August 2011
10 posts
#77 Tru Orleans
Who: Cyril, Greta, Baby Daddberg (in utero)
Where: H Street
What: Beignets for the table, veggie omelet (fries instead of home fries), bloody mary
Okay, well Hurricane Irene kind of sucked. At least in the 15 block region of DC I frequent, it sucked. Walking out of my apartment on Sunday morning, I was encountered with the devastation below (note the Geo in the bottom left—luckily it...
#76 Creme
Who: Timmy D
Where: U Street
What: Veggie eggwhite omelet, coffee, bloody
Hurricane Irene.
The ninth named storm, first hurricane and first major hurricane of the annual hurricane season, Irene originated from a well-defined Atlantic tropical wave that began showing signs of organization east of the Lesser Antilles. It developed atmospheric convection and a closed cyclonic circulation...
#75 Firehook
הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא ☼ צֵאתְכֶם לְשָׁלוֹם מַלְאֲכֵי הַשָּׁלוֹם מַלְאָכֵי עֶלְיוֹן מִמֶּלֶךְ מַלְכֵי הַמְּלָכִים הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא שָׁלוֹם עֲלֵיכֶם מַלְאֲכֵי הַשָּׁרֵת מַלְאֲכֵי עֶלְיוֹן מִמֶּלֶךְ מַלְכֵי הַמְּלָכִים הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא בּוֹאֲכֶם לְשָׁלוֹם מַלְאֲכֵי הַשָּׁלוֹם מַלְאֲכֵי עֶלְיוֹן מִמֶּלֶךְ מַלְכֵי הַמְּלָכִים הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא ...
#74 Joni's
Who: The Logro Bachelorette Girls
Where: Montauk
What: Scrambled egg wrap with caramelized onions, mushrooms, avocado, tomato
As we mentally prepared for our long voyage home from the beach on Sunday, we stopped in for a quick bite at Joni’s—one of the many cute, sleepy little places we visited during our short trip to Montauk. Joni’s was great. Close by, easy, simple, no...
#73 Bird on the Roof/Montauk Bake Shoppe
Who: Laura, Katie Gro, Bob, Teen, Jill, Patty, The Gilbert Cousins, Emily Kaye, Jenny Bursky, Kath, Hilary, Liz and Isabelle
Where: Montauk, NY
What: Delicious iced coffee at Montauk Bake Shop, california omelet, homefries for the table, lots of Teen’s quesadilla and Patty’s huevos rancheros
Many people go out of their way to never let worlds collide. Friends from work never meet...
#71 Splash Pool Bar
Who: Bridget, Emily, Dan, Jess, Kyle
Where: The Samoset—Rockland, ME
What: Cobb Salad with portabellas, lots of Bridget’s fries, bloody mary
Sitting idly by the pool on vacation unleashes a beast inside even the most frugal, practical of people. The Vacation Beast seems to come out of nowhere. One minute you’re taking nickles and dimes out of your wallet to pay for the...
#70 Home Kitchen Cafe
Every small town in America has THE spot for breakfast. Do a slow drive down the strip and you’ll find that one place with a jam packed parking lot and a huge, hopping line of people waiting out the door. It can be a diner, a shack on the side of the road, a hotel bar, a food truck, or a random restaurant on Main Street USA surrounded by a bunch of other random restaurants on Main...
#69 Amtrak 683 Downeaster
Who: Dano
Where: Somewhere between Boston and Haverhill, MA
What: The battle of the breakfast sandwiches—Dunkin Donuts vs Sweet Touch Cafe
Nothing beats a good breakfast sandwich when you’re on the road. Crispy, gooey and delicious, the breakfast sandwich combines all the best parts of brunch into one simple, portable little package. One might think that all breakfast sandwiches...
#68 Aunt Millie's House
It’s funny to be back at the Kid’s Table. It’s even funnier to be at a meal where the “Kid’s Table” means anyone under the age of 60. SIXTY!!!
Who: Dan, Lisa, Jeff, (cousin) Melanie, Pat ‘mom’ Kalik, and the rest of Dan’s fam (and old family friends)—Aunt Millie, Uncle Tom, Grandpa Larry…
Where: 84th and Madison—NYC
What:...
