Being a millennial, I think I’m required to love brunch, but please correct me if I’m wrong. Well, even if it isn’t a requirement, I love brunch for the following reasons:
Time - It’s late enough in the day to where I get actually hungry. When I wake up on weekends, I’m not hungry until 11am-ish, which is the perfect brunch time.
Variety - It’s not strictly breakfast food. I love eggs, toast, and bacon, but I like having the option of maybe a burger or sandwich, or a steak if I feel. A lot of places I’ve eaten breakfast at while growing up won’t let you order off the lunch menu. But what if I want some sliders? Brunch to the rescue.
Mimosas - I’ve tried bloody marys, which is a delicious alcoholic salad when done right, but the mimosa reigns supreme when it comes to drinking at noon.
Living in the District, there are just oodles of brunch places to explore, and I intend to explore as many as I can. First on the list: The Fainting Goat on U Street.
A few weekends ago, one of my college roommates and childhood friend, Mallory, came down to DC to visit. So of course I had to treat her to the DC brunch shebang. I picked The Fainting Goat, made a reservation (I always make reservations, especially if I can get OpenTable points), and off we went. I had been to this restaurant before for late night drinks and thought I’d try out their brunch menu and see how the place is in the daytime.
Those who live in DC understand that the metro on a good day can be a pain in the rear-end, so of course the weekend service is extra difficult. Luckily we timed it well, so we waited about 10 minutes for a train, including a transfer. It took us about 30 minutes to get there from Pentagon City.
We walked in, checked in with the hostess and were seated in the back of the dining room with bright lighting, comfy chairs, and a intricate floral wallpaper design. Their bottomless mimosa or bloody mary option is $17, so we both chose that route. They have three options of mimosas: standard orange, mango, and white cranberry. Best part is you can try all three.
The mimosas had the perfect juice to prosecco ratio, which was about 20% juice to 80% prosecco. The drinks weren’t too sweet or watered down. But they were delicious, and came in these artsy glasses that were wine bottles once upon a time.So as we’re brunching, we’re talking and then I notice myself dancing in my seat. That’s because this place plays a great mix of 2000s throwbacks and today’s pop that will have you singing along at your table.
For the important part: the food, I ordered Nutella French Toast and Mallory ordered the Chicken & Waffles. Service was great, and our hostess quickly came around keeping us hydrated with both water and mimosa. The food came out pretty quickly, and boy was it pretty. Time to dig in, and the french toast was positively fluffy, but was lightly crisp on the surface. My favorite part though was the Nutella. This stuff is homemade. You can taste the hazelnuts and get an occasional crunch in every bite. They served with the french toast is a strawberry jam, which created a flavor of nice dark sweetness matched with a tart fruitiness, syrup not needed.
Mallory and I traded bites so I had the pleasure of trying hers as well. The chicken was cooked perfectly in what I think is a cornflake crust. The fried outside was nice and crunchy, while the chicken was juicy. We both agreed the best part of her dish was the spicy syrup on the bottom of the dish. Sweet and spicy is one of the best flavor combinations in my opinion. We both had very happy tummies.
Overall, this is a great brunch place if you have visiting guests, or want a new brunch place with your friends. It is standard brunch price, entrees about $12-$15. I love the aesthetic of The Fainting Goat, and I can’t wait to come back again!
The Fainting Goat: The Ginger Foodie approved.