakfast. Others believe that real brunch cannot begin until noon while more hard-driven Washingtonians embark on a search for brunch as early as 9am Yet another dichotomy is whether brunch by definition includes such alcoholic drinks as champagne, mimosas or bloody marys.
For review purposes I will focus on edibles and ambiance, thus sidestepping a definitional debate. I learned there are as many brunch experiences as there are restaurants in the area. Two of my Top Ten require a vehicle as they are in the nether regions of Northern Virginia, which means they're about 20 minutes from downtown DC. No matter! They're worth the drive or the cab fare. I'll begin with them:
CORKIE'S GRILLE
6238 Old Dominion Drive
McLean, VA 22101
703-533-5880
Hours:
Mon–Sat: 8am–9 pm
Sun: 8am–4pm
Corkie's is in a strip shopping center near a Safeway grocery. Its décor is warm and friendly, including all the staff, even on a gray, rainy Sunday. An exuberant waitress took our order and Corkie herself came out to say hi. Begin with the beignets—they melt in your mouth and are so light they don't make you too full to order other dishes. They come to the table, six to a bowl, dusted with powdered sugar—hors d’oeuvres for brunch. The crab cake Eggs Benedict were deliciously different—the sweetness of Maryland crabmeat replaced the ham. My friend (who recommended Corkie's to me) had the buckwheat pancakes and reported they were hearty and delicious. The menu includes standard breakfast fare plus an orange stuffer: a French toast of cream cheese and orange marmalade, topped with powdered sugar. There's also Thiokti, billed as Corkie's own bacon, fried egg, lettuce, tomato, onion and cheese on toast. Pancake varieties include lemon blueberry and chocolate chip. There is even a Corkie's newsletter that says, "Let us fix your grits." She can fix mine any day!
Estimated cost per person for brunch: $10.
Holiday Schedule: New Year's Day closed, Valentine's Day open, Easter open, Thanksgiving closed, Christmas Eve open, Christmas Day closed, New Year's Eve open.
CARLYLE
www.greatamericanrestaurants.com/carlyle/cm.htm
4000 South 28th Street
Arlington, VA 22206
703-931-0777 (use this number for phone ahead wait list)
Hours:
Sun: 9:30am–11pm
Mon–Thur: 11am–11pm
Fri: 11am–12am
Sat: 10am–12am
Brunch Hours:
Sat: 10am–3pm
Sun: 9:30am–3pm
This upscale café is the trendy place to eat and be seen—especially if you're twenty-something. The award-winning quality of their food merits an invasion by a cross section of age groups. The brunch menu ventures well beyond traditional breakfast fare. For example, a roast chicken salad with pine nuts, goat cheese, and champagne vinaigrette or a sesame crusted seared rare tuna salad with lettuces and soy lime vinaigrette are available along with house smoked salmon and fresh asparagus or Eggs Benedict. Classy desserts are offered for brunch—a flourless warm chocolate macadamia nut waffle with vanilla ice cream or deep dish apple pie almond streusel. The prices and signature brunch drinks make this a special occasion type of brunch experience.
Estimated cost per person for brunch: $20.
Holiday schedule: New Year's Day open, Valentine's Day open, Easter open, Thanksgiving closed, Christmas Eve open, Christmas Day closed, New Year's Eve open.
Crossing the Potomac we come back to one of Washington's liveliest neighborhoods, Dupont Circle. The Circle is a small park and fountain that is the hub of an actual traffic circle—one of the most chaotic in the city. It's also home to countless terrific restaurants.
KRAMERBOOKS & AFTERWORDS CAFÉ & GRILL
www.kramers.com
1517 Connecticut Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20036
202-387-3825
Hours:
7:30 am–1am Daily
Fri–Sat: 24 Hours
Brunch Hours:
Sat–Sun: until 3pm
Sun–Thur: 10:30pm–1am
You've got to try this place, not just because the food is excellent, but because of the slice of Washington life it reveals. Kramers is an independent bookstore that has survived the onslaught of giant booksellers. Tucked in the back is Afterwords Café, a full service restaurant and bar. Try the Kent Island crab omelet, a three-egg behemoth stuffed with lump crab, yellow corn, and Swiss cheese and finished with a lemon hollandaise, sided with potatoes and fresh fruit. Brunch includes a strawberry mimosa or bloody mary, fresh orange juice, mini muffins, and American coffee. It's always lively and crowded with outside seating in good weather. With deference to DC’s political atmosphere, Kramerbooks’ version of a seasonal menu includes such past favorites as the Condit Club Sandwich: "just full of baloney," sautéed and served on white bread!
Estimated cost per person for brunch: $15–20
Holiday schedule: New Year's Day open; Valentine's Day open; Easter open; Thanksgiving closed; Christmas Eve closed; Christmas Day closed; New Year's Eve closed.
