We went to Commonwealth in Columbia Heights back in March...yes, I said it, March.  I realize this is August.  Behind is an understatement.  And to add insult to injury, I have switched phones and lost the memory card from old bberry and thus don't have pics.  Luckily, I have my notes.  This brunch was only going to be a few of us...ended up being ME BY MYSELF for brunch 1 and then Cilia and some friends of hers showed up for brunch two. Yes, I ate brunch twice all in the name of having more meals to discuss.   

Warning...they refer to themselves as a gastropub...while I know this term does not bother a lot of people, it does me.  It makes me think of inner organs, haggis, etc.  Makes me want to barf. I had to cover up the word on the menu so I wouldn't see it.

Environment...The place is pretty big and has outdoor seating.  Inside decor is, uh, english rustic? No clue how to describe - the colors are shades of gray. However, due to the high ceilings and the front wall of windows the atmospherte isn't oppressive. Good place for a big group. Music was good british pop - duran duran, the clash, etc.  Even the dishes and silverware go along with theme.

Food...Seeing as they represent the whole of the United Kingdowm, the fare is Irish/Scottish/English...they have things like welsh rarebit, scotch eggs and shepherd's pie. However, brunch has more standard fare like D-I-Y omelets, smoked salmon and pancakes (baked). 

At brunch 1, which involved me looking like an ass and eating by myself,  I ordered the shepherd's pie tofu style - it was that or an egg white omelet - so figured when in rome, er the common wealth.  The shepherd's pie a la tofu was excellent. It had the potential to be very bland, but had a good kick to it and came with an arugula salad.

For brunch 2, my late compatriots ordered the scottish salmon platter, a cheese omelet and the baked pancake.  The scottish salmon platter was nothing special.  The omelet had cheese, onions and bacon and was cooked just right - fluffy and just a little browned on top.  The baked pancake had great toppings, but was literally A pancake - so if you were thinking a "stack", not so much.  The pancake eater was considering ordering a second.   Brunch potatoes were slices and did not have onions, but had thyme - they were ok.

For dessert, I had the black pepper berry cobbler - delish! Someone else had the bittersweet chocolate pudding, which was more sweet than bitter...right on the line of too sweet.

Booze...You go get a free mimosa with brunch...so that's good!

Service... They sat me without my party which was a fail because my group didn't show, so I just moved to a two-top and ate all by my lonesome.  My waiter was great; he was friendly without being chatty and filled up my iced tea when it was half full - bonus.

Overall...I can't see this becoming a "regular" brunch spot, but every once in a while, it's not a bad spot - especially, if you are up in Columbia Heights.

Alright...as I wrote in the last post, I have been supah lax about getting reviews up.  As in, nothing in the last year though we have brunched.

We went to Eatonville last November...yes, 2009.  Crazy and I have lost my notes AND have switched phones and no longer have the pics...so this post will be lame, but I do remember some things.

We had a big group (9?) and they were super accommodating and even sat us as we arrived versus having to wait for the whole group.  Now, they are HUGE so this is easier for them to do versus other restaurants.

Environment...They had live jazz playing which was nice and the atmosphere is warehous-y, bright, murals.  Not the place for a "cozy" brunch.

Food...I have no recollection.  I remember no one being bummed about their food, but seeing as it was so long ago, I can't tell you what we all had.  The portion sizes were not small; I remember that.  I am gonna say - it's a fun good place to go and you won't be disappointed. 

Booze...I drank it. Don't remember any stand outs.

Service...I remember some of the reviews we had read dogged their service a bit, but I remember liking our server and not feeling service was an issue.

Sorry this was lame.  If you have been to Eatonville more recently...comment! Let us know how they are now.

