After a late night dinner on Friday, we weren’t in a rush to eat breakfast on Saturday. Having seen what looked to be a popular cafe during our Friday night stroll through Dupont Circle, we decided to try it for brunch. Thank goodness for fate; Kramerbooks & Afterwords Cafe & Grill was the perfect choice.
Arriving at the cafe around 10:30, we were seated within moments, given water and a plate of homemade breads, butter, and preserves. Perusing the menu, I noted that they had a Strawberry Mimosa and Bloody Mary on the menu for $3 each. Not one to refuse a bargain, I ordered the mimosa, and my husband ordered the Bloody Mary.
The drinks were delivered quickly, but as the menu was filled with so many tempting brunch options, we needed a few more minutes to decide. With unique omelets, benedicts, and french toast options, we needed to decide which appealed to each of us and then make sure we weren’t ordering the same dishes.
With decisions made and orders placed, it was a short wait for our meal. While we chatted about our plans for the day I enjoyed a few sips of my Strawberry Mimosa. Although it most likely was made with muddled fruit, it was not overly pulpy or heavy. My husband said his Bloody Mary was a solid drink that did have a little bit of heat to it. To my mind for such great prices, these were well done drinks.
When our food arrived, I was shocked at the amount of food on my plate. I had chosen the Banana French Toast, which was pan-fried Italian bread soaked in fresh banana-egg batter with scrambled eggs, turkey sausage, warm walnut syrup, and fruit compote. The french toast not only had banana egg batter but had slices of banana placed between two slices of bread. Topped with the warm syrup, it was heavenly. The dish was supposed to be served with bacon, but I chose to replace that with turkey sausage, which was excellent. I only sampled a single bite of the eggs, as this was such as big meal, but they were well cooked.
My husband ordered the Brunch Quesadilla. Made with 3 scrambled eggs, roasted corn, scallions, mild green chilies & jack cheese folded in a toasted flour tortilla, it was a delicious breakfast dish. Served with a side of Café tomato salsa and homefries, my husband enjoyed every bite. The salsa was especially noteworthy, as it had large chunks of veggies and a lot of flavor.
Full from this brunch feast, we were ready to tackle Washington, DC, or at least part of it. Unfortunately, this cafe is an eight hour drive from home, so we won’t be returning any time soon. However, the next time we visit our nation’s capital, I plan to make Kramerbooks & Afterwords Cafe & Grill a scheduled destination.
