Beacon Bar and Grill

It took us a while to finally make it out to Beacon Bar and Grill. Katy had suggested trying it out after enjoying a delicious martini at one of their happy hours. About a month later, it was Brunching Sunday, however Katy was sick with a nasty sinus infection and in lieu of our brunch starting our morning we took a trip to the emergency clinic. After pumping her with some meds, you would think our next move would be to head home and lounge the rest of our Sunday away. Well, you clearly don't know how dedicated we are to Sunday brunch (especially Katy).

Only 5 blocks away was the Capital Hotel, home of the Beacon Bar and Grill. So, we finally head in to try their Sunday Champagne Brunch. First steps into the restaurant, you could tell it was the place to be on a Sunday in DuPont. No reservation? No problem! Even though it seemed packed, they still had a great cup-booth for us on the spot.

We didn't even wait for our first mimosas to arrive before we headed to the buffet room. Beacon has the full spread! Step up with Katy and I as I lead you through the room. First stop, the baked goods and pastries table where they have delicious mini croissants, fresh baked muffins, bagels, and spreads. Don't load up on carbs yet! Next comes the trio of salad with their delicious homemade dressings and some other mixed salads that change every week. Following the salads is the basics of breakfast: biscuits and gravy, bacon, fried potatoes, and cheese blintzes (fabulous!). Down the line is the lunch section that has a diverse selection of meats, fish, chicken, pasta and vegetables. My advise, skip the lunch portion first round and head straight for the omelet table where they make your personal omelet to order. While we enjoyed our first round, it occurred to me, they really meant unlimited mimosas when they said it. Our waitress was around to fill up our flutes before I even realized I was on my last sip. I suggest taking the metro, because it is nearly impossible to count your first to last drink.

The lunch dishes are in my opinion, just OK. I had tortellini that was a tad overdone and the fish was too salty. But who needs fish and pasta, when you have to save room for dessert! The dessert table, smack dab in the middle of the room eyeing you through the whole experience. From baklava, to raspberry cheesecake they have a variety of selection that changes up from week to week. If there's a tort in the mix, I'd go with that. The almond tort they had that day was a little piece of heaven in my mouth and the perfect way to end the meal.

Rating: 5/5

Crowd: This is definitely for the young working professional crowd. Need a place to recap Saturday night's events? Grab your girls and/or guys for a relaxed meal and stuff your face while downing some great mimosas or bloody marys.

Dress: Casual

Synopsis: If you're really hungry...and I mean those days you say you "could eat a cow", and want nothing but delicious food to fill that void, this is the place to go.

Price: Moderate (all inclusive brunch is $29.95 - not too bad if you think about all those mimosas!)

http://www.capitalhotelswdc.com/BBGWDC_com/brunch_menu_bbg_beacon_bar_and_grill.htm

Annie's Paramount Steakhouse

We happened upon this little brunch spot by mistake. The original plan was to hit up Beacon Bar & Grille on 17th St., but they were super lame and only have their fantastical brunch on Sunday. Go figure. So instead we trudged up 17th street toward Dupont hoping to find a decent Saturday brunch alternative.

As we came upon the Q st intersection we saw the usual places of interest, Skewers, Mr. Yogato, Dunkin' Donuts, and other restaurants. To be completely honest, if Mr. Yogato had hollandaise sauce and hashbrowns as topping options, we probably would have eaten there and played Super Nintendo for 2 hours. We, like most of DC, love Yogato that much.

Sighing as we passed Mr. Yogato, and glancing hungrily as we walked by the Dunkin' Donuts sign, we turned to the menu of the first restaurant we saw. It was Annie's.

Annie's is located at 1609 17th St NW. Their menu posted outside wasn't anything unique or engagingly spectacular. The prices weren't cheap, but not expensive, and it seemed like you were able to get a lot of food bang out of your buck. There was a variety of brunch foods, and they had a good selection of omelets. What did it for me was the gaping hole in my stomach and the eggs benedict that came with fried potatoes (hashbrowns), a side salad, and toast, for about $8.50. Not too shabby.

So as we walked in, the place was moderately busy and the hostess was prompt and courteous. My favorite thing about Annie's was probably the decor. It can be described as luxe-modern, with solid grey and purple tones, with silver accents. They have a sunroom addition where we sat that I really liked. It had a light airy feel. I think there were some pretty cool chandeliers there too that really enhanced the atmosphere.

Our waiter was super friendly, prompt, and attentive. Elysia ordered a mimosa and the salmon omelet. I ordered coffee and the eggs benedict (not predictable, lie). Elysia said her mimosa was tasty and the salmon omelet was yummy, but nothing over-the-top orgasmic. The coffee was good, smooth and mild. There's nothing worse than coffee that's too strong and makes you feel like hamster running endlessly in a wheel.

As for the eggs benedict, also nothing spectacular to note. The eggs and hollandaise sauce were on par, as was the salad. The potatoes were a little hard to eat since the slices were so large they often needed to be cut into smaller pieces, and they were a little over salted. However, in the end, my eyes were larger than my stomach and I ended up taking half of it home with me.

Here's a picture of the EB - I was so hungry that I polished off the first guy before remembering to take a pic. (as a side note, this was taken with my new 8900 BBerry - pretty awesome pic for a phone, no?)


So the verdict? Here's how I'm going to break it all down:

Rating: Yelp gives it an 3/5 stars, and I full-bellied agree with that.
Crowd: Any age, but not good for families with kids. Lots of couples, and young groups (ages early 20's to 50's). There were also a handful of older couples (+50)
Dress: Jeans and a T - you'd look out of place in a collegiate sweatshirt/sweatpants uniform, but definitely not a dressy place.
Synopsis: If you're wandering around Dupont and want a place off the beaten path that's going to guarantee you good service and food without sticker shock or a hellish wait, Annie's is a place for you. Feel free to nurse your hangover with their mimosas - just don't sit in the sunroom if you want to avoid the light of day!

Yelp's Review of Annie's
Annie's Menu

Our Mission

Welcome to District Brunching! For 5 years, we have lived and dined in good 'ole District of Columbia, experiencing some really exquisite meals to some rather crappy sludge.

We are both 23 year old working professionals in D.C. Katy works as as research and development tax consultant. Elysia is a paralegal at an intellectual property law firm. We both live in NW D.C. and share a common bond over the love of Sunday Brunching.

There is nothing better than waking up on a Sunday, whether it be bright and early or well into the afternoon, and heading out to a delicious Sunday Brunch. We have started this blog to enlighten other district residents of the best of the best and the worst of the worst brunches. So whether you're looking for that greasy hangover fried potatoes or a 5 star Eggs Benedict, check out our blog as we explore all this city has to offer. We will post every Sunday a different restaurant and their brunch dos and don'ts. Stay tuned....


Ciao Ciao,

Katy and Elysia