If you have stumbled across this blog recently, you may see the last post "Happy Times at Harry's Tap Room" and that it was posted in 2009 and think, "What is going on? Is the DC Brunch Club still brunch clubbing?"   The answer to your query is yes, however, in the last year our outings have dwindled AND I have become lazy in getting the posts up.  Notes and pics are taken during brunch and then I have to take that information and format it, post it, etc.    We have gone to Eatonville, Rhodeside Grill, Commonwealth....and um, hmmm, can't remember where else. I had all of my notes on my bberry, but have switched jobs, so don't have it anymore.   The only one I actually have the notes for is Commonwealth - at which, I ate TWICE in one day since everyone bailed for round 1 and then a group finally made it once I had finished so I had dessert. Ha.   I will try to get that up...and enjoy what is already on here.  Obvi, these reviews are now aging, so if you have updates - POST COMMENTS!!  Thanks!

Erica

We chose Harry's Tap Room at the last minute in lieu of Founding Farmers since the latter was unable to check their voicemail.  We had a large group which started out at 8 and ended up being 11 and since about half of the crew was in NoVA, we chose Harry's due to its size and accessibility.

I had been to Harry's once for brunch a few years ago, but it was not very memorable.  I just remember the atmosphere being nice and kind of "chain-y".  I think of it as a chain mainly because of the size...but upon checking out their website, I learned they are in fact a local establishment (of sorts) started by Enovo Restaurant Ventures and while they have three locations, they are big into organic/local foods.  I would have never guessed this had I not gone to their site.  Again, I think I have a preconceived notion of the size of a restaurant - if it's large it means not as good, but Harry's was proof that good brunch locations come in all shapes and sizes. 

Environment:  Harry's Tap Room is a two story restaurant with the bar downstairs and table seating upstairs.  The restaurant is almost floor to ceiling windows, so even though you are eating inside, the sun permeates the whole restaurant .   The decorations were very pottery barn meets local artist . The seating/furniture were classic dark woods while  the art was large contemporary oil paintings on which we all commented as being a little out of place with the feel of the restaurant.   However, now that i have read the website the artwork makes a little more sense since they promote organic produce and local farms.

Service:  We had a reservation for 8, but by the time I arrived I knew we were going to be 11.  The hosting team handled it quickly and actually seated the four of us who had arrived without making us wait for the whole party  (Take that Tunnicliff's)

Our waitress was good for the size of our party.  My only two complaints were a) they didn't bring out ketchup with our meals, which was weird because nearly every person had breakfast potatoes and b) our waitress seemed confused on how to do the separate checks.   What 11 person table gets one single check?  After a few rounds of explanations she finally got it.

Booze: A for presentation!  The Kir Royal had a strawberry on the rim and the Bloody Mary's had celery, an olive and a lime.   The mimosas were a little light on the champagne, while the kir royal was perfect. Sadly, I have no notes on the bloody mary's - anyone remember?  If so, post a comment.

Food: Somehow, I missed on the menu the references to organic and locally grown foods.  I think there was so much talking going on at the table due to the size of our group the ordering went quickly and I wasn't paying much attention.  However, for those environmentally friendly types - Harry's is a good pick.  Hmmm...maybe I should have a category for that? What would I call it?

Obviously, having 11 people, we got to try quite a bit on the menu. I don't have notes on everything, but from what I do have notes on, I would say you're probably not going to go get anything horrible.  While not everything was spectacular, nothing was a complete miss. The one down side was presentation.  After the drinks, I had a little bit higher expectation for presentation - the most boring/sad dish was the mushroom omelet...just sad.

For starters, the brie appetizer and Roasted Red Pepper and Crab Soup were crowd pleasers.  The soup was spicy with nice sized chunks of crab meat.  The fall salad was the only let down as far as value goes - for what the price was, the salad wasn't much more than mixed greens.

The bread baskets were abundant and filled with assorted mini muffins, biscuits and cinnamon raisin biscuits with icing.  Unfortunately, the cinnamon raisin biscuits which could have been deadly ended up being dry so no one od'd on them.  I don't know if this was a good or bad thing...I'm going to say bad. We are there to eat - not fast.

For expediency, I am just going to list the notes for each dish instead of trying to get creative and come up with sentencecs/paragraphs (I am watching Loverboy while typing this, so sorry if it's a bit choppy - gotta love 18 year old Patrick Dempsey.)

