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The first in a multi-part series, all about our contributors' favorite local breakfast spots. Yum. Look for the second installment next Sunday.
I love breakfast. There, I admitted it.
As I type this, I'm thinking about said breakfasts I love -- some carved from the various kitchens of my childhood at the hands of my mom, others cobbled together in my head from diners, greasy spoons, and neighborhood joints from anywhere and everywhere. I think about eggs over-easy, four slices of crunchy toast, some hash browns or home fries coated in ketchup, and a couple of slices of perfectly cooked bacon. Or a short stack of pancakes, drenched in butter and syrup. Or the simple sweetness of french toast, coated in powdered sugar and highlighted by the slightest hint of cinnamon. With the morning news as a sidekick, and a constantly refilled cup of coffee as the only measure of how long the meal has taken, how can you go wrong?
That's the thing about breakfast -- regardless of whether you prefer to make it at home or have a favorite place that makes your morning meal, everyone understands it. Breakfast, in whatever form you believe it to be, is our most tangible dining ritual.
So color me surprised that Esquire's "comprehensive" list of the 59 best breakfast spots in America featured nary a D.C.-area presence. Are we really that behind the curb for this, the everyman meal, the most important meal of the day?
I kindly asked my friends who contribute here for their thoughts. To no surprise, Washington and her surrounding areas do have great breakfast places. Plenty of them, in fact. Here's some of our favorites.
American City Diner
5532 Connecticut Ave. NW
A Favorite of DCist's: Aaron Morrissey, weekend editor
Sure, it's all the way up Chevy Chase. But there's nowhere in the District proper -- at least which I've encountered -- that so accurately replicates those weekend morning meals of my young life as well as the American City Diner. Sure, its got the fifties decor, and the jukeboxes, and the malt machine; but baby, this is a breakfaster's paradise. They've got everything -- from steak and eggs, to lox and cream cheese, to the simplest of pleasures: crunchy home fries. The coffee never stops; it's almost as if the servers -- many of whom appear as if they've made a fine career out of serving eggs, bacon, and waffles -- have a honing device implanted in their heads, set to alert them at any quarter-filled cup of joe with a smile. (Now that is technology that I can believe in.) The place gets its fair share of folks from the surrounding residences on weekend mornings, but that's nothing unusual. The real beauty of American City's breakfast is its healing power after a long, soul-crushing weekday, when all you want is a little taste of home -- something comforting to get you from right now to tomorrow. American City delivers on that potential connective power of breakfast -- that's why it's one of the best.
Photo by Graham Hough-Cornwell.
212 Second Street SE
Cash only
A favorite of DCist's: Graham Hough-Cornwell, sports and arts contributor
For a variety of reasons, a year or so ago, I stopped buying scrapple at the grocery store, saving (and savoring) it only when out to breakfast at the kind of joint that serves the stuff. Of the many in the area that do, Pete's Diner has long been a favorite. A tiny Capitol Hill not-quite-institution (proof: Congressman and Mrs. Dennis Kucinich were eating omelettes by the window my last time there), its got everything you'd want in a go-to breakfast joint: cheap and filling no-frills food served by a friendly staff almost instantaneously. On my latest visit, I went with the 2 egg, breakfast meat, and 2 pancake combo ($6.25), upgrading to sweet potato pancakes for a buck extra. The sweet potato cakes seemed right on the edge of the kind of thing you order at Pete's but they were pretty damn good, considering. I will be ordering them from now on. There are fine breakfast sandwiches, too, as well as passable hash browns, decent grits, and a variety of other good pancake options too. The bottom line is that Pete's is the kind of place where the scrapple, egg, and cheese sandwich comes on buttered toast with a too-thick slice of scrapple (no paninis here, folks), where your coffee gets refilled endlessly, where you might one day look at the menu and decide to order the Chicken-A-La-King just because it's there and you're there and you're feeling in a pretty good mood. And, hey, it probably won't be that bad. It just won't have any scrapple.