#67 Benjamin
Who: Dan, Lisa, Jeff, Pat ‘mom’ Kalik Where: 33rd and 2nd—NYC What: Eggwhite omelet with onion, mushrooms and avocado (fries instead of home fries), diet coke
Unless you regularly frequent a particular part of the city, picking a spot for brunch in Manhattan is pretty much a crap shoot. With a restaurant every five feet, all serving a full menu, some sort of brunch special and...
July 2011
14 posts
Annie's x2: Goodbye Laura and Peter
Who: Laura, Peter, Michael, Liz, Dano, Patty, Mel, David Salmanowitz Where: 17th St (heeeeey) What: Onion rin gs/ fried mozz for the table, avocado and tomato ome let (with fries), coffee, spicy bloody
Laura and Pete r are moving to New York. To Brooklyn. To Smith Street. It is truly horrible and it will only after we find someone to replace them in next month’s try-outs that we’ll...
Becca Kelly's x2: Bridget's bridal shower
Who: Bridget, Becca, Bethany, Dayle, Maura, Heather, Catherine Chicken
Where: 5th and K
What: Cheese/crackers/veggies/hummus, veggie frittata, delicious spinach salad, fruit, blueberry crisp, champagne!
We were never quite sure this day would come. After 31 years of vodka sodas, over-sized Tshirts, whisper voices in crowded restaurants and Buffalo Bills parafanalia, Bridget Petruczok is...
Ulah x2: Matthew and Peter's Bachelor Party
Who: The dregs of Matthew and Peter’s bachelor party—Dan, Jer, Josh Skaroff, Jon Davis, Sammy B, Sam Simon, Andy, Patty, Mel
Where: U Street
What: Fries (split with Dan), grilled veggies, bloody mary
The boys looked rough the morning after the Slutsky twins’ 2-night bachelor party fiasco. As a woman, I was neither privy to, nor desiring, of the details of the weekend, but...
Logan Tavern x2: Mel's [almost] new apartment
Who: Mel, Susan and Alan Salmanowitz, Sally, Rachel Kelly (!!!), Irene and Patty
Where: P Street
What: Grilled Portabella and Asparagus (with polenta and greens), lots of diet coke
We ended up at Logan Tavern as an afterthought. Melissa’s mom (who you may remember) and dad ended up coming to DC at the very last minute to check out the condo that Mel was looking to buy. As sometimes...
#XX The Repeats...
It was inevitable, there were going to be some repeats. There’s no way to eat this much brunch in the same 3 mile radius of my apartment and not have some doubles. So even though these brunches don’t count towards the 100, I would be remiss to pretend they didn’t exist. So here, in a special 100daysofbrunch edition, is a little blip on the four (so far) missing mornings…
#66 Dino
Whenever we go to brunch with Ankit and Nora recently, it seems that we have a habit of picking places that aren’t really designed for a morning crowd. Not sure if it’s because we have collective trouble getting anywhere before 1pm, or because we just all secretly like to push the breakfast envelope, but for whatever reason, it’s made for some pretty interesting culinary...
#65 Matchbox
Who: GINA!
Where: 8th Street SE—Barrack’s Row
What: Splitsville with Gina—Breakfast pizza, veggie fritatta and a bloody mary…and a diet coke
Nothing erases all the ills of a rough Friday night as much as a good, sweaty Saturday morning workout. It’s one of those things that sounds like a terrible idea at the time—no lunatic would leave a nice warm bed and a...
#64 Cindy's Country Store
Who: Laura, Hilary, Kath, Greta, and Mel Where: Denton, MD (just off 404) What: Watermelon slices, pasta salad, cole slaw to start, veggie omelet, home fries (for the table) the most buttery delicious biscuit ever in America, and fountain diet coke
There’s no point in denying credit where credit is due. The Bitches nailed it. It never in a million years would have ever crossed our...
#63 cANALside Inn
Who: Patty, Marisa, Jamie, Lyndsi, Tara, Bridget, Laura, Greta
Where: Rehoboth, DE
What: Bagels and cream cheese/peanut butter, cereal, juice, coffee
There is nothing more powerfully alluring than a free continental breakfast. It doesn’t matter if you’re staying at a five star chateau in the environs of Paris, or a Hampton Inn on the lower Mississippi Delta, the free continental...