Bananas Foster French Toast:  See picture.  'Nuff said.  Actually, it was a tiny bit burnt, but still delicious. The side of bacon was good - not fatty or too crisp.

While the Eggs Florentine looked like it would be spectacular, the sauce was a little on the bland side making the omelet "pretty good."

The burger was decent - nothing was "special" about it.  It satisfied hunger but didn't surprise anyone's taste buds. Burgers are hard to do bad and hard to do great.

Crab Cake Benedict was awesome but the english muffin was a little hard to cut - though we couldn't figure out if that was the muffin or the dull knife.

The mushroom omelet came with lots of mushrooms, but know that they are not cooked into theomelet - they are wrapped inside.  Also, there is no cheese which was surprising.  If you get the omelet and like 'em cheesy make sure to order it with cheese.

The Oyster Po' Boy got a thumbs up and Steven felt the oysters were fairly fresh as they were not mushy and did not taste fishy.

Overall:  I would definitely go back to Harry's and would recommend it to people staying in NoVA.  Due to the size, you can get in quickly and you have a large menu to choose from with good drinks.  From a price standpoint, it's a pretty decent value - but you aren't getting a "deal." So don't go there if you are on a tight budget and like to have a few mimosas with brunch.     While I won't tag it with the "special occasion" category, if you live in NoVA it's a nicer venue than some of the other choices, so it wouldn't be a bad spot to go when you have friends/family in from out of town.

I have been to Busboys and Poets for just about every meal and I love, love, love it.  Can't get enough.   DC Brunch Club was overdue for a visit to the original location at 14th and V.   Of course, the restaurant, bookstore, coffee shop, bar, lounge did not fail to provide the brunch club with good food, good drinks and good times.  

Environment: Where to begin?  Busboys and Poets is a HUGE open space with a random mix of seating from couches to lounge chairs to a bar  to long tables with assorted peeps you may or may not know seated alongside of you.  They don't take reservations, but no worries if you have to wait - you can grab a drink from the packed bar and stroll around their bookstore which is operated by Teaching for Change.   

One of the few cons is the waiting area is narrow and the bookstore gets crowded with other people waiting for their table, so if you are claustrophobic don't go when it's crowded and cold out. 

Also, when it's a full house it can be pretty loud and somewhat hard to hear.  The worst for this would be when you are seated in the comfy chairs, which put you and the person seated across from you at the maximum distance apart unless you sit on the uncomfortable edge of the chair.  Don't let them seat you in those darn chairs if you are hoping to have a deep convo!

Service:  I have always thought the host/hostesses are a little brusque, but the waiters/waitresses are great.  Our waitress was helpful with suggestions and around when we needed her, but wasn't  too chatty.  She was also fine with substitutions, which we appreciated.  I mean who doesn't want their Brie Panini on the yummy Walnut Raisin versus the regular bread?

Drinks: What's up $5 mimosas and bloody marys?  Ok, perhaps this is not a "drink special," but it's been so long since we have been somewhere that had drinks on special and reasonably priced bevos, that I decided to give these the special label.  Relative to other brunches, this one was tame in the drinking department, but the bloodies had a kick and the mimosas weren't disappointing. 

Food:   I love that they haven't gotten rid of the bread basket, especially when the bread is dense and grainy and worth the calories.

The egg wrap was good, but I felt like it was missing something...spice?  Tomatoes?

The brie panini, which Sarah had put on the raisin walnut bread, got the award for taste matching appearance. I was drooling over it just editing the picture.   She also asked for a fruit salad as her side and check it out - fresh raspberries, blueberries and strawberries.  Don't see that often!

The tempeh sandwich was suggested by the waitress and received a "very good," from whoever ordered it - I can't remember.  It was either Susie or Mattie and neither give out compliments easily. 

I can't remember who got a side of the vegan bacon, but it was interesting.  Can't really think of another way to describe it.

Western Omelet was cooked to fluffy perfection with just the right amount of cheese and filling. 