LUNA GRILL AND DINER
www.lunagrillanddiner.com
1301 Connecticut Avenue NW
Washington DC 20036
202-835-2280
4024 28th Street South
Arlington, VA 22206
703-379-7173
Hours:
Mon–Thur: 8am–10:30pm
Fri: 8am–12am
Sat: 10am–12am
Sun: 10am–10pm
Luna Grill bills itself as "not your usual diner." It's a popular gathering place because of its reasonable prices, casual feel, and New Age sun and moon décor. The Virginia location has a full size coat of armor to greet you at the door. Brunch is served Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays—but breakfast is served all day. The brunch menu consists of four egg dishes and three different types of benedicts (eggs, steak, and blackened chicken), with a note stating you can order anything else on the menu except pastas or entrees. That leaves a variety of burgers and sandwiches, salads and soups. I always get the Eggs Florentine; they know how to do this dish right. It's sided with home fries, making it a full meal. A great cup of coffee caps it off.
Estimated cost per person for brunch: $10–15.
Holiday schedule: New Year's Day open; Valentine's Day open; Easter open; Thanksgiving open; Christmas Eve open; Christmas Day open; New Year's Eve open.
Just a few blocks off the circle is another lively urban neighborhood with 18th Street & Columbia as its apex: Adams Morgan. A historically diverse neighborhood in the District, it is chock full of little cafés, bodegas, coffee bars, and a rich variety of languages heard on the sidewalks.
LAURIOL PLAZA
www.lauriolplazarestaurant.com
1835 18th Street NW
Washington, DC 20009
202-387-0035
Hours:
Sun–Thurs: 11:30am–11pm
Fri–Sat: 11:30am–12am
Brunch Hours:
Sun: 11am–3pm
The cavernous and airy eating space here is an expansive treat in such a crowded part of the District. A huge, colorful mural covers one high wall creating a dramatic feel. The menu includes items from Peru, Central America, Spain, and Tex-Mex. Chips (very light) and salsa (fresh and spicy!) accompany all items, brunch included. Huevos Rancheros—two fried eggs over crispy tortillas with refried beans, cheese, and ranchera sauce with fruit garnish—are tasty and filling. Chorizo con Huevo is Spanish sausage grilled with any style eggs and served with potatoes and fruit. French toast, Eggs Benedict, and Eggs Florentine are also available, alongside a crab quesadilla, Mahi Mahi Mazatlan, and Bistec a lo Pobre (a Chilean style grilled steak with Spanish onions). Top yourself off with homemade banana, mango, coconut, or peace ice cream or an invigorating shot of expresso.
PERRY’S
www.perrysadamsmorgan.com
1811 Columbia Road NW
Washington, DC 20009
202-234-6218
Hours:
Sun–Thur: 5:30pm–10:15pm
Fri–Sat: 5:30pm–11:15pm
Brunch Hours:
Sun: 10:30am–2:30pm
Perry’s is a DC institution, known for many a thing (none of which quite accord with each other): its rooftop dining area, its view of hectic Adams Morgan, its chic décor, its sushi, its sake, its fashionably fusion menu, and its drag brunch. So in conclusion, everything about Perry’s is very urban and very “in”—but other than that, it’s all over the place. The quality of the sushi is notably unstable, and depending on your fellow diners, your experience there may be either relaxing or aggravating. But as Perry’s has a little bit of everything for everybody, it’s guaranteed to please some of the people, some of the time—and to therefore stay in business forever. In any case, its drag brunch is both a local favorite and a tourist attraction. The show starts at 11am, and fabulous, shimmering divas give it their all as wide-eyed diners nosh on brunch classics. Truth be told, Perry’s smoked salmon is not necessarily better than anyone else’s, but it’s the show that is the real draw. Who knew Sunday morning was such a great time for lip-synching spectacle?
Estimated cost per person for brunch: $20
Another part of Washington beyond the monuments and the Mall is the historic Capitol Hill neighborhood. Victorian rowhouses grace wide avenues lined with trees and personalized little gardens. The anchor and gathering place for this neighborhood is Eastern Market. Built in 1873 the market (inside) contains a wide variety of vendors selling poultry, fish, fruits and vegetables, beef, fresh flowers, bakery products, and plain and gourmet groceries. On Saturdays, area farmers bring in their produce trucks and sell their wares outside as well. Woven through the stands of succulent peaches and garden fresh tomatoes is a long line of patient customers waiting for breakfast at the Market Lunch counter.
MARKET LUNCH IN EASTERN MARKET
www.easternmarket.net
225 7th Street SE (South Hall)
Washington, DC 20003
202-547-8444
Hours:
Tues–Sat: 7:30am–3pm
Sun: 11am–3:30pm
Closed Mondays
For the residents of Capitol Hill, brunch means breakfast at the market. The food and ambiance are worth the lengthy wait on Saturdays for blueberry pancakes, plain pancakes, a variety of omelets, eggs any way you'd like them, delectable artery-clogging bacon or sausage—classic country comfort food that's cheap to boot! Here's the drill: place your order, pay, get your food (listen to the banter behind the counter) and look for a seat. In good weather, occupancy doubles because of the picnic tables outside. Inside you need to eat and then get out so someone else can sit down. Signs warn "No saving seats, no reading newspapers….$100 fine for violations." The sweetie at the cash register rang up my blueberry buckwheat pancakes and coffee and said "$20" with a straight face. I hesitated and then she broke into a big smile. Actual cost was $5. Because of the wait, this is probably not a great choice for families with small children.
