A.kitchen&bar
1010 New Hampshire Ave., NW
Philadelphia’s Ellen Yin—who last year won the James Beard award for “Outstanding Restaurateur”—made her DC debut last month with this French/American restaurant in a Foggy Bottom hotel. Her short breakfast menu, offered Tuesday through Sunday starting at 7 AM, offers straightforward bacon-egg-and-cheese sandwiches, plus tweaked classics like cornmeal pancakes with maple butter and lemon curd, or brown-butter oatmeal with date molasses.
Bar Japonais
1520 14th St., NW
At this Logan Circle Japanese spot in the old Estadio space, you have a choice of two Bloody Marys: one is garnished with wasabi and bacon-wrapped tomatoes; the other with squid ink and salmon sashimi. Too much? Go for a Lillet spritz or green tea, then graze on sushi rolls, salads, okonomiyaki, and a chicken kara-age Benedict.
Darvish Kitchen
1141 Connecticut Ave., NW
Downtown DC’s chic, three-month-old Persian spot jumps into the weekend brunch game with rose-jam-topped rice pudding, koobideh kebab with a fried egg, and a family-style breakfast platter laden with olives, feta, ginger bread, and more. It’s all served Saturday and Sunday from 11 AM to 2:30 PM.
Little Food Studio
849 Upshur St., NW
Danielle Harris’s Petworth bakery/coffee shop isn’t new, but after a relocation to her now-closed Afro-fusion restaurant Almeda, it recently moved back into its original (and, yes, very little) space. Starting at 7:30 AM on weekdays and 8 AM on Saturdays, order up puff-pastry-wrapped sausages, bacon-egg-and-Pecorino sandwiches, and the best scones in town. Coffee drinks are dashed with housemade syrups, and you can opt for the zesty chai hot, iced, or mixed with cider.
Mallard
1337 14th St., NW
What was once Birch and Barley is now the folksy Southern restaurant Mallard, overseen by former Vidalia chef Hamilton Johnson. During weekend brunch—11 AM to 3 PM—his kitchen slings cornmeal pancakes with buttered pecans and fried peaches; Nashville hot chicken and a malted waffle; and shrimp n’ grits with piquillo peppers. To drink, there are peach-mint mimosas, Bloody Marys made with ramp vinegar, and a nice lineup of lemonades and iced teas.
Ann Limpert joined Washingtonian in late 2003. She was previously an editorial assistant at Entertainment Weekly and a cook in New York restaurant kitchens, and she is a graduate of the Institute of Culinary Education. She lives in Petworth.