The breakfast potatoes weren't breaking any records for tastiest, but I thought they had just enough spice and satisfied. 

Overall/Repeat?: If my opening paragraph didn't tip you off, I would definitely rate Busboys and Poets near the top of our brunch spots.  I also think it's a great place to take visiting friends and family to give them a taste of DC food and culture.  Make sure to check their website for upcoming events and goings on to either catch something new or avoid an unwanted distraction.   The place is always packed - so don't go starving!

Founding Farmers continues to get positive reviews and a lot of hype, so if you have heard of it, you are probably surprised to see it in our "Banned" category.  However, I vowed to ban this restaurant due to lack of organization and in my opinion, being a poorly run business.  I don't care if your restaurant supports starving children in Ghana - get your sh*t together.   I won't even link to their site, because they don't deserve it.

What went down:
I called Founding Farmers on a Thursday around 2pm to make a reso for that Sunday. No one answered, so I left a voice mail clearly stating I wanted to make a reservation for Sunday at 11:45am for the DC Brunch Club and to call me with any problems.  

First off - why was I leaving a VM at 2pm?  That is hardly still lunch rush and don't give me the cop-out "shift change" answer.  If you can't do a shift change and answer the phone - you have a problem.    For argument's sake, let's say it was shift change time or they were in fact still bombarded with a lunch crowd munching on their farmy faves, at some point there is a lull before dinner starts during which time someone should have listened to my voice mail.  If you can't listen to VM - don't have it.

After not hearing anything back, I assumed (wrongly) that my reservation was fine because I clearly stated my phone number and for someone to contact me if there was an issue.  However on Saturday, I decided it was better to be safe than sorry - I certainly didn't want 12 people showing up to the restaurant sans reservation.  I called and spoke with a young woman who said there was in fact no reservation for the DC Brunch Club.  I was livid, of course.  Her manager got on the phone and said she wasn't aware of the VM and that they could get us in at 1pm. Um, brunch at 1pm?  That's called late lunch - not brunch.  What about DC BRUNCH CLUB is not clear? If I wanted DC LUNCH CLUB, I would have bought that URL.    Then I was stuck having to make a last minute change of locale and let the 12 attendees know -- very irritating and time consuming. 

Because of this experience, I have placed Founding Farmers on the DCBrunchClub.com Banned List - you are banned. I will not approve comments about brunch experiences at Founding Farmers. This is not a democracy - it's a dcbrunchclubocracy. 

EatwellDC, a group that owns four restaurants in DC including Logan Tavern and the Heights (DCBC reviewed the Heights in February of 08 and I did a mini-review for Logan Tavern during Tropical Storm Gustav a few months ago), shut down Merkado their Latin-Asian restaurant on P St and reopened it this summer rebadged as "Commissary".  Merkado's food had become pretty gross and a lot of the faves had disappeared from the menu (cornbread), so I wasn't overly depressed by Merkados departure. 

From the website, Commissary is suppopsed to be a "neighborhood place" with "honest prices."  Um, hmmm...isn't Logan Tavern which is 4 doors down on P Street also a neighborhood place?  Oh wait, that's right, Logan Tavern is the more focused sibling when it comes to their menu and atmosphere, while Commissary is the "Super Green" and super spastic one that can't decide what it wants to be when it grows up - bar? coffeeshop? smoothie hut? a soldier? gay? straight?   Here's a tip....DON'T VISIT THE WEBSITE! It's just weird and causes confusion and frustration in its overt attempt to your best  friend who is really cheap and patriotic.  The one reason you may want to go to their site is to start going through the menu - in my bberry notes I wrote "spastic" menu because it is ALL OVER the map.  I was in decision overload and luckily I was cravin Nachos or I may have been perusing the menu for hours before deciding.

Now, you might be thinking...hmmm...Sietsma....wasn't there another Sietsma who wrote a review about this restaurant on October 29th that was retracted from the Post becuase the reviewer had a personal relationship with one of the owners of the restaurant?  No.  That was a Sietsema...notice the awkward extra e between the s and m.   No relation...I don't think.   But the story is quite hysterical...when we arrived at Commissary posted on the front door on bright yellow paper was Tom Sietsema's retraction statement about his review in the Post.  Classic.  