Don Jaime Restaurant
3209 Mt. Pleasant Street NW
A favorite of DCist's: Alicia Mazzara, food writer
On any given weekend morning, you'll find full tables at Don Jaime Restaurant on Mt. Pleasant Street. Neighborhood residents stop in for brunch basics like eggs, toast, bacon, and bottomless cups of coffee. But what makes Don Jaime's special are their huevos divorciados. A variation on huevos rancheros, the "divorced eggs" are served with red and and green salsa, as well as beans and rice. The flavors are clean and simple, and the portions are generous. Other standouts include the migas (scrambled eggs cooked with pieces of corn tortilla, vegetables, and red salsa), the Spanish tortillas, and the spicy chorizo wrap, which comes dripping with bright orange grease. Unfortunately, Don Jaime's does not serve sweet breakfast items like pancakes or waffles, but they do make a mean horchata. And the best part? Nothing costs more than $10, which is exactly the way it should be.
Photo by Samer Farha.
2055 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington
Cash only
A favorite of DCist's: Samer Farha, photographer
The best bagels I've ever had were at 2 a.m. at H&H Bagels in Manhattan, a good 200-plus miles from where I live. The second best bagels I've ever had are 1,000 times closer. This small, unassuming location in a strip of restaurants in the Courthouse neighborhood of Arlington (mere steps from the Metro) makes my favorite breakfast: eggs, bacon, cheese, and tomato all sandwiched between a fantastic crusty/chewy everything bagel.
On the weekends, the place is mobbed. The crowd ranges from those still hung over from a night of drinking up the street, to families venturing out for their first meal of the day. The lines can get ridiculously long, but even when they are out the door, you are usually no more than 10 minutes from a great breakfast.
Brooklyn has all sorts of bagels -- running the gamut from traditional to jalepeno -- and a wide choice of cream cheeses to go on them. You can buy them by the bag, or as breakfast sandwiches. But keep in mind the two golden rules: keep the line moving and cash only. Don't be the one holding up the line because you only brought your credit cards.
Asylum
2471 18th Street NW
A favorite of DCist's: Lynne Venart, arts writer
You'd never know it if you came to the bar on a typically packed weekend night, but Adams Morgan's Asylum serves up a tasty breakfast (under the guise of "brunch") suitable for carnivores and vegetarians alike. Voted Best Brunch by the City Paper and Best Vegetarian Brunch by Vegdc.com, Asylum may not be a big secret, but deserves a mention for its hearty portions of classics like french toast, huevos rancheros, fruit pancakes and chili scramble—all available in their traditionally meat- and egg-filled forms as well as vegan. The service can be a bit slow, so your best bet is to snag a couple stools at the bar if you don't have your whole crew in tow.
Check in with us next Sunday, as we'll continue our list of favorite breakfast spots with a couple of D.C. institutions and many more.
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I am surprised to not see a spot that has been a DC fixture for decades, and the only place in the city to get a good southern breakfast - Florida Avenue Grill.
LaPopessa: Check back with us next week. Trust me, we're not forgetting Florida Ave. Grill -- how could we?
You're both way off. Florida Avenue's alright, but if you want the real deal breakfast without the Dupont pricetag, you want to go over to Wilson's on V Street near the 930 club. Good, greasy, and ridiculously cheap. And their soul food can't be beat: pig's feet, chitlins, grits and gravy. It's like you're in a pork-powered Wayback Machine, set to a time when you could get a decent meal for $5.
American City Diner is a little bit of chrome plated hell on earth. Their slop is overpriced, indifferently served, yet otherwise intelligent persons come back for more punishment. You're better off logging the extra couple miles and hitting the Tastees in either Bethesda or Silver Spring. Or better yet, the much maligned Steak and Egg Kitchen. Get familiar with their crappier; you'll be spending much time there, and I mean that in a good way.
Can't believe you left out Market Lunch. Touristy, yes, but the Brick must be given the respect it deserves.
All this diner talk makes me miss the Waffle Shop that much more. When's Jemal going to put that joint back together up Mount Vernon way?
wait, are you saying that the Florida Avenue Grill is pricey?
What!? No Jimmy T's?
I was just going to say the same thing, but that joint is too crowded as it is. So let me say this, the breakfast at Jimmy T's sucks. It's expensive, the service is slow, and the waiters are surly.
No idea why Jimmy T's is still in business. It must be based solely on Hill folk who go for nostalgia cachet. Even the surliest waitresses at Sherrill's had nothing going on Jimmy T's.
