Tabard Inn - Dupont Circle, DC

I need to do the whole 'brunch thing' more often. Heading into the city without traffic on a late Sunday morning for breakfast food is my kinda deal. I met my friend and former college roomie at the Tabard Inn, which has one of the most popular brunches in DC. They offer valet out front for $7 until 3pm.

This 40-room hotel has a multi-level restaurant that reminds me of a row house. Cozy, small and Victorian. Thankfully we weren't in the main room (it can get loud and cramped), but were seated next to a window on a higher floor. They have a nice garden patio for when the weather is nice.

It's advised to make reservations 2-3 weeks in advanced. So plan in advance and give them a call!

The menu is inspired by fresh, seasonal, local ingredients and consists of mostly savory items. All dishes are a la carte, and due to high volumes during brunch, there are no substitutions folks!

While waiting for our dishes to arrive, we received a basket of  sweet and salty selections like muffins and cornbread.

My friend went the savory route and ordered the Scrambled Eggs with cream cheese and chives, house-made Toulouse sausage, home fries ($14). She loved her dish! I tried the eggs and potatoes, which were both amazing. We've been inspired to add cream cheese to our eggs in the future.

She also ordered a side of Cheese Grits, which wasn't listed on the menu as an a la carte item, but our server said it was possible.

Isn't this so pretty? It was very simply plated, but tastefully done. I went the sweet route, and ordered the Lemon Buttermilk Waffles with raspberry-plum compote, whipped cream ($12). You can taste a hint of lemon in the batter, which goes along well with the fruit compote. Fluffy texture, and I didn't need to drown them in maple syrup. It was very sweet on its own, which would've been perfect with a side of bacon.

Very nice, and cozy place. All of the items on the menu looks delicious and we've heard about the donuts they make, but we didn't get a chance to try them. Our server was very knowledgeable when we asked for recommendations. I definitely enjoyed trying my friend's food and will probably go the savory route the next time.

Tabard Inn
1739 N St NW
Washington, DC 20036
202-331-8528
www.tabardinn.com/restaurant

Lincoln - McPherson Square, DC

Brunch for birthday celebrations is such a nice change from typical dinners. We took my wonderful aunt to Lincoln. Their seasonal menu uses fresh, local ingredients for its American dishes. They have outdoor seating in front for warmer weather, and metered street parking.

The interior is beautiful! The detailing is on the walls, furniture, ceiling and floor looks modern yet colonial-chic. Jars hang from the ceilings while the floor is COVERED in real pennies. One of the walls changes color, and it was hot pink while we were there.

See the hot pink wall? Can't have brunch without some drinks! We had Bellinis and Mimosas.

 The birthday lady ordered the Brunch Burger ($13). Who doesn't love a fried egg on top?

My cousin ordered the Poached Eggs Benedict ($13). She thought everything was seasoned well.

My Stuffed French Toast ($10) was quite special. I ate the entire thing, didn't have to cover it in syrup and enjoyed the pears very much. It was very light and fluffy. I'd recommend this and order this again!

My cousin and I were being fatties and decided to share a Gingerbread Waffle ($14) from their waffle/omelet station in the front. It is made to order and you can top it however you like. You have the option of a regular waffle too. It tasted like a dessert!

Such a beautiful place and the food was delicious. Everything was between $10-14, so it can add up if you want more food. Our server was nice, but not as attentive as he was serving a large party in a separate room. One cool thing was a DJ was playing house music during brunch, which brought a trendy vibe.

Lincoln Restaurant
1110 Vermont Ave NW
Washington, DC 20005
lincolnrestaurant-dc.com
(202) 386-9200

Acadiana - Mt Vernon Sq, DC

I would never describe myself as a morning person, but every once and a while it's nice to get out of my PJ's and grab some brunch in DC. It was my aunt's birthday, and my cousin and I wanted to take her somewhere different (we took her to Perry's Drag Queen brunch once), so this time Bitches Who Brunch recommended Acadiana for their Cajun brunch with live jazz band. There is limited street parking and valet for $7 on K St . The closest metro station is Mt Vernon Sq 7th St - Convention Center on the green line.

The interior feels very spacious with their high ceilings and classy decor. Aside from the main dining room, there's another large room in the back.

For brunch, only the 3-course pre-fixed menu is offered for $29. If you add an extra $9, you can have unlimited access to their raw bar of shrimp and oysters. Instead of bread, we were served biscuits with cream cheese and mild pepper jelly. OMG it was so good, and the name describes itself. It tastes great paired with cream cheese or cheddar cheese too.

For those who like to start off the day with a little alcohol, they offer Cajun Marys and Blood Orange Mimosas for $1. I ordered a 'Blood Orange Mimosa', which was very yummy. It didn't taste like there was much champagne in it, but you get what you pay for.

We had a group of 8, so I'm going to post some of the items we ordered as references.
For our appetizer course, I ordered the 'Fried Green Tomatoes (Zatarain’s spice boiled gulf shrimp rémoulade) (left)', which I thought was delicious.
Other items ordered were the 'Roasted Sweet Corn and Blue Crab Soup (top)' and 'Smoked Chicken and Andouille Sausage Gumbo (bottom)'.