Alright enough background on Commissary....let's get down to the brunch!

Environment: Commissary does have outdoor seating, but due to our group size and the fact that you can't make reservations and can only call ahead we sat inside.  The interior was cozy eclectic.  The walls are blue and I could swear the seating is the same as Merkado, but my Merkado memory is hazy.  Major difference is the Busboys and Poets-like center area with armchairs and cozy two-tops for those wanting to just have coffee and maybe get out their Mac and look busy while scoping the crowd.   Since we had 7, we were relegated to the center communal table.  Of course with our raucous retelling of our drunken Halloween stories, this was probably not the best location as it quickly became apparent the diners around us were not enjoying our stories quite as much as we were.

The long bar was filled with brunchers who didn't want to wait for a table, which made it a little hard to get in and order my drink while I waited.  They have a separate "to-go" area which I think is for the coffees and smoothies and since I was ordering a coffee (with baileys and jamisons in it), I found this a good alternative to having to reach over people eating food.   It's at the end of the bar away from the front door.

Service: I knew they didn't take reservations, but that they did take call ahead, so when I called ahead 3 hours, the very nice hostess said she would take my information, but that I should call back 20 minutes before the actual time we were arriving.   They won't seat until your entire party has arrived, which is understandable since they have a 30-45 minute wait if you don't call ahead.  The place is popular right now.

Booze: What's up pitchers and bottles? Love it.  While I was overwhelmed by the food menu, I was totally down with the booze menu.  You can get your own bottle of chapagne and any flavor juice to mix with for $24 do-it-yourself mimosas.  Now, while this isn't necessarily "discount" drinks because it evens out to $6/mimosa, it's cool because I can mix 'em just how  I like 'em.  You can pick from pear, mango, cranberry, and orange and they bring the juice out in little baby carafes and open the bottle at your table!  Too fun.

For bloody  marys, they have pitchers for the same price ($28) which I thought our table had ordered, but then the two getting bloodies got their drinks in pint glasses so I guess the waitress didn't hear us go for the pitcher.  A single bloody mary is $7.50.  The bloody marys weren't spicy, but they will bring out tabasco.

My earlier Irish Coffee was bland.  The bartender seemed to be working solo and a little inundated, so he was a little slow to get the drink made and definitely didn't take the extra moment to add the whip cream I had requested.

Food: As I mentioned before, the options are endless and seem to touch every genre of food. I had been up since 6, so had already eaten breakfast, therefore I went with a lunchy item - chicken nachos. Ok, that's more like an appetizer but I was craving nachos.   They were very good and HUGE to boot, but they could have been warmer. In certain areas the cheese wasn't melted.  Don't worry - this did not stop me from devouring them.  Clean plate club.

Sarah had the huevos rancheros and it was also a little on the not warm enough side.

Dana liked her spinach omelet and home fries that had lots of onions, while Allison found the Home Fries too soggy for her tastes - she likes them crisp.  

Eggs Benedict = Good

Overall/Repeat: For what we had, nothing was "bad".  Sure, could have been warmer, but the brunch was good.  I'm not going to lie, while it may have sounded like I was complaining about their menu it makes me curious.  I would definitely go back to try different items because a lot of them did sound good.  Plus, I am obsessed with the do it yourself Mimosas.

This is a great place to come when you are hungover and live in the 'hood though don't come starving because you will probably have to wait unless you can snag a place at the bar. 

I don't think I would try this place as a coffee shop/work space because a) it's noisy and b) you are right in the front and middle of the restaurant...it's just a weird use of the space.

I will head back to Commissary and maybe sooner rather than later...partly because I need some pics to spice up this review! Sorry!  Those mimosas got to me I guess!






