Restaurants Serve MLK Day Brunch
On Monday, we honor the life and legacy of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., who delivered his famous “I Had a Dream” speech he gave on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial on Aug. 28, 1963 during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. Nationally, his birthday has become a day of service, with many projects going on around the city.
If you’re heading out to volunteer on MLK Day, many restaurants are offering brunch to fill you up and get you ready or to sober you up after an extra night of drinking.
Ambar, 523 8th St. SE, will serve unlimited small plates and free-flowing cocktails from 10 a.m-3:30 p.m. for $35 per person with an all-you-can-eat selection of mezze, soups, salads, sandwiches, egg dishes, pastries, crepes and sweets along with three distinctive brunch cocktails. Dishes include Balkan salad with tomato, peppers, cucumber, onions and aged cheese; veal and vegetable soup; and the in-house freshly ground Balkan burger made with beef and pork topped with cucumber yogurt, roasted pepper spread, aged cheese and cabbage slaw served with homemade potatoes.
Sister restaurants Bar Pilar, 1833 14th St. NW, and Café Saint-Ex both offer their weekend brunches on Monday.
El Camino, 108 Rhode Island Ave. NW, will serve Mexican-inspired brunch dishes including migas with onions, peppers, queso fresco and chorizo; chilaquiles with black beans, smoked Gouda, caramelized onions, fried eggs; and huitlacoche omelets with shitake mushrooms, goat cheese, salsa roja, salsa verde and hash browns from 11 a.m.-3 p.m.
City Tap House, 901 9th St. NW, 20001, will serve brunch from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. with dishes such as ham and cheese with shaved Benton’s ham, spicy pimento cheese, pickled green tomato and crostini; strawberry-almond French toast; biscuits and gravy; house-smoked salmon hash; and The Big Chick, a buttermilk biscuit with fried chicken, Benton’s bacon, sausage gravy and a fried egg. Prices range from $6-$26. There is also a bottomless brunch bar, which includes endless Bloody Marys, mimosas and beer-mosas for $18 per person.
Copperwood Tavern, 4021 Campbell Ave., Shirlington, will serve brunch from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. with a la carte dishes such as blueberry ricotta pancakes; duck hash; a breakfast burrito with chorizo, black beans, eggs, salsa and queso fresco; or short rib benedict with root beer braised short ribs served with hollandaise. Menu prices range from $4-$18. Enjoy cocktails including traditional mimosas; peach bellinis; spiced milk punch made with Laird’s apple brandy, spiced tea syrup and milk; or order one of four varieties of house made Bloody Marys from the Bloody Mary Bar.
EatWell DC’s four restaurants will be serving their usual weekend brunch menus on Monday. Commissary, 1443 P St. NW, will serve brunch from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Grillfish, 1200 New Hampshire Ave. NW, and Logan Tavern, 1423 P St. NW, will both serve brunch from 11 a.m.-4 p.m. and The Pig, 1320 14th St. NW, will serve from 11 a.m.-3 p.m.
El Centro D.F., with locations at 1819 14th St. NW and 1218 Wisonsin Ave. NW, will serve an all-you-can-eat authentic Mexican brunch from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. for $35 per person. The menu includes potato and chorizo pambazo sandwiches with crema fresca, lettuce and cotija cheese; enfrijolades with scrambled eggs, morita bean sauce and chorizo; fried egg divorciados smothered in red and green salsa with chorizo and black beans; and picadillo empanadas with ground beef, carrots, peas, potatoes and Mexican cheese. Bottomless brunch drinks, such as the Michelada, Bloody Maria and choice of seasonal aqua fresca cocktails, can be added.
Farmers Fishers Bakers, 3000 K St. NW, will serve its all-you-can-eat brunch from 9 a.m.-2 p.m. for $29.99, which includes the buffet with selections from the butcher’s table, gardner’s table, carving table and dessert bar, complimentary iced tea, drip coffee , biscuits, cinnamon rolls and passed trays of eggs benedicts, sushi, pizza and more.
Founding Farmers, 1924 Pennsylvania Ave. NW and 12505 Park Potomac Ave., Potomac, Md., will begin serving its farm-style brunch starting at 7 a.m. and run until 2 p.m. at both locations. Brunch includes American classics such as eggs, pancakes, Benedicts, fried chicken and Bloody Marys.
The Heights, 3115 14th St. NW, will serve its weekend brunch menu from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. on Monday.
Masa 14, 1825 14th St. NW, will serve a prix fixe brunch in the main dining room from 10 a.m-3 p.m. for $39. It includes an unlimited selection of brunch drinks such as traditional mimosas, Masa Mimosas, lychee bellini, bacon Bloody Mary and lemon lager. The menu features a selection of flatbreads and salads, eggs, Benedicts, omelets and sandwiches including wild mushroom flatbread with jack cheese, roasted red pepper and avocado; chilaquiles, corn tortillas with chorizo, queso cotija and soft scrambled eggs; smoked chicken hash; and a Korean short rib ropa vieja with wasabi black bean, smoked spinach, fried eggs and kimchi pico de gallo.