5 of us ordered the 'Eggs Acadiana (two poached eggs, Louisiana crawfish crabcakes, tasso ham hollandaise) (left)', which were really good and light considering I'm not a huge fan of hollandaise sauce. Originally 2 of the 5 ordered the '“Grillades and Grits” (smothered medallions of veal, creamy jalapeno cheese grits) (not pictured)', and sent them back for being too salty.
The bf ordered the 'Blackened Tilapia (sweet corn pudding, collard greens with bacon, crawfish lemon tabasco butter) (right)', and found he cared for the fish more than the sides.

After wanting to burst from our meal, it was time for dessert. I found the best one to be the 'Pecan Tart (praline caramel, milk chocolate ice cream) (left)' because it was the sweetest one and the crust was amazing.
I ordered the 'Warm Vanilla Bread Pudding (bourbon cream, praline crunch ice cream) (top)', which didn't compare to my favorite at Gordon Biersch.
In the spirit of New Orleans, others ordered the 'French Market Beignets (chicory coffee creme anglaise)(bottom)', which were ok.

The birthday girl and her birthday candle! The menus even said "Happy Birthday" on them, which was a nice touch.

Little chocolate treats were given to us with our bill.

I enjoyed the service and thought the whole staff was nice and friendly. Our server did a mini tutorial on napkin folding, they were accommodating when we sent food back and the manager even checked in on our table. Granted some dishes were better than others, overall it was a nice time with the live jazz band and the amount of food for the price.

901 New York Ave NW
Washington, DC 20001
(202) 408-8848
www.acadianarestaurant.com

Founding Farmers - Foggy Bottom, DC

Recently, my friend invited about 14 of us to get brunch at American restaurant Founding Farmers for her birthday. Located three blocks from the White house, there is street parking and hourly garage parking (one block away). The closest metro stop are Farragut West and Foggy Bottom on the blue and orange lines.

This is DC's first Certified LEED restaurant. That means the restaurant's architecture and interior have been constructed and created with a minimum impact on the environment. They also purchase ingredients from family farms, compost, recycle, and practice other methods of being "green".

I wasn't able to check out the top floor but the 1st floor could fit a lot of people. This 2-level restaurant has a modern-colonial look. The high ceilings, large windows and "slabs of tree" tables were casual but refined.

They gave our bustling group a few pitchers/bottles of water (how cute!), and the bf ordered an 'Arnold Palmer (iced tea and lemonade)' for $3. Since this drink is made to order, they didn't offer free refills like some other drinks. I wish they did though because it was refreshing.

Our table shared some orders of deviled eggs.
Top: Devil-ish Eggs: The Classic (A Platter of Our Traditional Deviled Eggs with the Classic Filling) for $4. Who doesn't love deviled eggs?
Bottom: Devil-ish Eggs: The Combo (Our Classic Devil-ish Eggs, with Maine Lobster, Gulf Crab, and Salmon) for $14. I found these to be overly salty.

This was a little less than 1/2 our table. Lots of people and food crammed onto one table! I'll be mentioning some other people's dishes so you can see what they look like.

My cousin ordered the 'Eggs Benedicts with Crab (Two Soft Poached Eggs on House-Made English Muffin. Served Leek Hash Browns)' for $13. She found the dish to be somewhat soggy, and lacked bold flavors. She also didn't finish the leek hash browns. Overall, she said it was ok.

The birthday girl ordered 'Southern Pan Fried Chicken (Crispy Fried Free-Range Chicken with Gravy and Waffles. Served with Mac’m'Cheese and Today’s Vegetable) for $16. This dish came off of the lunch/dinner menu, so the portions were huge! She found the fried chicken to be non-greasy, and the green beans cooked perfectly. The mac & cheese was a bit overcooked and bland.

The bf ordered 'Fried Chicken, Eggs and Waffles (Crispy-Fried Free-Range Chicken Tenders with Gravy, Two Eggs Any Way and a Golden Waffle with Whipped Farm Butter) for $12. I felt bad because he wanted to order the item above, but I pointed this out on the brunch menu thinking it was the same for cheaper. Nope! These are chicken tenders and apparently I can't read when I'm hungry. He thought the chicken tenders were better than ones you get at the bar and he actually liked the waffle even though he's not a pancake/waffle kind of guy. He ordered this dish because he wanted to relive our visit to Roscoe's in LA.

I ordered the 'New Orleans Style Stuffed French Toast (House-Made Brioche Soaked in Brandy Creme Anglaise, Flash Fried and Filled with Vanilla Pastry Cream with Maple Cinnamon Syrup) for $8. They looked like mini bricks of fried dough. Only one of them had filling, so they weren't as special. It tasted more like a dessert and though I enjoyed it, it wasn't what I was expecting.

Look at the cake her boyfriend surprised her with! A giant red velvet cupcake cake from Just Cakes in Bethesda. It's so adorable!

I love red velvet, but I think this cake might have become a bit dry because it was picked up a few days prior.

A pic of all the ladies!

We had such a large table of people, so at times food and drinks were coming out slow but that's understandable. The atmosphere makes it a cool place to eat with friends. The food was average/normal because no one said their dishes was spectacular or horrible. The prices are kind of high for breakfast food, but they offer large portions. It's always nice to support a place that is environmentally conscious (hippie at heart) and they offer around 8 vegan-friendly dishes too.

1924 Pennsylvania Ave NW
Washington, DC 20006
(202) 822-8783
www.wearefoundingfarmers.com


Mon-Tue 8 am - 10 pm
Wed-Fri 8 am - 12 am
Sat 10 am - 12 am
Sun 10 am - 10 pm