Stop hatin'! I guess they have some sort of half a Soup Nazi thing going on a Jimmy T's where sitting down at a dirty table will get you the stink eye extraordinaire, but they've never been anything but nice to me or the fam.
I've gotten the stink eye from every Tastee Diner employee (Bethesda, Laurel, Silver Spring, and the 29). It's part of their schtick and it's kinda goodnatured. But the guys at Jimmy T's really seem to hate your guts for even showing up. I'll take Pete's any day of the week, or even the Lincoln House Waffle Shop where the original Waffle Shop crew holes up. Same good greasy downtown menu, same crossection of the downtown blue/whitecollar schmucks, just twenty feet to your left.
Sure Jimmy T's is surly. But, the nice thing about it is that it isn't trying to be anything it's not. Cheap, subpar food in a very greasy atmosphere (c'mon they got the Christmas Story leg lamp in their window around christmas!). It's what breakfast places that are not in upper middle class urban areas are like all over the country. Maybe it was my childhood not growing up in one of these said areas, but there is nothing better than crappy french toast for $5 and a pot of black coffee.
The Esquire list is basically what you would expect. Half the list is from NY or CA, another significant porton from new england, and otherwise focused on only places that are located within or near major American cities.
DC's joints are more reminiscent of the small town breakfast joint. Nothing fancy or noteworthy, just solid meals with the basics. The most insulting part of that list: Waffle House - Location, The American South. Wtf? I think they figured that this olive branch to the south would make up for a lack of any other recogniztion.
I guess when you only have 59 spots on your list, it's hard to be diverse when there are just so many good joints within a few hours drive of the (likely) Manhattan and Los Angeles headquarters of the magazine.
Esquire can eat a dick. Ha! One of the $h!ttiest times I've ever had was at Ann Sathers. They stuck us up in the Klondike and some jackass filled the sugar pourer with salt. I waited half an hour for this?
And Papermoon Diner? What is the f**king fascination with this place? Middling slop with a buncha crazy crap on the walls. At least TGI Fridays has quality control down. There's a half dozen old school diners in and around Bmore that are better than this dump.
Katz' is good any time of day.
The thing that really sucks about DC? No Waffle House and no White Castle and no Krystal. It's like we're neither yankee nor southern so you get nothing. Nothing but seared ahi tuna sliders. F**k YOU.
No love for Furin's brunch?
i had some a pretty good waffle with bananas, nutella, and whipped cream this morning at tryst.
not saying it was the best in the world, just felt like sharing!
My problem with breakfast in DC is that so many places don't seem to open until 10 am. I'm up and ready to eat a great breakfast by 8 am most weekends, and there's no way I can hold out 2 hours (and eating a snack and then going just isn't the same). I moved here from Chicago, and there all the best brunch places open at 8 am (both Sat and Sun).
Any suggestions for earlier opening joints? Can DCist post hours of opening on the rest of the series?
It's not just a DC thing. You're pretty much stuck with fastfood in a lot of inner suburbs. I pretty much soiled myself with glee when Atlantis started opening at 7am. Who heard of such insanity? A sit-down place that actually serves breakfast? Surely everyone is commanded by law to drink Starbucks while hovering over a Xerox machine. Is this not the accepted breakfast regimen for DC denizens?
Jimmy T's opens at 6am daily. I'm just sayin' . . .
Yeah, been there done that. Not worth the attitude, and food was mediocre at best.
Thanks for the suggestions, everyone, I will definitely be checking them out!
Nick's Wheaton opens at 6am 1 counter 5 tables damn fine food
Parkway Silver Spring dont even try and do weekend bruch, line is out the door and around the block, but weekday mornings nice breakfast
Virginia doesnt do breakfast inside the beltway, they are to busy eating a whole grain bagel while jogging....except those Bob and Edith's fools
Art Gallery Grill is a nice little nook off I Street around the corner from Farragut West Metro. Open at 6:30am. Cheap breakfasts for that area and the short order cook actually knows what the f**k he's doing. Been around for thirty some years, and they actually swab the crapper once in a while. A real class joint.