RedRocks Pizzeria, 1036 Park Road NW in Columbia Heights, 1348 H St. NE and 2501 Columbia Pike, Arlington. Columbia Heights and H Street will serve their a la carte brunch from 11 a.m-4 p.m., and Arlington will serve its all-you-can-eat buffet for $15.95 along with it a la carte dishes from 11 a.m.-3:30 p.m.
Tico, 1926 14th St. NW, will serve brunch from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Monday. Dishes include duck confit and green-chili hash, and chorizo breakfast burritos. The menu is à la carte, but you can opt for bottomless mimosas or Bloody Marys for $19.
Toro Toro, 1300 I St. NW, will serve brunch from 11 a.m.-3 p.m.for $39. It includes a choice of Pan-Latin small plates including seasonal salads, meats, a raw bar and assorted breads and cheeses. Also included is Toro Toro’s “Rodizio Experience,” with choices including picanha steak, chorizo sausage, achiote chicken or the chef’s daily Selection. Diners can also order from chef’s daily creation of hot sides such as papas bravas; tortilla Espanola; chorizo and potato Hash; chipotle-agave bacon; Mexican-chocolate waffles with nutella and bananas, as well as chilaquiles verdes. There is also a Bloody Mary bar and bottomless traditional mimosas, Toro, mango mimosas or blood orange mimosas.
Vinoteca, 1940 11th St. NW, will serve it’s a la carte brunch menu from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. with hearty dishes like steak-and-eggs poutine or duck confit benedict. Add unlimited mimosas for $15.
Zengo, 781 7th St. NW, will serve a bottomless brunch from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. for $39 with an all-you-can-eat selection of ceviche, sushi and salads, dim sum and antojitos. Brunch includes small plates such as shrimp ceviche with coconut, charred pineapple, red onion, basil and bonito flake; Thai chicken empanadas; achiote-hoisin pork arepas with corn masa, avocado and crema fresca. Additional brunch plates include short rib hash; house-cured bacon and eggs with ancho cured bacon, black beans and pico de gallo; and Hanoi Pandan waffles with strawberry-guava sauce and whipped cream. Bottomless cocktails including Bloodys, sake sangria and four types of mimosas can be added.
Surfside Dupont serving tacos 24/7
Surfside, the Glover Park taqueria, opened its second location at 1800 N St. NW in Dupont. The Dupont store is open 24/7, but is take-out only. Delivery will be added shortly.
The Dupont menu is similar to the original location. Diners can choose from a variety of corn or flour tortillas filled with grilled rockfish, steak, shrimp, tilapia, chicken braised pork or goasted wild mushrooms, as well as a few new combinations such as the Phuket, with teriyaki beef short ribs and sesame slaw, or the St. John, with roasted acorn squash, Brussels sprouts, Yukon potatoes and toasted pumpkin seeds. There are also quesadillas, burritos and salads. Vegetarian options exist in every category.
From 11 p.m.-11 a.m., the restaurant will serve an abbreviated lineup of dishes with a few breakfast options, such as scrambled eggs tacos with chorizo, potatoes, poblano peppers and cotija cheese in flour tortillas served with red beans and rice; scrambled eggs with bacon, crispy has browns and jack and cheddar cheeses in a flour tortilla; and scrambled eggs with sautéed spinach, roasted mushrooms, tomatillo salsa and cotija cheese in a flour tortilla.
Free Chipolte
Chipolte Mexican Grill will give away free burritos, bowls, tacos and salads at its U.S. and Canadian locations starting Tuesday, Jan. 27.
But, there’s a catch. The fast food chain requires diners to buy tofu sofritas on http://chipotle.com/en-US/html/sofritasmonday.aspx Sofritas Monday, Jan. 26. Then redeem their receipt for free burrito, bowl, salad or order of tacos on your next order through Feb. 28.
The move is a way to promote the vegan product. The chili-braised, organic tofu from Oakland, Calif. -based Hodo Soy Beanery, is made with chipotle chilis, roasted poblanos and a blend of spices.
It may not be as popular as the currently-off-the-menu pork carnitas, but it does have its health benefits, depending on your diet. Sofritas contain slightly fewer calories and saturated fat than the same portion of beef barbacoa—and no cholesterol, compared with the meats—but it’s notably higher in sodium and carbs than chicken.
Editor-in-Chief Mark Heckathorn is a journalist, movie buff and foodie. He oversees DC on Heels editorial operations as well as strategic planning and staff development. Reach him with story ideas or suggestions at dcoheditor (at) gmail (dot) com.