This breakfast/lunch counter barely has room for the bags of Miss Vickie’s chips that line the walls, but big flavors come out of its kitchen. Weekdays the line is long for two-fister sandwiches overstuffed with freshly roasted meats. Turkey is a good bet, whether stacked with bacon in a club ($8.99) or slathered with cranberry mayonnaise ($6.99).
But what really makes Earl’s a destination is the hefty pork-and-fries sandwich ($7.99), a chewy ciabatta layered with roasted pork, onion, sweet pickles, chipotle mayo, and, yep, a handful of French fries. The sandwich, which has echoes of a Cubano, isn’t as heavy as it sounds—the fries are more crunch than grease—but it’s plenty filling.
Open Monday through Saturday 10:30 to 8, Sunday 10 to 4.
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Ann Limpert joined Washingtonian in late 2003. She was previously an editorial assistant at Entertainment Weekly and a cook in New York restaurant kitchens, and she is a graduate of the Institute of Culinary Education. She lives in Petworth.