#62 Dos Gringos
Who: Jer, Sally, Unborn Cluchey Baby (UCB), Dan
Where: Mt. Pleasant
What: Plato Tipico (fried plantains, beans, egg, tomato, onion, avocado, ranchero sauce, sour cream) and giant cinnamon roll for the table
Seeing as how our good friends Sally and Jer are going to be star characters in the upcoming cinematic debut of BRUNCH: THE MOVIE, it only makes sense to introduce the newest member of the...
#61 Big Bear Cafe
Who: Dano Where: 1st and R NW—Bloomingdale What: Grilled portobello salad, peach iced tea, DALE’S pale ale
The dream of the 90’s is alive in… WASHINGTON, DC??? What?!??! That’s not how it goes!!!! Where did all these people come from???
So after all that blabbing about the Dream of the 90’s and the wonders of Portland and how there’s no place on earth...
#60 Gracie's
Who: Mom, Dad, Dan, Ron, Carol (Ron’s wife), Ron/Carol’s daughter/grandson
Where: Hotel Deluxe (used to be the Mallory)—Portland
What: Eggwhite omelet with mushrooms, onions and avocado, potatoes, coffee
It takes a long time to realize that your parents are real people. We all know in our heads that our parents are human and imperfect and not put on this planet simply to ask...
#59 Screen Door
THE DREAM OF THE 90’s IS ALIVE IN PORTLAND!!
It’s not just a clever song. The Dream of the 90’s IS alive in Portland. Tribal tattoos, the One More Time Around Again Marching Band, double-decker bikes… this is real! The Dream of the 90’s!
Who: Blann Reynolds, Dan Reynolds, Dan K
Where: East Burnside, PDX
What: Blackened Tofu and Egg Scramble, grits, coffee, 2...
#58 Portland Farmer's Market
Who: Mom and Dan
Where: PSU Park Blocks—Portland, OR
What: Berries, berries, berries, millions of other fruits, cheeses, veggies…
You think you know farmers markets. You think you have experienced farmers markets. You think you have seen all there is to see at farmers markets. You think that in the end, all farmers markets are basically the same. Well you know what? You are wrong....
June 2011
10 posts
#56 Eric's Back Patio
Who: Eric and Dan
Where: Just around the corner from our apartment on 13th St
What: Blueberry buckwheat flaxseed almondmeal wholesome pancakes
Eric is the kind of chef who doesn’t skimp. When he offers you something, you know it’s going to be made with only the farm freshest ingredients, most likely purchased that day at an outdoor market or harvested directly from his garden (see...
#57 MiSi's Couch
Who: Michael Simon, Addisu, Dan Where: 12th and N—Specifically on the couch/standing huddled around the dining room table What: NACHOS
We had nachos at Michael Simon’s in the early afternoon. They were truly amazing. The most amazing part, however, was that they seemed to come out of thin air. From inception to contemplation to creation, the execution was seamless. At one point, we...
#55 Alan and Andy's House
Who: Rach and Julie, Alan and Andy (until they left us home alone), Emily, Nic, Blake, Blake’s Emily, Myles, Elizabeth, Cousin Robin, Cousin Susan, Lyn, Yeju, Brina, ATS, Jenna, Kim, Dano, Edith the Dog
Where: Brooklyn Heights…yes we are STILL in Brooklyn
What: Bagels (both NYC and Montreal) and cream cheese, smoked meats, whitefish salad, chocolate babka, poop cupcakes
Julie and...
#54 Karloff
Who: Rabbi Jon Prosnit and Dan
Where: Cobble Hill—not sure why we’re still in Brooklyn
What: Roasted veggies, Half of Dan’s egg and cheese croissant sandwich, pirogies for the table, iced coffee
Our dear friend Jon Prosnit is about to do something crazy. Unclear if it’s good crazy or bad crazy, but it is definitely crazy. A newly minted Rabbi, Prosnit is about to...
#53 The Marden's/Ted and Honey
Brooklyn. The home of the Cosby’s. The home of the Dodgers. The home of the infamous Nathan’s Hotdog Eating Contest (Attended by over 40,000 in spectators in 2010, with an additional 1.677 million viewers watching live on ESPN. Wow.). Brownstones. Hasidic Jews. Do the Right Thing. Strollers. The G Train. Hipster gays. The BQE. This is Brooklyn—that little known universe east of...
