The Brunch Bunch

By Eve Zibart
Friday, March 3, 2006

Hungry? Hungover? Out with the guys? Out with the girls? Out with the family?

Let's do brunch.

It may once have had a slightly stodgy, even pretentious reputation, but brunch has become a Sunday staple for many Washingtonians. And why not? It's a peculiarly American tradition, quite distinct from the cold suppers of England or "the good woman's chicken" -- poularde bonne femme -- of France, with sentimental ties to Creole New Orleans and Gilded Age New York. You could even call it the rock 'n' roll of meals because, like that famous blend of Saturday night roadhouse blues and Sunday morning hymns, it succors both the late-night celebrant and the post-sermon growling stomach. (Consider those two long-running Sunday productions, the Corcoran's gospel brunch and Perry's drag show.) And in a rat race world, it offers the exercise generation a chance to run and eat rather than eat and run.

Brunch is so popular these days -- whether because Friday night partying is as heavy as the next or because it's a good way to squeeze an extra social gathering into the busy week -- that more and more restaurants are offering Saturday brunch menus as well. Still, for most people, brunch has a Sunday inflection, and the only real puzzle is where to start. Almost every hotel restaurant of any size has some sort of brunch options, many quite elaborate, and there are a number of attractive brunch destinations within a couple of hours of town. But if something a little different sounds appealing, and you don't feel like driving far -- or driving at all -- here are some closer-in choices, many Metro-accessible and most with an extra twist of fun.

SUNDAY SHOWTIME

It has been one of those favorite not-so-secrets of Washington for a long time, the sort of place to take the in-laws or out-of-towners who have done the Mall and seen the obvious sights, but the gospel brunch at the Corcoran Gallery of Art (17th Street and New York Avenue NW; 202-639-1786) is still a hoot. The buffet is laid out in the museum's elegant atrium beginning at 10:30, and the music, supplied by a rotating list of area groups such as the Queens of Faith, the True Believers, the Stars of Hope and Zion Hill, begins at 11. If you want to walk off the meal afterward, you can tour the museum; general admission is included ($24.95). Gospel is also on the menu at Zanzibar on the Waterfront (700 Water St. SW; 202-554-9100), but there the buffet comes with bottomless mimosas as well (11-4; $24.99).

The drag brunch at Perry's in Adams Morgan (1811 Columbia Rd. NW; 202-234-6218) has been a big draw for years, and the food is increasingly a draw as well: Local celebrity and Washington "Iron Chef" Morou is consulting on the restaurant's dinner and brunch menus, giving them a new edge and character, and the sushi bar is upscaling, too. Seating begins at 10:30, the show about 11 ($22.95).

If Perry's entertainment sounds a little too swinging, or if you'd prefer to do the swinging yourself, put your pumps on and head for the Ballroom at Sandy Spring at the Sandy Spring Volunteer Fire Department (17921 Brooke Rd., Sandy Spring) where, on the second Sunday of each month, the 18-piece Olney Jazz Troupe plays the music of Glenn Miller, Tommy Dorsey, Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Woody Herman, etc. The buffet is supplied by Olney's B.J. Pumpernickels (301-924-1400), and proceeds benefit the fire department. Brunch begins at 9 and music at 10 ($12).

Live jazz background music is soothing to the soul and gives a little relish to the meal. Among the many area restaurants offering jazz at brunchtime are Ellington's on Eighth (424 Eighth St. SE; 202-546-8308); Tony & Joe's (Washington Harbour; 202-944-4545); Columbia Station (2325 18th St. NW; 202-462-6040); the Market Inn (200 E St. SW; 202-554-2100); JoJo (1518 U St. NW; 202-319-9350); and Chef Geoff's (1301 Pennsylvania Ave. NW; 202-464-4461; and 3201 New Mexico Ave. NW; 202-237-7800).

But even compared with most all-you-can-eat brunches, the jazz brunch at Georgia Brown's (950 15th St. NW; 202-393-4499) has an advantage: Its "three-act" brunch begins with one buffet and ends with another of desserts. But if you can't make it through the Act 2 entree -- and many customers can't -- the servers will pack it up and you can take it home.

FLAVORS TO SAVOR

The all-you-can-eat buffet has many advantages, at least if you have a big appetite, but in a way, they're all pretty much alike. Dim sum has been the primary ethnic alternative for brunch for so long it's not much of a surprise. In fact, the concept of little plates for brunch is so familiar that several other restaurants in Washington serve what they call "Thai dim sum," "Latino dim sum," etc. But there are other cuisines to sample at brunch, enough to send you back to that omelet station in a couple of months with your palate refreshed.

