The second in our series of our favorite breakfast joints. Pass the syrup. You can check out last weekend’s first installment here.
Photo of the pancake maker at Florida Ave. Grill by maxedaperture.
This week, DCist highlights a couple of the area’s most beloved breakfast cathedrals, as well as our favorite places to grab tasty breakfast morsels from across the Pacific Ocean. Additionally, breakfast hours for each outpost have been added, where available — so you can appropriately plan out hitting up all of these spots in one weekend. Without further ado:
Florida Avenue Grill
1100 Florida Ave. NW
Tue-Sat 8 am – 9 pm
Sun 8 am – 4:30 pm
Mocha Hut
1301 U Street NW
Mon-Fri 7 am – 3 pm
Sat-Sun 8 am – 3 pm
Favorites of DCist’s: Sommer Mathis, editor-in-chief
The folks at Florida Avenue Grill know what they’re doing when it comes to breakfast, and well they should: the place has been serving up Southern-style diner food since 1944, as evidenced by the yellowed, “famous for D.C.” framed headshots that adorn the walls. The breakfast menu offers every imaginable combination of classic favorites. You want eggs, buttery grits, hotcakes, bacon and flaky, homemade biscuits? No problem. Just order the recently added “Obama Special.” Add a side of their perfectly spiced scrapple for good measure (or the generous portion of Virginia ham, or the corned beef hash, or the stewed apples, or the home fries). The lines to get one of the few cramped tables are notoriously long on the weekends, but make a point of meeting a friend there at 8 a.m. on a Tuesday, and you won’t be sorry. This is no gruff institution, either. Half the reason to go is for the warm, family atmosphere. Bring your smile and your appetite, and leave your diet at the door.
With U Street filling up with one pretentious, mediocre brunch option after another, it’s reassuring every time I walk into Mocha Hut for one of their surprisingly cheap breakfasts. The homemade Belgian waffles are always good for a treat, but the real deals are the breakfast sandwiches (choose toast, bagel or croissant, ranging from $2.65-$4.95) for when you’re on the go, and the ever-changing Eggs on Toast special for when you can sit down and eat. Ask what’s in the scramble of the day at the counter before you order — it’s generally some combination of eggs, cheese, tomatoes, onions, and meat, often chopped bacon — served atop four large pieces of buttered toast, all for about $6. Mocha Hut’s non-edible draw has long been their free Wi-Fi, but for about the last six months, it seems like they’ve stopped bothering to offer their own signal, expecting customers to leech off the Ellington’s lobby next door. It’s still worth going in for their tasty breakfast deals; just don’t necessarily plan on sticking around for too long to get work done.
