DC Brunches... and Books!

Belga Cafe

In January, I went to DC to meet up with Camille, Marion, and Brittany and my old college roommate for a weeked. What we did of course was BRUNCH.

Belga Cafe was a discovery of mine over a year ago on a previous visit and has been a constant favorite for my friends. Pictured to the right is the goat cheese waffle and is absolute perfection. The goat cheese blends perfectly with the roasted tomatoes, and I'm fairly certain the waffle itself is herbed as well as the salad. I ordered this delight over a year ago and had been craving it ever since, but I also regretted passing up on the waffle with carmelized apples. Luckily a whole year and two months later, I knew exactly what I wanted to order....

Total Disappointment. I knew I should have stuck with the tried and true goat cheese waffle, but for some reason I thought this waffle would be smothered with hot, caramel apples. Do you see them? Oh look, there are a few in that corner. Needless to say, it was still delicious. But once you order the goat cheese waffle I really don't know how you could ever eat anything else. But for some reason, other people seem to like other menu items.

Marion ordered her usual banana, nutella crepe. I don't think I would personally categorize this as a crepe. Yes, it tastes like a crepe. It has a filling like a crepe. It doesn't look like a crepe and my favorite crepe man at the St. Palcide metro stop in Paris never made a crepe like that. But the presentation is lovely. And I ate her left over ice cream.

Other orders included green eggs and ham and a smoked salmon eggs benedict. The best thing about Belga Cafe is its location to the Eastern Market. After brunch on a weekend morning, I couldn't imagine anything better to wander around the Eastern market at all sorts of trinkets and art and fresh food. One of my favorite used books is also right around the corner. And something I love even more than brunch is a bookstore.

Kramer Books

And Kramer Books combines those two loves! The next day, Jacki (my college roommate) and I met our friend Mohammed for brunch here. Kramer Books is a little reminiscent of one of my favorite places in Boston, Trident Books, but it definitely pulls off the bookstore/cafe in its own way. Kramer Books is really popular and always has a line so I love browsing through the books with my friends while we're waiting for our table. What I love about this brunch is that everyone gets a glass of orange juice and coffee and little muffins and other baked goods included with their order. So as soon as you sit down, a glass of orange juice and a cup of coffee follow. The brunch is nothing that makes you go "OH WOW. I don't want to stop eating." But it's good. And you want to eat here because you're surrounded by books and by people who love books.

Now look at the pretty pictures of our food!