All about the Fainting Goat brunch…

The Venue

The Fainting Goat has a rustic feel to it, with wood tables, exposed brick, and soft lighting. Servers are warm and friendly, and the kitchen is happy to accommodate all dietary restrictions. It’s a fantastic spot for brunch with a group of friends.

The Fainting Goat Brunch Highlights

All tasty meals at the Fainting Goat brunch, dinner, or happy hour, start off with the goat cheese fondue. It comes with chunks of grilled bread, perfect for dipping in the creamy melted cheese.

Next, all the items on The Fainting Goat brunch menu are great for sharing so order away! I highly recommend the avocado toast, where a thick slice of sourdough bread is slathered with creamy avocado and crowned with fresh greens and pickled onions. We got two orders for our table of eight and then ordered two more…that’s how good it was.

Next, we shared sweet, syrup-drenched breakfast pastries, roasted rainbow carrots served on a bed of sesame seed hummus, spicy three bean chili, and a super fresh and crunchy Caesar salad, topped with potato bread croutons. You read that right and yes they are delicious. I wanted to ask for a bag of those croutons to go!

The Beverages

Bottomless mimosas at The Fainting Goat brunch include sparkling wine blended with your choice of fresh squeeze orange juice, mango juice, or white cranberry juice. The fresh squeezed OJ is damn good. A variety of other cocktails are available as well.

The Verdict

The Fainting Goat brunch is fun, casual, tasty spot, especially with a big group of friends. Roll up with a group and get your brunch on!

The Fainting Goat, 1330 U Street, NW, Washington, DC 20009; Website

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About the RoZay Brunch

But, since I went over there to sample the menu I’ll give you a summary of what the deal includes. For your first course, choose from creamy hummus, a tomato, onion, and cucumber salad, super tart feta and red pepper spread called htipiti, or, my favorite, farro served over a toum, a garlic and ginger infused spread, ultimately crowned with a heap of sweet peas and green garbanzo beans. The trifecta of textures from the chewy farro, creamy toum, and the peas combined with the bright flavors made it the stand-out dish of the mezze selection. A basket of fresh pita bread is complimentary and essential for mopping up your mezze.

Then, your main course can be a hefty falafel burger, piled high with tomatoes and tzatziki, a side, salad, or eggs scrambled tomatoes and feta, almost like a shakshuka but where the eggs are scrambled instead of baked.

About the Dessert…

And finally dessert. The loukamades, which are Greek donuts holes, seem like they would be the best but there is a surprise winner: a sweet and tangy vanilla bean flecked yogurt, served in a mini dessert glass, topped with apricots soaked in a sweet wine, dusted with crushed pistachios and topped with cool apricot gelato. It’s a sweet but refreshing way to end your meal. Chocolate truffles are served at the end, in case your sweet tooth was not satisfied.

Zaytinya’s Brunch: The Verdict

The RoZay menu is only being offered until Restaurant Week in August so make a beeline for Zaytinya before then. You’ll find me on the patio, getting my rose on.

Zaytinya, 701 9th St NW, Washington, DC, Website 

Scroll down for more yummy brunch photos!

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The Beginning

Of course, begin the Riggsby brunch by ordering a bottle of sparkling wine. With it, enjoy a sharing plate: deviled eggs, avocado toast, or banana crepes. The deviled eggs are super creamy, with a dollop of hot chilies on top. Avocado toast is always a win, and banana crepes are fantastic with a drizzle of caramel and a banana chip on the side.

The Middle

I always appreciate a place which offers breakfast and lunch fare for brunch. That’s why it’s called brunch right? I tend to prefer lunch fare, so I went for the spaghetti with housemade tomato sauce. It was simple, but delicious. The noodles are chewy and fresh, made in-house, and the tomato sauce is savory and creamy. If you do want a breakfast dish, try the egg white omelet which comes with potatoes and toast.

