Brunchin' It Up

Sarah and I try to sneak out of the house every Sunday to grab brunch in Georgetown. Since it’s not easy waking up and getting out of the apartment before noon, I thought I’d share some of our favorite Georgetown brunch spots with you that make rolling out of bed and fighting through your hangover a worthwhile experience.

Why Georgetown? Why not Georgetown? I think we brunch here more for the ambiance, the really cool homeless guy that screams at Sarah, and the fact that there’s shops and things to do that make walking off a huge brunch less of a chore.

Our favorites:

Papermoon – Brunch Buffet

Address: 1073 31st St. NW * Georgetown, DC 20007
Cost: $15 per person (alcohol NOT included)
Dress: casual
Bar: yes
Date Place: most definitely

Papermoon is right in the center of Georgetown on 31st street, but not too far of a walk from your annoying waterfront, back-in-only parking spot. The brunch is served buffet style with a variety of breakfast and lunch foods, carving station and omelet/waffle station.

The breakfast foods include the normal and traditional buffet brunch items such as eggs benedict, french toast, assorted breakfast meats and made-to-order omelets. Nothing here is amazingly creative, but it is all good when hot and fresh. The omelet and waffle station is quick and efficient and should be your first stop for a fabulous egg-white omelet or fruit-covered belgian waffle.

The left side of Papermoon’s half moon-shaped brunch buffet is what sets it apart from others I’ve experienced in the past, even New Jersey’s fabled Olde Silver Tavern (where they have yet to recover from an Andrew Stevens-induced bacon shortage).

The left side features lunch items that are flavorful and, although not inspiring in their creativity, different from the average brunch buffet offerings. Tortellini pasta in tomato cream sauce, pork ribs, stews with yellow rice, fish dishes and roasted chicken have all appeared under the silver lids of their enormous chafing dishes. And unlike the right side of the buffet…they have rap cat.

There are also a tremendous variety of cold salads, bakery items and deserts available. Nothing fabulous, but all tasty in their own right.

Papermoon suffers from the same problems as every other buffet, the food can be on the chillier side of hot (lets say “warm”), and the large roast (approximately half of one cow) at the carving station is often a bit tough, but the variety and value is what makes Sarah and I continue to go back. For all of your Sunday gorging needs, Papermoon is the place.

However if you’re NOT in the mood to eat (way) too much, there’s always…

Chadwicks

Address: 3205 K Street N.W. Washington, D.C. 20007
Cost: $10-$15 per person (alcohol NOT included) / $16 for unlimited champagne brunch
Dress: casual
Bar: yes
Date Place: I wouldn’t date a girl that didn’t dig this place (although I might hookup with one…)

Chadwicks is one of my favorite non-national-chain bar and grills in DC. They have locations in Georgetown, Old Town (Alexandria) and Friendship Heights. The Georgetown location is by far one of my favorite places to relax and enjoy some different and inspired breakfast tastes.

The meal starts with some warm, freshly made muffins (usually blueberry, banana nut or lemon poppy) that are surprisingly moist and start the morning off on the right foot.

The menu incorporates many old favorites such as omelets, but also features some creative twits on traditional breakfast foods.

The eggs Idaho are an interesting combination of scrambled eggs and one of America’s favorite bar foods; the potato skin. The skins are hollowed, fried and filled with a tasty combination of eggs, bacon and cheese. The egg-filled wonders are arranged like traditional potato skins, in a circle around a ramekin of sour cream for dipping or spreading. This creative concept is delicious and makes you wonder why more people don’t make breakfast ‘skins.

The breakfast burrito is another favorite. Chadwicks uses andouille sausage (a spiced, heavily smoked pork sausage brought to America by French settlers in Louisiana and used in Cajun cooking) in place of traditional breakfast sausage. When combined with other flavors, the andouille gives the burrito a spicy and much-welcomed kick. The burrito is served with a side of salsa, but you can request a little sour cream to help take a little bite out of every bite. Unfortunately, the home fries that accompany this delicious burrito are almost an afterthought and rather dry, but the burrito more than makes up for the pitiful potatoes.

And if you’re looking to get right back up on Saturday night’s horse, a champagne brunch is also available at a per-person charge of around $16.

Georgetown is a great place for cheap Italian suits (check out Riccardi's clearance rack), good shopping, fresh air, lack of Metro accessibility, and now, great brunches. All you have to do...is get your ass out of bed!