Face it: By the Sunday of White House Correspondents’ Association dinner weekend the appetite may have waned for mixing and mingling with celebrities and journalists. Been there, done that. On the other hand, food is still a draw. On that basis alone, Thomson Reuters gave its guests a good reason to come to the Hay-Adams Rooftop: a Sunday brunch featuring the creations of four area Top Chef veterans: Mike Isabella, Spike Mendelsohn, Bart Vandaele, and Bryan Voltaggio. Their tasty creations, including soup, deviled eggs, and cannoli, pleased the palate and, for some, served as hangover remedies. 

This particular event for years was known as the McLaughlin Brunch, because it was created and hosted by the bombastic pundit John McLaughlin. Last year he cohosted with Thomson Reuters. This year he was out—off the invite and not at the party—and the host organizations were Thomson Reuters and Yahoo News. Having the area celebrity chefs may have saved the occasion, because while heavy on good food it was light on big names, at least in the first hour. Perhaps the party would have benefited from an appearance by McLaughlin, for old time’s sake.