 

Yay!  Ann is in town from Japan, so you could say this brunch was a "special occasion" brunch.   Allison had raved about Darlington House after restaurant week (keeping in mind prices are fixed during restaurant week), so we were all excited to try Darlington House, which opened in spring of 2008.

A note: Darlington House is "officially" located upstairs.  They have a bar downstairs, but it's dark and more watch football and drink beers than sip mimosas and eat omelets.

Environment: The upstairs Darlington House is what I would call "modern victorian".  (Versus the downstairs is dark wooden bar).   Seating is limited, but they do have a small covered outdoor area that seems to get really weird lighting.  I once almost stopped there with some friends for lunch, but the tables available were split with one side completely in the shade and the other in direct sunlight.


Service: We were able to make reservations and they did seat us before the entire group had arrived...the rest of the group being me thinking the bar was downstairs and wondering where everyone was at and not sure of where the host/hostess was.  Though I will say - the bartender downstairs was great!

Our waiter was young and the consensus was he wasn't great, but he wasn't bad either.  When we paid our bill with about 7 different cards, the manager did come out to help out, which was nice.

Booze: I did order an Irish coffee in my brief stint downstairs when I didn't realize the restaurant was upstairs and it was amazing.  The bartender added vanilla bean creme fraiche (soon to be renamed "creme freshen...see comments below) and it was probably the yummiest one I have ever had.  Once arriving upstairs, I gushed  about the drink to the others so Mattie followed suit, but the upstairs bartender was not quite as caring and his came sans creme freshen. 

The bloody mary's were big, but not so great and a little heavy on the lime-only garnish.  They were shockingly expensive ($11) for such a blah drink and they helped to bring down the entire experience.

The mimosa was heavy on the orange juice, but not as crazily overpriced as the Bloody Mary's.  $7 for a mimosa.

Food: The food mirrored the bloody mary's....blah and expensive.  The omelets tasted ok but were a little on the dense side and they blatantly put a full slice of cheese on the omelet and the eggs someone else ordered and just melted it - no presentation.

The hash was good (a few people ordered this) and both agreed the poached eggs could have been more runny to make the hash less dry.

Kevin had the "Hangover Helper" which was a cute little name for steak and eggs and while the steak was surprisingly good, the eggs were overdone.   We all agreed he was brave to order steak for breakfast - this is usually always a bad order.

The breakfast potatoes had a mixed reaction - both Dana and I were in favor, but Ann and Kevin thought they were just "ok."

Sara got the fruit and yogurt, which was a boring bowl of plain yogurt with some cut up strawberries.

Finally, we got two orders of the donuts holes and dipping sauces for the table.  I don't even think we finished them...and we aren't the type to turn down sweets.  They were just bland.

Cost: This isn't usually a category, but we felt it was deserved.  Darlington House is no Willard...it's not even Peacock Cafe.  The bill came in at $270 for 8 people which was just outrageous for nothing special.  The coffees were $3.25 - this is insane.  Starbucks coffee is half the price, way bigger and better!  There coffee was just so so.  And as you know, we have a club soda thing and most people believe you shouldn't be charged for club soda, but they charged $3, then never brought it!  Obviously, it was removed from the bill...but it's the principal of charging a gzillion dollars for water! 

Overall/Repeat?  While the atmosphere is nice....I thought the cost of the not-so amazing food was completely out of line.  Maybe their dinner is great and worth the cost, but their brunch is not.  No question.  I would not repeat and I seriously doubt I would even go there for another meal. 

Recommend? Not hard to guess, I would not recommend Darlington House for brunch.  However, like I said before, I have heard people rave about their dinner, so if someone was looking for a dinner place in dupont where cost was not an issue, then I might suggest Darlington, but put on a disclaimer.

During Tropical Storm Hannah, the residents of DC still needed to be fed and god forbid I try to cook, so a friend and I braved the weather and walked from 14th and R to Logan Tavern on Pst betweeen 14th and 15th.  Sister restaurant to Grillfish, The Heights and Commissary (3 doors down from LT), Logan Tavern has a great menu and their brunch menu was no different.   While this is a "mini" review since there were only two of us and I didn't take copious notes, I thought I would give you some of the highlights.