#52 Kitchen 2404
Who: Mary, Mary’s sister Sarah, Mary’s brother-in-law Steven
Where: Glover Park
What: Summer omelet no goat cheese [x4], homefries, coffee, bloody
Sometimes you go somewhere and the service is so bad, it’s just funny. Well, it’s funny until you realize that it’s 95 degrees outside and you just biked up a GIANT hill and arrived sweaty and disgusting and your...
#51 Color Nails
Who: Gina, Quin and all our friends at Color Nails
Where: 17th Street
What: An Asian spread—summer rolls, 3 kinds of noodles, egg roll things, rice, bread, some sort of meat in a crockpot, coffee
Gina and I never saw it coming. There we were, wandering aimlessly through NW DC on our way home without a care in the world. It was only noon and we’d already exercised, eaten, shopped...
#50 Martin's
To everyone who didn’t think I could do it (well who knows, I still might not), this is officially #50. HALF WAY THERE, BITCHES!!!! HALF WAY!!!!
Who: The Postars (Dara, Stephanie, Dad [The Boss], Mom), Gina, Dara’s dad’s lawfirm coworkers
Where: Georgetown
What: California omelet, fries, coffee, diet coke
Hanging out with your coworkers on the weekend can be awkward. Sure,...
#49 Kellari Taverna
Who: Ankit, Nora, Dano What: Pastry basket (comes with the deal), olives and cheese (from the bar), eggplant dip (for the table), Greek fritata, unlimited champagne Where: 17th and K…Downtown
Like most non-New York, non-LA cities in the country, downtown DC can be a desolate place on the weekends. Habitated by sad lawyers in flip flops and polo shirts wasting their Saturdays...
#48 Ted's Bulletin
Who: Dan (runner), Gina, Lucy, Becca, Justin
Where: 8th Street SE (Barrack’s Row)
What: Homemade pop tarts (for the table), eggwhite omelet, bloody
DANIEL JAY KALIK RAN A 5K. All at once. No pausing. No walking. No breaks. Not even any real slowing down. That’s 5 K’s of nonstop, power-driven, animalistic running strength!!! 3.12 miles of elite skill and powerhouse...
May 2011
10 posts
#47 Tabaq
Memorial Day Memorial Day…it’s one of those 3-day weekend holidays either at the beginning or end of the summer… or is that Veteran’s Day? Columbus Day? Labor Day? No, Labor Day is definitely at the end of the summer, because that’s the one right before school starts. So maybe it’s Veteran’s Day in May? Or is that the one in February? Or no, I think that...
#46 Alero
Who: Sean Cox and Dan (and sorta Eric at the end)
Where: U Street What: Mexican BUFFET—every single Mexican thing you could ever want for breakfast, and a bloody maria
Why is it supposedly unacceptable to have tortilla chips in the morning? What’s the big difference between that, and sitting down and having a basket of bread shoved in front of you? Or muffins? Or pastries? What is...
#45 Harry's Tap Room
Who: RYLIE, Dusty, Liz, Becca, Gina (and David at the end)
Where: Clarendon
What: Garden Veggie omelet (fries instead of potatoes), the rest of Liz’s salad, bloody
So you know when I said I’d never go to the burbs again? Well it looks like I may have spoken too soon because somehow, only a week after my harrowing experience in Northern Virginia, I found myself back in Clarendon...
#44 Fox and Hounds
Who: Alex G
Where: 17th St
What: Grilled veggie frittata, fries, bloody [big mistake to get eggs at the Fox and Hounds]
Alex was a little bit sad on Saturday, so after going on a bike ride in the morning, she and I met over in our neighborhood to see if we could talk through her problems. Since it was one of the first official nice days of what promises to be another HOT summer, and since...
#43 Bar Pilar
Who: Sam, Matthew, Patty, Dano
Where: 14th St
What: Scrambled eggs, Salad greens, Bloody
Unfortunately, all great things must come to an end. Summer camp… weekends… unlimited froyo at your college cafeteria… and so to celebrate the end of two VERY great things—Miss Patty Amaro Pina’s graduation (with honors) from business school, and Mister Samuel J...
#42 Lyon Hall
The va. The orange line. NOVA. Bridge (and tunnel). Even though Northern Virginia may only be 3.9 miles from our house, there’s no way to ignore the feeling that you’re entering into a strange, new world the second you cross over the Potomac River. To the naked eye, the differences might appear slight. Buildings taller than the capitol. Bikers with helmets. Large chain retail stores....
