brunch at Liberty Tavern

I first visited Liberty Tavern about a year and a half ago for a happy hour.  I was able to sample a few items from the menu and bar, all of which I thought were surprisingly tasty for the price and the location.  Until recently, that area of Arlington being nothing but cheap beer and bar-food specials geared toward the just-graduated-from-college-crowd.  That was great when I was 22-24 but as I edge closer to 30, it gets a bit boring.  When Liberty Tavern first opened, it gave a slightly more sophisticated feel, without being too stuffy, and I liked it.  Several other places that aim for a slightly older crowd have opened as well, allowing the neighborhood to develop into a pretty decent destination.

Liberty Tavern’s brunch was not quite what I expected, mostly because it was a buffet, which brings its own set of issues.  The downside to a buffet is that it is hard to maintain quality when food is cooked in large portions and left out for an extended period of time.  The benefit is that a large group is given a lot of food options and everyone can serve themselves at will.  So, Liberty Tavern is a great place to go with a big group where you know everyone will want a good number of choices to fill their plate.

The buffet included a few variations of scrambled eggs with different ingredients mixed in, biscuits and gravy, ham, turkey, salmon (delicious), bacon (a bit over cooked), sausage, a frittata, waffles, blueberry pancakes, and a few lunch-items.   None of the food was amazing, but what was as good as I could expect from a large buffet.  They have an a la carte menu as well but it’s restricted to just omelets and sandwiches.

I do love the space at Liberty Tavern.  The upstairs offers an open-feel with high ceilings and a lot of light.  Downstairs is a bit more bar-like with a lot of wood accents and high tables, and good use of partitions to break apart various areas.  And they have a good amount of outdoor tables that are great when you have good weekend weather.

My favorite part of this brunch: the candy table.  As you leave the upstairs area, where the buffet is, there is a big table of sweet treats.  You have your pick of M&M’s, brownies, cookies, Blow Pops, Tootsie Rolls, and even Pixy Stix (a very long time favorite of mine from my childhood).

I have to draw the line somewhere

photo by bunchofpants on Flickr

While I try to eat healthy, I am far from a health nut.  If you read this blog regularly, this shouldn’t surprise you since I mention bacon in almost every post.

There has been an on-going obsession across the U.S. to fry foods that you would generally not think to throw into a fryer.  While the thought of something like a fried Twinkie makes my arteries seize up in fear, I’ve still remained continually intrigued at the idea and will likely try a fried Twinkie or Snicker if I ever get the chance.  Last year I got to try a fried Oreo and determined that it’s a very good thing that they are not available in DC – otherwise I would join the ranks of the millions of obese Americans out there.  Yes, they are that disgustingly good.

But the line has to be drawn somewhere and I think I have found it.  Deep fried butter?  Really? Slashfood explains this new Texas State Fair treat in more detail – it comes in 4 flavors! – and you can even get your own recipes to try from Paula Dean.  My arteries are thanking me for taking a stand against this one.  For more fried wonders, The Huffington Post has a slide show of the 10 Deep Fried Things That Should Never Be Deep Fried.  Enjoy!

brunch at Perrys

Whenever people talk about the best and most notable brunches in DC, Perrys is pretty much always listed as a top pick.  Their drag queen brunch has developed quite the reputation for mixing a traditionally conservative meal with a less-than-conservative side of entertainment.  And in a town like DC, that can be a rarity.

It actually took me some time to finally try Perrys for myself.  They do not take reservations and say that the line forms at 10am for their 10:30 opening.  (I’d recommend getting there closer to 9:30 if you want to be one of the first people seated.)  It can be pretty hard to get people to commit to waiting in line early on a Sunday morning after a night out on the town, and it’s even harder to get people to join in if the weather doesn’t cooperate.  But finally, a friend who had been wanting to go and I were able to coordinate our schedules and make it happen.

We  showed up at 10:15, waited for about 20 minutes to put our name on the list, and were told it would be an hour until our table would be ready.  We expected as much so we started to walk around to window shop.  Unfortunately, none of the stores in Adams Morgan open until 11am or noon and there’s no Sunday flea market to help pass the time.  We passed several other restaurants that had some delicious-looking brunches, but we had our hearts set on finally checking out the much-hyped drag queen show.