Environment:  They do have outdoor seating, which we obviously didn't take advantage of seeing as the sky was falling, but the front seating right on P street is always packed when the elements aren't in the way.  The inside decor is lodgy dark wood seating with lighter walls  giving it a cozy meets warehouse feel.    Even with the ridiculous storm, the place had a good crowd which was surprising.  I guess it's a testament to the restaurant...or the fact that no one that lived in Logan wanted to venture too far and they don't have a ton of other options.

Service: We had a great waiter who was friendly and helpful, oh and did I mention hot? Judging by the 'hood, I probably wasn't his type, but I didn't mind - eye candy is eye candy.   Scrumcious.

Booze:  They of course have no drink specials, not a shocker - no one ever does, but we of course had to try their mimosas.  We both agreed they were the perfect mix of oj and champagne...yum!

Food:  Bread on the table - hallelujah!  Who said people don't want bread on the table? I do!!  Especially when it is gooooood bread.

As I mentioned, they have a huge menu and it took us forever to decide what we wanted (there can be such a thing as too big).  The bummer....once we decided, I forgot to take notes on what we ordered!  I think I was too busy staring at the waiter and eating the bread!   What I do have is this: "Home fries not good.  Do Substitutions"  Um....so fail on the home fries, but if you are a picky eater like me, then they will substitute items for you...what those items are I have no idea because I didn't take notes on that!  But they will do it!

Repeat/Overall:  Since this was a mini-review, I would have to say based on what I wrote then yes, I would repeat.  I have had lunch and dinner at Logan Tavern and they are nothing if not consistent. 

For those faithful readers of the DC Brunch Club adventures, you may remember the first time we braved the bridge and headed down to Arlington and ended up at Sette Baddo...oh, Sette Bello - sorry.  Since that didn't stop us from heading to NoVa again, (see Tallula), I felt like it shouldn't stop us from trying another Sette.  Why let one ruin the whole group?  So in an un-official brunch club brunch, some college friends and I decided to give Sette Osteria by Dupont Circle a chance.  I was hesitant, but we were sick of walking around, so Sette it was.

Environment:  Sette does offer outdoor seating with big umbrellas to provide shade, however, the tables are small and can't sit more than four comfortably.  If you have a bigger group like we did, you won't be miserable inside.  Sette's interior is very open and airy with one wall being all windows.

Service:  At first our waiter seemed nice and I even gave him the opportunity to shine by getting me a better Mimosa...see Booze, but once we were served our food he went MIA.  At the end of the meal, we gave him two credit cards and even wrote the amount to get charged to each and he messed it up.  Not brain surgery  my dear boy.

Booze:  So, while I love my college girlfriends, they are not brunchers.  I was the only one drinking...they had "errands to run" and "stuff to do" later.  I'm sorry, that's what Saturday is for...ah well, one day they will learn that Sunday should always be "Sunday Funday"...they have growing up to do.  Anywho, I ordered a mimosa that was heavy on the oj.  I sent it back and my second was a little better, but I was already disappointed.  This of course didn't stop me from ordering a few more, but they were by no means scene stealeres.

Food:  While their brunch menu is limited, their pizza menu is off the hook and I am always in the mood for pizza.  While the ladies aren't Sunday drinkers, they are foodies, so we had a good range of menu items.


The Salmon eggs benedict was a popular order and got good reviews.

The Poached Eggs with Prosciutto and Melon had lots of prosciutto, very fresh melon and really, can you screw up poached eggs?

The fritatta looked great and I was told the mozzarella was very fresh.

We had two pizzas - the Regina and the Verdona.  The Regina's sauce was  fresh with just the right amount of sugar and it wasn't full of cheese. I can't remember if the cheese thing was good or bad... The Verdona is a white  pizza - I need to remember to ask if the sauce isn't mentioned. I am not a white pizza gal, so I of course had to order a side of marinara (which they didn't charge me for - thank you).  I thought it could have used