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courtesy of ‘thebittenword.com’

I’m not sure if anyone has noticed but I’m fast becoming a brunch aficionado. Brunch is so trendy, so spring, so social – in short:  brunch is so now. (Wow, I just sounded very fashion-magazine-y. Forgive me!)  My new-found obsession with all things brunch is simultaneously wonderful and horrifying. Wonderful because nothing says joy quite like reading “brioche stuffed french toast with chocolate drizzle and bacon” on a menu. And horrifying because brunch is preventing me from fully enacting Operation Hot Summer Bod 2009.  But so it goes – the rough life of a food blogger. So hard to be me, you should probs pull out the mini-violin now.

Anyways, where was I? Oh yes, brunch.  No holiday quite screams brunch like Easter. Easter, my friends,  is perfect for brunch. You think Easter (in the nonreligious sense, really) and you think eggs, chocolate, bright colors and summer whites. All these things translate gracefully into brunch. In my world, this is a math equation that winds up with Easter = amazing!  So as my gift to you this holiday, I’ll do what I do best – a foodie round-up, Easter-brunch style. So… all the brunch that is fit to eat in the District on Easter Sunday.

‘Poached Eggs on Muffins Late Brunch’
courtesy of ‘Annie Mole’

Mrs. K’s Toll House will be hosting the 2nd annual “Bring Your Own Basket” Easter egg hunt and special menu. Families can enjoy Executive Chef Maurisee Upshur’s four-course menu. Choices include smoked salmon with crème fraîche, vine-ripened tomato & buffalo mozzarella with balsamic vinaigrette, herb roasted lamb served with wild mushroom sauce and seafood champagne served with jumbo tiger shrimp, scallops and crab in a champagne cream sauce over linguine. Families can dine in the Wine Press, a European-inspired wine cellar or in the Terrace Room with views of Mrs. K’s expansive two acre gardens. Cost is $55 per person and $20 for children 12 and under.

1789 Restaurant promises seasonal holiday favorites on the menu prepared by Executive Chef Daniel Giusti and Pastry Chef Travis Olson (both RAMMY finalists!). 1789 will have complimentary canapés, while the Easter Bunny delivers candy to each table.

CommonWealth The People’s Gastropub, located in Columbia Heights, will be hosting its own Easter Sunday Brunch & Roast on April 12th. The British-inspired, American-bred three-course Easter menu will feature items such as maple and mustard glazed ham served with potato gratin and brussels sprouts, herb roasted beef served with potato gratin and grilled asparagus, and whole roasted fish for two stuffed with lemon and tarragon, herbed fingerling potatoes and grilled asparagus. All prices include an appetizer such as English pea and shiitake mushroom soup and an indulgent dessert of lemon meringue tart or sticky toffee pudding. The CommonWealth brunch menu will also be served from 11 a.m.-4 p.m. and the restaurant’s traditional Sunday Roast will also be offered until 10 p.m. For $15 per person, a beer pairing will be offered. And who doesn’t like beer before noon?

‘CIMG1426’
courtesy of ‘Hello Daly’

BRABO by Robert Wiedmaier, the new addition to the vibrant dining scene in Old Town Alexandria, will be offering a special Easter brunch catering to the early morning crowd, serving brunch from 8:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Executive Chef Robert Wiedmaier’s menu offerings will include Robert’s Choice: pork belly, poached eggs, cheddar potato cakes and sabayon sauce; Scottish smoked salmon served with a toasted bagel, cream cheese, red onion, tomato and capers and King Street Hotcakes served with bananas, whipped butter and Pennsylvania maple syrup. BRABO is also featuring a do-it-yourself Bloody Mary Bar.

Blue Duck Tavern is always a brunch favorite. The three-course menu is really pricy, coming in at $80 for adults. The menu includes such choices as a lump-crabmeat omelet; rockfish with snap-pea sauce; braised leg of lamb with morel sauce; and braised short ribs with horseradish sauce.

On the other side of the price spectrum, is a WLDC favorite – Dino. Instead of prix-fixe, Dino offers diners ala carte choices like fruit-bread French toast topped with bacon and fresh berries, Texas toast piled with wild mushrooms, prosciutto, and truffle oil, crab/rock-shrimp/salmon cakes, and grilled garlic sausage with saffron aïoli and home fries. Prices are around the $12 mark.

‘double vanilla french toast’
courtesy of ‘maggiephotos’

The recently renovated Bombay Club will be offering their Champagne buffet brunch this Easter. For $28 per person, guests can enjoy live piano music and special menu items such as seafood curry and other traditional brunch fare, as well as gulab jamun for dessert and unlimited Champagne.

Ready to brunch at the Kennedy Center? Of course you are. The Roof Terrace is having the Easter Bunny and a kiddie table that includes macaroni and cheese, French fries, chicken fingers, and pigs-in-a-blanket. For the adults there’s challah French toast, a carving station, a raw bar, and gourmet salads.

Chef Todd Gray is doing his ususal holiday prix-fixe brunch at Equinox. Three courses – an appetizer, main, and sweet course – for $45.The menu features fish, lamb and breakfast picks.

‘omlette with onion and salami 2’
courtesy of ‘Alesist’

For $40 per person, guests at 701 will savor a three-course, prix fixe brunch prepared by Executive Chef Bobby Varua. Featured dishes include scrambled eggs royale with sevruga caviar, sauteed lobster, green onion and creme fraiche; New Zealand rack of lamb and mango cheesecake.

Located in Restaurant Row of Cleveland Park, Ardeo will showcase a delicious Easter three-course brunch by Executive Chef Alex McWilliams for $35 per person. Diners can enjoy the extensive wine list in a sophisticated and approachable atmosphere.

For those guests looking for an elegant dining experience, look no further than The Oval Room, located just steps away from the White House. A three-course prix fixe menu featuring dishes such as white asparagus soup, striped bass and toasted coconut cream tart will be available for $45 per person.

And last but not least…

The menu that makes my mouth water and wins my top pick for Easter brunch? Redwood. Priced at $38 per person, Redwood is doing a four-course menu highlighting springtime favorites including Made-to-Order Apple Cider Doughnut Holes served with hot apple cider and tossed in apple sugar; Wild Asparagus & Crab Salad with mixed greens and lemon hollandaise; Glazed Black Forest Ham with sweet potato puree and pan juices as well as Rotisserie Prime Rib with two fried eggs, home fries and blue cheese cream. For dessert, Redwood has partnered with Cacao, Fine European Chocolates, a locally owned chocolate and pastry shop also in Bethesda Row, who will artfully create a gourmet chocolate buffet on the elevated 15-seat “dining bar” at the center of the restaurant. Drooling. If I was going to be anywhere near Bethesda, I think the magnetic forces that are “cider doughnuts” and “chocolate bar” would pull me right into Redwood. Sigh…

Did I miss something? Leave it in the comments!

Katie

Katie moved to DC in 2007, and has since embarked upon a love affair with the city. She’s an education reform advocate and communications professional during the day; at night and on the weekends, she’s an owner here at We Love DC. Katie has high goals to eat herself through the entire city, with only her running shoes to save her from herself. For up-to-the-minute news and reviews (among other musings), follow her on Twitter!