As far as restaurants go on 14th Street Doi Moi is a veteran, it's been with us for nearly two years now, opening in the late summer of 2013. Yet it took the restaurant quite some time to enter the bustling brunch scene that so many of us crave, debuting the late-morning weekend soiree this past April. It's a more relaxed affair than its neighbors, no bottomless or unlimited plates anything, but an adapted dinner menu featuring more eggs and the usual pricey cocktails. If you've visited the restaurant for dinner you'll find the menu familiar and comfortable, many of the favorites such as Goi Cuon (garden roll), Goi Chai (steamed garlic chive & mushroom dumplings) and Bun Bo Xao (stir fried lemongrass beef with vermicelli noodles) are all available, but it's breakfast you came for so that means eggs and pork.
Read MoreDining: Bar Pilar
Toasted Faro Salad
Brunch doesn't have to be all grits and eggs or bottomless mimosas. Bar Pilar has a menu that caters all types of hangover, but as swimsuit season approaches it's their healthier options that will have you veering away from the usual options. Pork belly hash soaked butter biscuits topped with a fried egg, not this time. Fried chicken and biscuits with gravy (the bar's fried chicken is the best you'll find on 14th), move over. For it's the toasted faro salad with butternut squash, pecorino and roasted tomatoes with vibrant crisp watermelon radish in a green goddess dressing that will have you feeling like spring arrived weeks ago. It's a salad that's packed full of flavor, crisp and nutty with enough cheese to not make you not be too good. I've had this on a few occasions, a rare feat as I'm usually loyal to the hangover cure. Another healthy option that will catch your eye is the goi ga salad, Vietnamese style poached chicken with cabbage and fried shallots in a spicy fish sauce. If you've ever had the banh mi with pho dip for dinner at Bar Pilar, I assure you this is just as good.
Thankfully the cocktail offerings for brunch buck the trend, no bottomless mimosas or bloody's can be found here, instead there is a selection of baller drinks to choose from, $12 for your first then $1 each thereafter. The Ruffled Shirt, a blend of Saint Germain and bitters over sparkling wine and ice is a popular choice. Not limited to your first selection so mixing it up with the other drinks is a fun way to get to know your server and tipsy by mid-afternoon.
Read MoreDining: Alba Osteria
I think we can all agree that Washington is awash with the bottomless brunch cocktails, however, there are not so many of the bottomless food options. At $30 for both, Alba Osteria has pretty much undercut the competition. A relatively new restaurant with a not-so-new chef, Roberto Donna of Al Dente and more famously, Galileo, helms the kitchen. I dined at Al Dente a year or so back and I have fond memories of the upper northwest establishment; Alba Osteria on the other hand is not quite the same caliber, however for an all-you-can-eat affair it can't be sniffed at.
I'd like to say you should choose carefully, but you really don't have to. Perhaps a wasteful attitude, but if you don't like a dish you can simply discard it. In the interest of full disclosure I was at a group brunch -- a dozen of us -- despite this our server was attentive and as efficient as you can be serving a party our size. Other than a borderline unacceptable wait for a second beermosa (beer, Prosecco and OJ) refill it was great. Our server lead the ordering and prompted us to order two of everything off the menu (smart move), enabling us to decide what we liked so we could order more of.
Read MoreDining: Kapnos
There's very little to say about Kapnos that hasn't already been said, but I'll go ahead anyway and add my two cents - it has possibly one of the best brunches in the city - eggs, waffles, spit roasted meats, Greek coffee and the all important bottomless mimosa. I'm an indecisive diner, I tend to ask the server come to me last when taking an order, I want to know what my dining companions are having and I'm one of those people who can't order the same as someone else at my table, you know who you are. The problem with this is I get dish envy, I had wanted to order Spit Chicken and Waffles, but a friend beat me to it, and when it came out there was immediate regret. The Greek honey was almost reflective, drizzled over the crisp skin of the chicken, the server offered the option of all white meat which was taken up. This dish was the first to be finished, understandable. Don't get me wrong, the other dishes ordered at the table were great too, but not as impressive.
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