The End

Dessert is the name of the game at the Riggsby brunch: old-fashioned chocolate cake, chocolate chip cookies and strawberry shortcake are just of a few of the tempting choices. I love classic American desserts, so this dessert menu is really my jam.  Whatever you pick, it will pair well with sparkling wine!

The Riggsby Brunch: Verdict

The Riggsby brunch is a great experience with delicious breakfast and lunch options. The atmosphere is fun and lively, and you can’t go wrong with the 50% off bottles of sparkling wine. The menu could do with more vegetarian options, hopefully incoming Chef Jay Caputo will fix that!

The Riggsby at the Carlyle Hotel, 1731 New Hampshire Ave NW, Washington, DC, Website 

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If you are looking for a luxurious Sunday brunch dining experience in DC, look no further I have found an epic one for you. Proof DC, one of the city’s most popular wine bar, recently launched Sunday brunch, and it is the Sunday brunch of your dreams. All about our experience:

The Drinks

Normally, I like to start by talking about the food, but the cocktails make the brunch. Proof DC has a great beverage program so it makes sense to begin my review with a recommendation as to which boozy brunch beverages you should order.

My favorite beverage from the Proof DC brunch menu was the Lovers Left Alive, a sparkling wine cocktail that is a quintessential brunch beverage. Made with rose vermouth, bruto Americano which is an aperol type liquor, OJ, rosemary, and of course sparkling wine, it is bright, cheerful and fragrant. I also loved the Bloody Mary, which features house made Bloody mix. It is spicy, so if you need to wake up, this drink is for you! The Pimm’s Cup is great too; but be forewarned that has a strong ginger flavor.

The Food

Every good brunch opens with pastries, and at Proof that means fresh, right-out-of-the-oven cinnamon rolls drizzled with a finger-licking-good sugar glaze. The cinnamon buns are pretty big, so make sure you come hungry because there is a lot more you are going to want to sample!

The best advice I can offer is to get a bunch of dishes and share, because you won’t want to limit yourself to just one dish. There are too many good choices to pass up. Toast smothered in stracciatella cheese and then adorned with fried artichokes, a sprinkling of raisins and pine nuts is a whirlwind of texture and flavor. Beet pickled eggs are as tasty as they are visually pleasing, with a bright pink color, a sinfully creamy yolk, and golden mustard seeds.

The pierogies, with a luscious goose egg yolk that serves as a sauce, is another must-try. Heaps of bright green leeks and radishes add crunch and flavor. The gnocchi is just as good; the dish changes with the season but currently the fluffy potato pillows are tossed with mushrooms and cheese. The omelet is light and puffy, stuffed with melted cheese and served with crispy breakfast potatoes. For dessert: donuts, served with a coffee-infused chocolate sauce. I told you this brunch is the ultimate in brunch decadence!

Proof DC: The Verdict

Brunch at Proof DC is great for a Sunday afternoon where you and your significant other, or you and your friends or family want to treat yourself. Sit back, relax, and stuff your face!

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Restaurants in Shaw DC: Declaration Restaurant

The Sunday brunch menu at Declaration Restaurant is features classic American fare, which means eggs, pancakes, and pizza. You can sample the entire menu for $40 a person, with bottomless mimosas and Bloody Marys thrown in, so come hungry! It’s really convenient for big groups because you all pay the same price and you don’t have to haggle over the bill; hence why I came with my brunch club. We went to town with the menu and ordered almost every dish. First, we started with two salads, a fresh kale salad with cranberries and pistachios and a bright lemon infused dressing, and a Caesar salad with housemade croutons. Next, we went for the savory dishes: a gorgeous mozzarella smothered pizza with basil and parmesan, eggs with biscuits doused in a creamy, silky gravy, and eggs over creamed kale, blanked with shards of Parmesan cheese were the three favorite items.

The brunch menu of Declaration Restaurant also has its sweet side. We sampled pancakes with a fragrant strawberry maple syrup, fluffy ricotta donuts with a fruit jam and biscuit French toast. The pancakes were light and airy, and the donuts were irresistible.