The only decent sitdown breakfasts I've had in Old Town were at Table Talk and The Royal. Nothing special, but they do the basics right and dont' look at you like something the cat dragged in. For carryout, the Blue and White is an amazing relic: fried bologna sammitches, chicken livers, scrapple, pork chops. They recently jacked their prices, but it's still a bargain. Anyone walking in from Braddock Road Metro should stop by. Your colon will hate you, but your tongue will forgive you.
Further out in Fairfax, the Tastee 29 is on the historic register: classic chrome diner with booths, linoelum, the works. A truly great greasy spoon.
try working that parkway brunch. five years was more than enough for me!
"Virginia doesnt do breakfast inside the beltway"? Not a greasy spoon but I like the french roast coffee and broccoli-cheese omelette's with fruit on the side for Sunday brunch at Cafe Parisien, Arlington Lee Heights shopping center.
Maybe you'll get to it next week, but Ben's Chili Bowl does a shockingly good breakfast. The french toast is probably better than the half smokes. And they're open early too...6am weekdays 7am saturday (til 10:45). No breakfast sunday, which is unfortunate since brunch has always brought me closer to god than worship.
Deli City does a good breakfast crowd, mostly Metro workers and the Bladensburg Avenue bluecollar crowd. Dirt cheap by DC standards, but Deli City is all about the brisket and pastrami. Getting anything else there is like ordering spaghetti at a steakhouse.
Are you guys on crack? Pete's Diner? seriously? That is the most overrated place in DC. The problem is, there are so FEW places at all in DC to get a good diner breakfast.
Second what people say about Florida Ave. grill. Excellent cloggers.
However, believe it or not, the Tune Inn does a good breakfast. (its bearable since they went no smoking). If you can put up with drunk fireman and other shift workers, it is good, solid affordable fare. Way better than Petes.
A hearty, greasy second for the Tune Inn breakfast. And lunch. And dinner. Or any old thing.
Also, if you're into the retro grease vibe in NoVA, both Weenie Beenie and Burger Delight open at 6am and 7, respectively.
Did you know that the halfsmoke began as a breakfast sausage? Only later did it evolve into the late-night hot beef injector we've come to love, fear, and regret. We must all do our part to bring halfsmokes back onto the breakfast menu.
Oh, and automatic disqualification if you get served with a plastic fork or a paper plate.
My kingdom for a Waffle House.
While I am constitutionally incapable of getting my fat ass out of the house before Noon on the weekend, I would certainly make an effort for the WAFFLE HOUSE.
Steak 'n' Egg??
Tune Inn: Chef Mike's corned beef hash, two eggs over easy, home fries, coffee.
Hold the toast.
can someone please promote the Diner some more so we can get the f'ing hipsters away from FlAve and Wilsons??
Oh, man! The Diner is THE BEST! There's a "secret menu" where you can get special gourmet small plate breakfasts, fifty cent mimosas, fellatio, and your student loans paid off!
There's also a magic portal in the bathroom that leads straight to the back of John Malkovich's brain!
that sounds DELICIOUS! OH MAN i hope NO ONE goes there, because i want to score a seat for LIFE!
As sad as it sounds, if I feel like going out for breakfast on weekends I usually hit the subway and go to the IHOP in Ballston.
First Cup Cafe (formerly breakwells) at 9th & N is addictive. kicka$$ breakfast sandwiches
1. Fuck Ben's Chilli Bowl. (FBCB #18 - 1 for every mention in the blogosquare since 11/08)
2. Im glad this article is here as hopefully it will point out the LACK of breakfast places around here and the world will swoop in and save us. On weekends sorting out where one can even get a seat without a 30 minute wait is excruciating.. Best Guaranteed Spot: Tonic on Mt Pleasant st.
Speaking of f**king chili bowls, just choked down a chili halfsmoke from Weenie Beenie, although I was tempted to try their scrapple and fried bologna eggwich. Their halfsmokes are the same brand as Ben's (natural casing, dense grind) except they split it down the middle. And their chili is just as bland as Ben's as well. Best part was that the bill was $2.60 instead of the $5.25 Ben's is charging. They also have a fairly extensive menu of Salvadorean items, probably because of the dozens of day laborers waiting for work in the parking lot.
Sort of off topic - but please, PLEASE learn the difference between it's and its. Aaron, you're driving me batty.
