One dinner, one brunch in DC

[josie]

My boyfriend & I will be in town this weekend for a brief visit, and I'd like to have one nice dinner option on Sat night and a nice brunch on Sunday (I know it will be crazy with Easter). Getting to places is not a problem. Any consensus on recommendations? I have been to Jaleo once, a few years ago, and wouldn't mind going back if we could get in. Other than that, we're wide open -- just no steakhouses or sushi, please. Thanks in advance . . .

[vengroff]

Ouch. Easter is probably better than mother's day, but it can be tough to find a good brunch on a big holiday weekend.

Aside from not wanting steak or sushi, do you have other preferences and/or a price range in mind?

[josie]

No other limitations on type of food or price range. I'm sorry to be so vague, which probably accounts for the lack of responses . . . I guess I'm looking for "if you had guests from out of town for one night only, where would you take them for dinner?" If it's something I couldn't find outside of DC, even better.

[Steve Klc]

It would also depend on where they lived--what they had experienced and liked in their city, but then if they were visiting me I'd probably know that! If you were less vague, it would help me help you josie. I sense the same from Darren.

The most recent "brunch" I had was at Majestic Cafe in Old Town--it was traditional, excellent, and I'd recommend it highly. There aren't too many Susan Lindeborgs outside of DC. They don't normally take reservations for a normal Sunday brunch but perhaps this Sunday is different. If you are visiting parents this would definitely be a good choice for you and your boyfriend. Try the hash.

[josie]

OK, we're visiting from two different locales -- west coast and the midwest. I lived in NYC for a few years and enjoyed Bouley, Gramercy, some of the usual suspects. When we're in LA, we go to Campanile, Lucques, Alex. I tend to veer toward Asian when possible (although not reflected in what I just mentioned), just because I can't get a lot of it where I am, but that's not traditionally my boyfriend's favorite. He's much more of a carnivore than I (thus no steakhouses). We both enjoy good Italian, French bistro, etc. If there's some fabulous ethnic specialty somewhere, we'd give it a try. I've heard a lot about Jaleo, but can't remember it well, so I thought it might be worth another visit.

I can also do some searching on the board, not a big deal. Thanks for any thoughts.

[bilrus]

In answer to the "One place you would take people form out of town" for me, right now, I would say Zaytinya in the Penn Quarter, which has been much discussed in various threads on here. More for dinner although you can make a light weekend lunch out of the small plates there (easier to get a table, also). ANd the atmosphere definitiely makes it an "occasion" type of place.

Like Steve, I really like Majestic as well, although I have never had brunch there, only dinners.

Although I have never been there, I have had friends say good things about the brunch at Gabriel off Dupont Circle.

[Steve Klc]

Josie--regulars know this but you might not, I'm the pastry chef behind a few of the restaurants you and others have mentioned so far. There's an extensive thread about Zaytinya, nominated for the 2003 James Beard Award for Best New Restaurant, here:

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?act=ST...34&t=14497&st=0

Though in light of your last post--especially with your experiences in LA and NY--I might steer you toward Cafe Atlantico. It's very creative, intriguing cooking for the price. An in-depth, ongoing thread about Cafe and especially the "dim sum" brunch, is here:

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?act=ST...=34&t=5209&st=0