The classic Irish breakfast, for instance, is a much heartier version of the all-American eggs and bacon, featuring not fatty belly strips but the leaner, hamlike Irish (think Canadian) bacon, sausages, grilled or broiled tomatoes, beans, toast and eggs, black and white pudding and sometimes oatmeal. Flanagan's Harp & Fiddle (4844 Cordell Ave., Bethesda; 301-951-0115) opens by 11 at the latest and earlier (sometimes a lot earlier) when Gaelic football or soccer is being televised. The Irish Inn at Glen Echo starts at 11 (MacArthur Boulevard at Tulane Avenue, Glen Echo; 301-229-6600). Ri-Ra (4931 Elm St., Bethesda; 301-657-1122) opens at 11:30, and Pat Troy's even tosses in soda bread and Celtic harping for atmosphere (111 N. Pitt St., Alexandria; 703-549-4535). Fado serves Irish breakfast all day, every day, starting at 11 (808 Seventh St. NW; 202-789-0066), making it a sort of Irish diner.

The stylish Tandoori Nights (106 Market St. in Kentlands Market Square, Gaithersburg; 301-947-4007; and opening March 15 in Clarendon Market Commons) serves a special brunch menu starting at noon featuring such twists as a spicy Indian omelet with paratha and Punjabi chickpeas with fried fluffy white bread. Cafe Spice , which offers one "industrial" view -- the exposed kitchen -- and a more bucolic scene of the Rio Center lake out front, adds an extra brunch station for Indian street foods and Indochinese dishes such as garlic chicken, chili paneer and hakka noodles (9811 Washingtonian Blvd., Gaithersburg; 301-330-6611).

At the glamorous Mandarin Oriental Hotel (1330 Maryland Ave. SW; 202-787-6868), brunch at the modern fusion Cafe MoZU offers a three-course set menu that changes monthly. First is a chef's selection of four tastings (currently an Asian crab cake, curried butternut squash bisque, smoked haddock and salmon, and duck terrine); a choice of two of about a half-dozen entrees, some traditional, some Asian; and a trio of desserts, plus assorted rolls and pastries ($42).

Rabieng 's Thai dim sum brunch has been described as Thai tapas (5892 Leesburg Pike, Baileys Crossroads; 703-671-4222), but that term might better be applied to its more formal sibling, Duangrat's, which mixes in modern-Asian recipes (5878 Leesburg Pike, Baileys Crossroads; 703-820-5775).

For those who think all Mexican fare has "Tex" as a prefix, the brunch menu at the more classically minded Oyamel -- chayote omelets, cinnamon-scented fried plantains -- may come as a pleasant surprise (2250-B Crystal Dr., Crystal City; 703-413-2288). The brunch at Rosa Mexicano (575 Seventh St. NW; 202-783-5522) may be a little less cutting edge, but it has a kids' menu that might be an advantage for some.

More than two dozen innovative Latin and Caribbean dim sum are on the brunch menu at Cafe Atlantico (405 Eighth St. NW; 202-393-0812) and can be ordered a la carte or for the entire table in a vegetarian tasting menu or a full tasting menu.

Zaytinya 's regular list of eastern Mediterranean mezze is long enough, but the brunch menu adds even more options (701 Ninth St. NW; 202-638-0800). Mezze begat tapas, of course, and brunch at Jaleo (locations in Penn Quarter, Crystal City and Bethesda) also adds new options to the array.

French fare is easy to come by, but Belgian is less common, especially first thing in the morning. Belga Cafe (514 Eighth St. SE; 202-544-0100) serves not only waffles but the classic mussels -- like oysters, a great hangover remedy -- and waterzooi , the Belgian mama's version of chicken soup.

And even before the disastrous Gulf Coast hurricanes of 2005, New Orleans-style brunch was a favorite in these parts. At least two famous brunch dishes, oysters Rockefeller and bananas Foster, were created in the Crescent City, the former at Antoine's and the latter at Brennan's. Among the most popular area brunch menus are those at Louisiana Express (4921 Bethesda Ave., Bethesda; 301-652-6945) and its offshoot, the French Quarter Cafe (19847 Century Blvd. in Germantown Town Center; 301-515-7693); New Orleans Bistro (4907 Cordell Ave., Bethesda; 301-986-8833); 219 (219 King St., Alexandria; 703-549-1141); and Bardia's New Orleans Cafe (2412 18th St. NW; 202-234-0420).

VEGETARIAN AND VEGAN SANCTUARIES

Happily for non-carnivores, the variety and quality of vegetarian and vegan brunches in the area have vastly improved since the penitential days of brown rice and lentils. Soul Vegetarian Restaurant near Howard University (2606 Georgia Ave. NW; 202-328-7685) serves vegan soul food that has made it a neighborhood favorite, and it has a sibling establishment across the Maryland border, Soul Vegetarian Gourmet (9185 Central Ave., Largo; 301-324-6900).