I thought Kucinich was vegan. I know this because when my friend met him, she lied and said she was vegan. She's a vegetarian, but not vegan. We teased her for months.
He is, and it is possible to make a 'vegan omelette', but I have no idea if the establishment in question does this.
Vegan omelette -- I just threw up a little...
Pete's does a daily vegan special. Don't know if they offer a similar item for breakfast, but it wouldn't surprise me.
Pete's is generally ok. Many these places are generally ok. Not a lot of really great breakfast places in DC -- it's either greasey spoons or brunch, which is an entirely different beast. Maybe this works for some people? I don't know
Pete's does a daily vegan special. Don't know if they offer a similar item for breakfast, but it wouldn't surprise me.
Pete's is generally ok. Many these places are generally ok. Not a lot of really great breakfast places in DC -- it's either greasey spoons or brunch, which is an entirely different beast. Maybe this works for some people? I don't know
One of the best breakfasts I've ever had was a Chock Full o' Nuts datenut bread and cream cheese sandwich, a cup of house blend, and a walk through Times Square. About the closest you could come to that in DC is a Breakfast Big Bite at 7-11, a can of Drank, and a sprint to the nearest toilet.
Unfortunately, I am unable to tell you what they were eating. It's a small place, and hovering by their table, I feel, would've been a little intrusive.
Also, Steak and Egg deserves a mention.
Parkway should definitely get props on this and national lists. It's a great place. And the dreaded line does move on Sunday's - getting there before 9 on Saturday and Sunday (if you can get up that early) is also a good move.
Tastee in Silver Spring is another classic and a good back-up if the Parkway line is unbearable.
You either go to the Parkway Deli early or not at all. The Tastee is our usual backup, but I sometimes find myself wandering up Georgia Avenue and hitting The Woodside Deli. Solid breakfast and they do kosher, if that's how you roll.
If you keep going up Georgia Ave to Wheaton - the Royal Mile Pub does a nice brunch. Nothing says Sunday morning hangover like a rusty nail and a full Scottish breakfast... with haggis. Or if you ask nicely, they can combine the best of the Irish and Scottish breakfasts for you. Black and white pudding AND haggis with your eggs. Mmmmmmmmmm
We like giving nicknames to our breakfast places -- some of which are on the list here:
- Pete's Diner we know as The Americian Diner
- Brooklyn Bagel Bakery should really be better known as Yuppie Bagel. Its counterpart is Mommy Bagel -- the Chesapeake Bagel Bakery in Lee-Harrison center in Arlington. The Bagels & Baguettes on Mass ave and 3rd NE is Smokehouse Bagel
Setting that aside, there's a surprising dearth of good cheap unassuming breakfast joints in Capitol Hill. Bad brunch buffets are easy to find, but competent pancakes are unusualy elusive..
Tortilla Cafe in Eastern Market fits the bill: good, cheap, unassuming breakfasts. No shortage of lousy brunches in DC, which is typical. Take two decent meals and turn them into one $h!tty one. But with a slice of melon! $17.95 plus tax. EAT ME!
From the glass-enclosed perv center of monkeryrotica-DOT-COM!
(Monkeyrotica.com is fed by...Ledo's Pizza! And some half-naked woman feeding him some grapes.)
Brooklyn Bagel sucks, I've never had a good experience there. I'm privy to Bagels and Baguetts, but I can't sit more than 3 mins in there before huge sweat rings start showing up through my shirt from the 1781 degree heat in there
Question - what constitutes "district proper"? I'm confused because American City Diner is in the Chevy Chase neighborhood of DC...
It's still within the Northwest boundary of DC. It's not in Maryland.
Unfortunately.
Thanks, that's what I thought...haha. I assumed district proper referred to anything within the boundaries of DC. Good call on The Woodside Deli.
Pete's is the worst place I have ever eaten. Hands down. Best breakfast by far *was* Colorado Kitchen in Brightwood. I'm anxious to try Chef's new place in Silver Spring called the General Store. Now, SHE knows how to make a good breakfast!
Just don't try asking Gillian Clark for salt or pepper. She'll give you an all-you-can-eat coupon book to Junkpunchers.
Pete's is truly terrible. You would have to pay me to eat there again. Le bon, the cafe next door may not be a traditional brunch place, but I would MUCH rather eat breakfast there.