Monday, February 23, 2009

Firefly - Dupont Circle, DC

For DC restaurant week, 3 of my girl friends and I went to Firefly in Dupont Circle. It's located about 2 blocks away from the main circle if you want to drive and find street parking. Otherwise the closest metro stop would be Dupont Circle on the Red line.

Why I wanted to try this place:
-I've heard good reviews about it online and from others
-Its a much more casual environment compared to some places also participating in Restaurant Week
-They use local produce and recycled paper take-out boxes

There seemed to be a large patio out front, but I'm not sure if you would be able to eat outside during the summer or not.


What a cool logo!
Firefly is located underneath a hotel, so we actually missed it while we were driving by, so keep your eyes peeled.


The interior was very warm and cozy. The focal point of the restaurant features a tree (fake) that looks like its branches are growing into the ceiling. The place is fairly small, with low ceilings.


This is the main dining room with illuninated logs on the wall, and nice wooden furniture everywhere. It was packed when we walked in, but this was the photo around 4pm.


On the other side of the restaurant is a much smaller dining area that isn't as woodsy and receives a lot of light from the floor to ceiling windows.


They have a bar with a large drink menu, and bar tables if that is where you'd prefer to eat.


I thought it was cool that you could see into the kitchen through a glass that was partially covered up by a stone wall.


Since it was crowded when we arrived around 1pm, we were seated in their back room that had about 5 tables. It had 3 normal white walls, and the stone wall was shared with the kitchen.


As we were waiting for our food we received some really good bread and butter.


Here is a picture of their brunch menu. We thought we were going to have their lunch menu, however they only serve brunch Sunday afternoons. Oh well, now we know.


My cousin inquired about the 'Deviled eggs - 4 hard boiled egg, dried caper, & garlic chips' for $4 (lunch price). The server said they aren't usually made for brunch, however the kitchen could make them. She ended up not ordering them, however Firefly had already made them, so they gave them to us on the house. What a gracious place!


The restaurant week deal is a 3-course meal for $20.09 from a special Restaurant Week menu.

For my 1st course, I ordered the 'Pomegranite Mimosa' which seemed to be special for the Restaurant Week brunch because it isn't on the regular brunch menu. It was good, but hard to drink around 1pm.


For my 2nd course, I ordered 'Pop Pop’s French Toast - Orange & vanilla dipped challah with with apple-raisin compote, maple syrup' that would've been $12. I loved it! I ate the entire thing really fast. The texture was great, the apple and raisin compote was a nice touch, and the maple syrup wasn't too overpowering.


My 3rd course was a 'Blueberry Muffin' that would've been $4. It was really big! It tasted good, however it didn't taste like they baked them there.


One of my friends ordered off the regular Brunch menu and go the 'Hog roll - Grilled Italian sausage with 3 fried oysters and sautéed peppers & onions on baguette' for $15. Usually the fried oysters are inside of the roll, but she asked for them on the side.


Another friend got the 'Beef hamburger with vermont cheddar, onion roll & fries', which would've been $13. It was huge!


My cousin ordered the 'French dip - roast beef, au jus, horseradish cream, fries, with or without cheese' which would've cost $13. Some places automatically dip the sandwich into the au jus, but it was nice that they put it on the side.


My friend and cousin got the same 3rd course/side dish of 'Mixed greens with sherry vinegrette'. I tried some and found it to be mediocre.


Even though we were stuffed, there is ALWAYS room for dessert. I liked their wide selection of items.


All four of us shared the 'Carrot cake with pumpkin cheesecake “icing” - cinnamon crème anglaise, apple cider syrup' for $9. It was really awesome because the stuff ontop was just a scoop of cheesecake. It was really delicious and we finished it all.


Our check came in a mason jar with holes on top! Like we are about to catch fire flies. How cute!


I enjoyed my brunch very much. The atmostphere was not stuffy, but it still was classy. The service was supurb! Our server was super helpful, friendly and nice. I was satisfied with my dishes and you can't beat the DC Restaurant Week deal. Main dishes for lunch range from $11-20.
The check for the 4 of us without tip was around $96.

1310 New Hampshire Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20036
202.861.1310
Website

Breakfast:
Monday - Friday, 7 am - 10 am
Saturday, 8 am - 10 am

Lunch:
Monday - Friday, 11:30 am - 2:30 pm

Brunch:
Sunday, 9 am - 2 pm

Dinner:
Sunday - Thursday, 5:30 pm to 10 pm
Friday & Saturday, 5:30 pm to 10:30 pm

Happy Hour:
Monday - Friday, 5 pm - 6 pm

Firefly - DC on Urbanspoon

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

I've been to Firefly a few times and I'm always very impressed. I'm not sure if they serve them for lunch but they have these amazing garlic truffle french fries. I could eat my weight in them.

Cool photos and write up! Thanks!
Nick

Admin said...

I will be in the Baltimore/DC area in two weeks and would love to visit this place. Thanks for doing the homework for us. :)

John said...

oh man, that looks like a good place to eat. I'm going to send this review to a friend of mine who will be renting a place for a week in Dupont Circle.

Admin said...

Just checking back to report that I went to Firefly per your recommendation and was not at all disappointed! Thanks!

Anonymous said...

Wow..this is looks like a good place to eat. I will be in the DC area in 1 weeks and would love to visit this place. What a cool restaurant and bar... I love all the wood and the coziness of the restaurant. It's very modern and at the same time colonial! Next time I want to go to the bar for drinks looked lively and fun. Dude French dip recipe is bomb and all my freinds love. My
mouth is watering—amazing photo! Awesome! So going to try this.

Thanks
onno david
my site