After just over two hours we finally got the call that our table was ready.  I was starving at this point and ready for some food.  We jumped in line for the buffet before the wait got too long – a mistake I won’t make next time.  Had I waited just a little bit longer, I could have had the fresh (and hot) servings of everything.  Since I was too hungry to wait, all of my food ended up being cold.

Over all (and after a second trip through the buffet to give things another try when they were hot), the food did not really impress me.  It was a fairly standard buffet spread, with the quality matching that of a convention or large hotel breakfast.  The one thing that set them apart was an array of Asian-inspired dishes and sushi.

While the food was nothing to write home about, that doesn’t mean that this isn’t a brunch to try. People never mention the food when recommending Perrys for brunch because you go there for the show.  And those ladies sure do put on a show.  They come out to perform every 15 minutes or so, allowing you plenty of time to eat between the entertainment.  Once they come out to perform, you have to watch and cheer them on.  Pull out some singles and your camera, and they are more than happy to pose for some entertaining pictures – especially if it involves embarrassing someone at your table.  If you celebrate a friend’s birthday there, make sure the birthday boy or girl can take a good joke because they will be brought up front and embarrassed.

All in all, it’s a wait, but one that’s worth it.  Consider eating a small breakfast so you’re not as famished as I was when we finally got to sit down.  And I definitely recommend it with a big group who can let loose after a mimosa or two.

Computer issues, writing issues

After sitting down countless times over the last several weeks to write up brunch reviews and to share some other DC and brunch-related links, I’ve hit writers block.  Nothing will come out.  It slowly started to occur to me that it might have to do with the fact that I have been using a very old and slow loaner computer while my laptop has been getting repaired (that story later…but the gist is that I am NEVER again buying anything from Dell).

So much of writing is being in the right mood and mindset.  When I sit at a desk to write, I get into work mode.  I find myself opening sites that are related to my work projects, and writing in a much more formal, boring tone.  So I guess that’s my sad excuse for not having posted in a while.  So to all my friends asking when I’ll write about the brunches they joined me on – it’s coming soon, promise!

Permanent Brunch

Last year I wrote about a restaurant that would be opening up in New York City that had two of the best concepts I could imagine: it always serves brunch, and it has an entire list of bacon to choose from.  Well, the wait is over!  Permanent Brunch has officially opened it’s doors!  I don’t think I’ll be able to get up to NY until October, but I already know where I’m going to want to eat while I’m there.

For a full review of the new restaurant, I’d recommend I Heart Brunch.

brunch at the Argonaut

A very old and dear family friend was recently visiting from Austria with her three young kids, and we needed a place for brunch where a large group that included 5 kids (ages 1-14) could comfortably fit.  Staying on the Hill was also ideal since that’s where everyone in our huge group was staying/living, so the Argonaut seemed like a great fit – we also got the added bonus of showing an old friend who used to live here and example of how much the neighborhood has been changing.

brunch at Sticky Rice

Ever since first hearing that Sticky Rice was going to start serving brunch, I have been trying to find someone  to go with me to try it.  I love their sushi menu, which includes a lot of unique rolls, and their brunch menu looked just as interesting.

brunch at Bob & Edith’s Diner

It’s no secret that one of my very favorite diners in the area is Bob & Edith’s Diner.  It’s open 24-hours, definitely gives off that old diner feel, and the food is greasy and amazing.  Any place that continues to bring in such a huge crowd after being in business for 40 years is clearly cooking up something worth trying!

Screen on the Green schedule announced

The schedule for the four Screen on the Green movies has been released.  All four are old classics that you’ve heard mentioned many times but have likely not seen (or at least in a long time).  Everyone worked hard to bring the outdoor movie series back, so make sure you get it on your calendar and remember to go!

• July 20, Close Encounters of the Third Kind
• July 27, Dog Day Afternoon
• August 3, On The Waterfront
• August 10, Rebel Without A Cause

In honor of National Ice Cream Month

I recently cleaned out a closet in my house and found an old hand-crank Donvier ice cream maker that I had as a kid.  My mom gave it to me when I moved into this house five years ago, and it was put on a shelf and forgotten about.  When I found it a couple of months ago, I thought I should give it a try.  I tried two of the recipes that were included with the machine…the French Vanilla didn’t come out quite right, but the French Chocolate Silk was perfect.  I also tried the “low fat” recipes that called for only milk and no cream…I’d recommend sticking with the traditional recipes if you care at all about texture and flavor.