#41 Eatonville
Who: Patty, Laura, Mel, Gina, Kath
Where: 14th St
What: Biscuits and Mac and Cheese for the table, Country Frittata (no cheese), and a bloody (and Patty’s bloody, too)
Nothing makes a girl hungrier for brunch than spending a few hours volunteering at a foodbank. I say that will self-deprecating sarcasm, but I’m not even kidding because on Sunday it was true. In a display of good...
#40 Zorba's Cafe
Another day with the Demarinis family, our infamous friends who have uprooted their previously vibrant city lives to buy a big house in the burbs a nd live happily ever after. Usually when we see Jared and Xan, we have to saddle up our horses and trek all the way to Annapolis. I get it—with that many car seats, strollers and backpacks, our fun-loving amigos aren’t nearly as mobile as...
#39 Lincoln's Waffle Shop
Who: Clay
Where: Penn Quarter
What: Veggie omelet, wheat toast, coffee
To celebrate Clay’s last week of work in ye olde US Federal Government, we decided to sneak away for a little midweek brunch at our local downtown hotspot, Lincoln’s Waffle Shop. To call this place a hotspot may initially come off as sarcastic because at first glance, there is absolutely nothing hot about it. In...
#38 Marx Cafe
Who: Justin, Danielle, Dan, Sally, Jer
Where: Mt. Pleasant
What: Eggwhite omelet with avocado and leeks (no salmon, add mushrooms—fries instead of home fries), coffee, bloody
May 1st, 2011. A day that will live on in infamy. Ankit Desai, dear friend and most prominent bruncher, celebrated his 33rd birthday. The US military found, shot and killed Osama Bin Laden, mastermind of the 911...
April 2011
12 posts
#37 The Crosby Street Hotel
Who: Maggie, Sister Annie, Mama and Auntie Ford, Mrs. Scott (Jason’s mom), plus 25 of Maggie’s nearest and dearest girlfriends. And Oprah.
Where: SoHo—NYC
What: Tomato/Basil/Mozzarella Salad, Broccoli rabe risotto, Chocolate peanut butter cake, Petitfours, Champagne cocktails.
I saw Oprah at Maggie’s bridal shower. This wasn’t like, Oh I heard Oprah was in the...
#36 Gina's Apartment
Who: Gina, Abby, Mel, Jessica Straus
Where: 15th and Corcoran
What: Scones, bagels, tuna/egg salad, fruit, coffee, mimosas
We all reach a point in our mid-twenties when we start to go to a lot of weddings. Cousins, friends, college roommates… it’s like a never-ending stream of engagements. As the years tick by, the number starts to increase exponentially until you wake up one day...
#35b North Conway: He is Risen
There’s nothing like waking up the day after a snow day to find… that it’s 67 degrees and sunny? Yeah, Al Gore, we hear you loud and clear over here.
Who: Everyone from Saturday plus Sarah G and Jeff, Matt and Gina (congrats!), Greg and Jess
Where: Red Ridge Lane—North Conway, NH
What: Easter eggs, James’ blueberry and banana pancakes, Steve’s latkas, mexican...
#35a North Conway: Climate Change
Who: James, Mary, Dan, Steve, Meredith, Justin, Danielle, Michaela and Ben
Where: Red Ridge Lane—North Conway, NH
What: Egg scramble, fruit salad, biscuits, [bacon], coffee, bloodies
The theme of this brunch will be climate change, or Sometimes the Snow Comes Down in June [April]. I wish I could say that this is just a clever name, or the remnants of some blurry inside joke from Friday...
#34 The Friendly Toast
Who: Dan, Steve, James, Mary, Meredith
Where: Portsmouth, NH (en route to North Conway)
What: The Peasant [defined on the menu as “2 separate piles: The first is egg white scrambled with Cuban “dirty” rice, corn and carrots, and the 2nd is fresh spinach mixed with feta and black beans”], chipotle honey toast, diet coke, James’ Moxie milkshake
The Friendly Toast...
#33 DCA
There are no food rules when it comes to traveling. The second you set foot into that airport, train station or mini van, all human decency goes out the window and suddenly you are thrust into a world where the normal dietary standards involving 3 meals, vegetables, 2000 calories and items that are not served in plastic containers are distant relics of the past. You may have heard the saying that...