The Verdict: Shaw is winning in every regard. Head to Declaration Restaurant for a classic brunch experience. Staff is friendly and the dining room is bright and comfy. This is a great spot for groups of friends who want to share food and indulge in bottomless mimosas and Bloodys!

Declaration Restaurant, 804 V. Street, NW, Washington, DC, Website

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Brunch at a bowling alley? “It can’t be interesting”- I thought. I like bowling but besides having a burger, sandwich or finger food, I haven’t known bowling alleys to be places of culinary interest.  I arranged to meet four girlfriends to catch up on our lives at Pinstripes  Georgetown early on a Sunday morning.  Figured this will be unique way to indulge in one of the favorite Washingtonian pastimes: Sunday brunch!

The Scene:  Upon entering Pinstripes Georgetown, I spotted an open kitchen and a chocolate fountain. The bistro and bar area were close by the entrance and the Bocce and bowling alley were in the back through a corridor not directly visible. The brunch spread was inviting and I was starving. The open kitchen displayed crates of fruits and vegetables, pizzas were being baked in a large oven, and omelet and waffles stations were ready to serve. As my party was complete, we headed to the bowling alley where we were made aware we only had an hour to bowl and eat and were not going to be able to go back to the bistro for brunch. None of us had anything to eat before arriving, yet, we decided to bowl first and brunch after. Mimosas asked the waiter?

“Not on an empty stomach”- exclaimed my friend Christine, the wise voice of the group…. I settled for juice.

The Bowling: The place is nicely set up and not dark. Although we started off with low energy, our shared joie de vivre rose above. Between striking and comical bowling poses, commenting about the food we were yet to eat, giving each other tips about bowling, keeping track of the clock and laughs, we really had a blast! There were several families with children bowling and some had small kids who ventured to the front of the lanes and whose parents thought it was cute, taking their time to move their kids out-of-the-way but hey, it was Sunday morning, something you would consider when going in matinée hour. We were very relaxed and took it all in.

Dining Traveler Tips: The bowling alley offers couches facing each other and a table between them for every two lanes. This is great setup for a group to share. If you have brunch at the lanes, you do have to walk out of the alley to the restaurant section, not a major walk but something to consider. You could reserve lanes to bowl for two hours and brunch in that area, but if you are bowling for one hour only, it may be best to separate the activities.

The Food:  As the clock gets closer to zero usually you wish you had more time to bowl but we were excited to head to brunch. Since we changed the setup of our reservation, we had to wait to be seated. At this time there were more people in the restaurant. We were told we had to wait 30 minutes for a table in the bistro so we asked to be seated at a booth in the bar area which was equally close to the brunch buffet. We all quickly dispersed to the buffet tables and my first stop was the omelet station which had bowls of ingredients ready to create the perfect omelet. I paired my omelet with salmon then went back for servings of pasta salad and halves of baked potatoes with cheese. The spread of the buffet was varied and suitable for any tastes which included bacon, sausages but also prime rib, fries, pasta, medley of vegetables and salads. I indulged in dessert:  mini waffle with banana and Nutella with a small strawberry on top, strawberries dipped in chocolate sauce and a brownie. I enjoyed that we did not have to wait long at every station. The flow was pretty good. We were certainly glad we bowled before eating as we felt more relaxed. If it would have been sunny and warm, it would’ve been a great opportunity to continue our Sunday outing onto the patio.

The Verdict: Overall the food was great. the mac & cheese was not popular in our group but the salmon, the rib, baked potatoes, omelets and dessert really sealed the brunch experience. Staff was friendly and helpful.

Tips: Decide whether you wish to bowl and brunch at the lanes or do each separately and in what order and reserve accordingly. While the staff was accommodating, one can’t always expect last-minute changes will always work out. If you end up eating in the bar area ask for the booth in the corner to the left of the bar which can accommodate five comfortably.

I am always looking for different experiences and bowling & brunch is an excellent occasion to spend a Sunday with friends or family. I will definitely be returning.

As it was printed on the coasters, Pinstripes Georgetown was “Strikingly Good“.

Ana

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