The organic vegetarian Berwyn Cafe is almost an old-timer in the field (5010 Berwyn Rd., College Park; 301-345-9898). Despite being better known as a nightclub, Asylum (2471 18th St. NW; 202-319-9353) is veggie-friendly and offers a vegan brunch menu, plus equal-opportunity two-for-one bloody marys and free pool all day. Vegetate (1414 Ninth St. NW; 202-232-4585) aims to become the city's first modern-American vegan cafe.

If Sunday is your day to indulge -- all things in moderation, even diets -- the vegan Sticky Fingers Bakery lays out a full assortment of cakes, tarts, cookies, pies and, naturally, sticky buns, and coffee to amp up the sugar buzz (1904 18th St. NW; 202-299-9700).

But what might be the most intriguing specialties are offered at the full-service vegan/vegetarian Great Sage in Clarksville (5809 Clarksville Square Dr., Clarksville; 443-535-9400): organic mimosas, bloody marys and even martinis. Here's to your health!

THEY GOT THE LOOK

It may not be better to look good than to cook good, so to speak, but a nice view adds a lot to a meal. One of Washington's most extravagant vistas, even in bad weather, is Sequoia 's sweeping view of the Potomac River from the Kennedy Center up toward the Georgetown boathouses (Washington Harbour; 202-944-4200). From atop the Kennedy Center itself, the Roof Terrace restaurant has an equally panoramic view, plus an insider's glimpse of the kitchen, where guests go to load up their plates ($34; 202-416-8555). The Clyde's group, whose Georgetown flagship has been a brunch magnate for more than 30 years, has unveiled its grand Victorian Clyde's of Gallery Place (707 Seventh St. NW; 202-349-3700), a complex of three distinctly styled bars, five dining rooms, including a conservatory and an art deco-style terrace, and several private areas.

For sheer fantasy, the various boudoirs of Mie N Yu would be hard to top (3125 M St. NW; 202-333-6122). The stone patio of Old Angler's Inn in Potomac is a favorite reward for canal walkers in warm weather (10801 MacArthur Blvd.; 301-299-9097). At the other end of town, the view from the former Potowmack Landing, being renovated as Indigo Landing and scheduled to open in mid-April, is especially good for kids because flights out of Reagan National Airport take off just across the water (1 Marina Dr., Alexandria). The new name points to its Low Country menu; South Carolina was once known as the Indigo State.

Museums offer their own slightly different sort of "look": art exhibits. Despite its name, the Garden Cafe in the National Gallery of Art's West Building is really an indoor space, though a nice one; and during the run of the "Cezanne in Provence" show, through May 7, its buffet is devoted to Provencal-style dishes (noon-4; 202-737-4215). Meanwhile, in the East Building, the Terrace Cafe on the mezzanine level will be open for Sunday brunch during the "Dada" show there through May 14, with a small-plate menu of European cafe-style fare (11-3; 202-737-4215).

DESIGNATED DINERS

The association of brunch with champagne and/or bloody marys is indelible, and few establishments would dare leave them off the menu (which is why you find "Mexican bloody marys" and shrimp-garnished bloody marys and Old Bay and bacon marys on various menus). But some brunches are more liquid than others.

At the pretty, conservatory-like Colonnade in the Fairmont Hotel (2401 M St. NW; 202-457-5000), the brunch buffet is unusually wide-ranging and attractive, and though it may seem a little pricey at $60, the price includes all-you-can-drink Taittinger champagne and romantic piano music (not to mention a chocolate fondue fountain).

Jazz brunch at Seasons restaurant in the Four Seasons Hotel is one of Washington's most famous, a staple of tour books, and also includes all-you-can-drink, albeit sparkling wine rather than champagne, for $64 (2800 Pennsylvania Ave., NW; 202-944-2000). The Old World-elegant Willard Room at the Willard InterContinental Hotel (14th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue NW; 202-638-9100) puts its money into all-American high-end surf and turf and all-you-can-drink American sparkling wine for $75; it also has a rolling tableside bloody mary cart. The Raj-elegant Bombay Club (815 Connecticut Ave. NW; 202-659-3727) includes unlimited sparkling wine with its $20 buffet.

At U-topia (1418 U St. NW; 202-483-7669), a glass of sparkling wine, a mimosa or a bloody mary during the jazz brunch will set you back only a buck. At the Sign of the Whale (1825 M St. NW; 202-785-1110), the make-your-own bloody mary bar is all-you-can-drink for $9.95 -- more than most of the entrees.

Eve Zibart doesn't do brunch, but she does do Taittinger, all she can drink.