Weekends in DC are a little different, one of Adrienne’s DC friends informed us that brunch is kind of a big deal out here. Which is fine, I’ve been training for this. We’ve been having brunch at my mother’s for about the past 6 months on Sundays. This is Saturday, but otherwise I’m in my element.
Kelsey and Dennis had made reservations for brunch (can you imagine?) at a Belgian cafe, Belga. They hadn’t tried it for brunch, but all prior experience(s) at this establishment were strongly positive. So Adrienne and I suited up, hopped on the Metro, and walked to a quaint cafe on some side of town that I cannot further describe because I wasn’t paying attention to directions. (Adrienne now tells me that this neighborhood is called “Capitol Hill”). I think there was an “East Market” coming up later in the story, so I’m going with that. We headed to the East side of town.
The cafe was able to expand by a considerable margin (rough estimate about 20% increase in capacity) by outside seating. We sat indoors because it was still a little chilly. Beautiful, but for brunch we wanted to be more comfortable.
The bacon was sliced very thin and fried “rather crispy”. It also came in a bucket. They used fried onion crisps to hold the bacon strips upright.
Adrienne had a Belgian waffle (if you are surprised someone ordered a waffle in a Belgian cafe at brunch you are beyond my help) with caramelized apples and cinnamon. There were two dollops of homemade whipped cream on the side. This is handily the best waffle experience I have placed under my belt.
I had a very nice dish that was an opened English muffin with a poached egg on each half, a few asparagus spears, Norwegian smoked salmon, and it was all topped with Hollandaise sauce. Artfully crafted, arranged, and presented. It was simply a delight to eat, as well!
Two of us had mimosas and two had bloody Mary’s. All said they were good. I think the mistake I made, however, was that I neglected to have any coffee.
I have to say, my first DC brunch experience was a raging success! So we packed up, walked through the East Side Market, peered in a few of the vendors, and then parted ways. The next time I’ll see Kelsey and Dennis will be for their wedding. We snaked through the vendors, found a Starbucks, relieved my coffee woes, and then walked to the Capitol. There were people protesting outfront. I have to say, and I cannot stress this point enough, if you are going to protest, try to summarize your point(s) into very small signs so we can understand them. These people had a very long sign that about 6 people were holding poles for and walking in circles to express their point. At that point, my attention was lost on the protest because I was already admiring the very nice scaffolding surrounding the dome of the Capitol. Later, we walked past the Supreme Court building, then stopped in some shops including Kramerbooks so we could pick out some reading material for the inevitable trip home. We headed back to the hotel for a siesta (brunching can be hard).
I’ll have another post just for dinner….
Dining With Dr. Baltes 