Eating Our Way Through D.C Part One: Hits & Misses
If there’s one thing I believe in deeply, it’s planning travel days around food because the real memories live in the experiences we make while breaking bread. During our time in Washington D.C, we tried a mix of sit-down restaurants and here is the honest breakdown of how we felt about each spot.
🐔 Little Chicken (Permanently Closed) 🙅🏾♀️
Let’s start with the one that…. tried.
Little Chicken is now permanently closed which (after our experience) makes sense. The chicken itself was fine. Not bad. Not life-changing. Just okay. The real issue was the service which could have used an improvement and the air-conditioning which was non-existent. I don’t know about you but eating fried chicken while slowly melting is not the vibe anyone asked for. By the end of the meal, we weren’t sure if we were full or just dehydrated. Would we have gone back? Probably not (and clearly neither did anyone else).
Overall Rating: 😬
🍾Opal: Weekend Brunch Done Right 🙌🏾
5534 Connecticut Ave NW, Washington, D.C. 20015
Opal was hands-down one of my favourite restaurant in D.C and the timing couldn’t have been better. We stopped by just before heading to the Jhene Aiko concert, which set the tone for a perfect night.
We went specifically for their weekend brunch which includes:
$32 three-course meal
$16 bottomless mimosas
What I ordered:
Starter: Soup with caramelized spring onions and gruyere cheese - it was comforting, well seasoned and a solid opener ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Main: Fried chicken and waffles with pickled cabbage - it was flavourful and perfectly balanced ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Dessert: Strawberry soft serve - it was a light and refreshing finish ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
For drinks, I took my brunch responsibilities very seriously and sampled both the traditional and seasonal mimosa as well as the sangria which was my ultimate favourite
‼️Important Brunch Logistics To Remember
This brunch is only available Friday - Sunday from 10:30AM - 3PM
Make a reservation because it gets extremely busy
Bottomless mimosas come with a 90-min limit so pace yourself but also… don’t waste time
Overall Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
📚 KramerBooks & Cafe:
1517 Connecticut Ave NW, Washington, DC 20036
Kramers is an iconic independent bookstore attached to a cafe-style diner, and the moment we walked in, it was clear why people call it a D.C staple. Our server was kind, attentive and even let me order off the lunch menu during breakfast hours (how accomodating!).
What I Ordered: a chicken club sandwich on toasted sourdough bread with grilled chicken, ranch, avocado, arugula, sliced tomatoes, bacon and a side of fries. But the real star? The drink. I ordered a non-alcoholic mint refresher (and for the life of me cannot remember the name). Unfortunately, it’s not listed on their online menu but trust me, it was crisp and healing in ways I cannot explain. What you see below is what Jay ordered.
After eating, we wandered into the bookstore and browsed the poetry section where I found Living Nations, Living Words, a collection of First People’s poetry. The cherry on top was leaving with free Kramer bookmarks the staff gifted us at check-out.
Overall Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (your stomach and bookshelf will thank you)