Estimated cost per person for brunch: $5–8. (You'd have to overeat to spend $10).
Holiday schedule: New Year's Day closed; Valentine's Day open (if it isn't Monday); Easter closed; Thanksgiving closed; Christmas Eve open; Christmas Day closed; New Year's Eve open.
BREAD AND CHOCOLATE
www.iexpediter.com/demo/brdnchoc/home.htm
666 Pennsylvania Avenue SE
Washington, DC 20003
202-547-2875
2301 M Street NW
Washington, DC 20037
202-833-8360
5542 Connecticut Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20015
(202) 966-7413
Hours:
Mon–Sat: 7am–7pm
Sun: 8am–6pm
Brunch Hours:
Sat: 8am–3pm
Sun: 8am–4pm
This local franchise, as its name implies, specializes in bakery goods that are displayed near the front door. You'll walk by decadent chocolate tortes,fruit glazed cakes, and tarts en route to a table. Food is always reliably delicious, though service can be aggravatingly uneven at the Pennsylvania Avenue location. Omelets are served with rosemary potatoes, or as an alternative, you can order them as a sandwich on a croissant. A special brunch menu is offered Saturday and Sunday that includes champagne, mimosa, bloody mary, or juice; your choice of a long list of breakfast entrees; soup or salad; a basket of assorted breads; and a hot beverage. Entrees are what you would expect, plus a roasted veggie frittata or a peppered smoked salmon frittata. It gets very crowded by mid-morning, so expect a wait at this local favorite.
Estimated cost per person for brunch: $10–15
Holiday schedule: New Year's Day open; Valentine's Day open; Easter open; Thanksgiving closed; Christmas Eve closed; Christmas Day closed, New Year's Eve closed.
One fabulous option in Northwest Washington, where you’re guaranteed to see at least one local celebrity (i.e., a politician, journalist, or other pundit).
CAFÉ DELUXE
www.cafedeluxe.com
3228 Wisconsin Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20016
202-686-2233
Hours:
Mon–Thur: 11:30am–10:30pm
Fri–Sat: 11:30am–11pm
Sun: 10:30 am–10pm
Brunch Hours:
Sun: 10:30am–3pm
This lively place offers skillfully prepared food in a trendy setting. The Wisconsin Avenue site, across the street and north of the National Cathedral, has tall ceilings with fans that rotate the air and the noise! A dark wood bar and trim elsewhere create a retro look. Occupancy doubles in good weather with outside seating. There is a small brunch menu containing scrambled eggs with salmon and green onions, an omelet of the day, and a “deluxe” breakfast of scrambled eggs, bacon, roasted potatoes, and a biscuit. There's also brioche French toast, buttermilk pancakes, and a deluxe benedict that comes with a sundried tomato hollandaise sauce for a twist. The lunch menu is available for brunch and offers a better sense of the chef's style, like a grilled tuna steak sandwich with pickled ginger mayo or a grilled meatloaf with spicy Creole sauce, mashed potatoes, and green beans.
Estimated cost per person for brunch: $10–12.
Holiday schedule: New Year's Day open; Valentine's Day open; Easter open; Thanksgiving closed; Christmas Eve closed; Christmas Day closed; New Year's Eve open.
In addition to being the home of the de facto “fourth branch,” the downtown K Street area is also teeming with fabulous restaurants. Some of this city’s top dining rooms sit next to high-profile law firms and national headquarters for every organization you could possibly think of. This is the place to make your cash, and to spend it.
GEORGIA BROWN’S
www.gbrowns.com
950 15th Street NW
Washington, DC 20005
202-393-4499
Hours:
Sun: 10am–2:30pm, 5:30–10:00pm
Mon–Thur: 11:30am–10pm
Fri: 11:30am–11pm
Sat: 5pm–11pm
Brunch Hours:
Sun: 10am–2:30pm (last seating at 2:15pm)
Southern hospitality. Is it too much to ask that as District residents—clearly south of the Mason Dixon—we enjoy a gentle lilt, some slow-paced chatting, and some deliciously buttery biscuits from time to time? I often wonder if the Washington bigwigs who power-lunch at Georgia Brown’s realize that this is one of the few spots in town where you can really slow down and indulge yourself. This is dressed-up low country cuisine—down home cooking how you wish your grandmother made it. Brunch here is a special treat, with live jazz performances complementing spicy bloody marys (complete with jumbo shrimp garnishes), a visit to the “Chef’s Picnic Table” (full of carved country ham, creamy stone milled grits, applewood smoked bacon, biscuit battered french toast, etc.), entrees such as Ms. Brown’s meatloaf or Caroline Shrimp & Grits, and finally a sampling of home-baked Southern sweets. It’s easy to see why Georgia Brown’s was President Clinton’s favorite Washington dining establishment.
Estimated cost per person for brunch: $32.95 plus beverages, tax, and tip
Holiday schedule: New Year's Day open; Valentine's Day open; Easter open; Thanksgiving closed; Christmas Eve open; Christmas Day closed; New Year's Eve open.
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