Baker’s Daughter Chinatown
675 I St., NW
Texas-style breakfast tacos, freshly baked croissants, and decadent egg sandwiches are on the menu at Gravitas chef Matt Baker’s casual cafe, which opens daily at 8 AM with all-day breakfast. Tacos are more like small burritos—they’re modeled after the ones at Whataburger in Baker’s native Houston—and are stuffed with fillings like salsa, egg, cheese, and chorizo, or vegetarian potato and caramelized onion. If you’re feeling more virtuous, a chia bowl will do the trick.
Crazy Aunt Helen’s
713 Eighth St., SE
Whether you prefer your breakfast with sausage or seitan, you’ll be welcome at this eclectic dining room on Capitol Hill. Chef Mykie Moll’s weekend brunch menu is partly inspired by diner fare—think plates of eggs, hash browns, and a choice of meats (or non-meats); lox platters; shrimp n’ grits; or a vegan scramble with spicy herb sauce. The restaurant is planning to open for daily breakfast after Labor Day; it’s original hours are currently abbreviated due to staffing shortages.
No Goodbyes
1770 Euclid St., NW
The new lobby restaurant at the Line Hotel in Adams Morgan is open for daily breakfast. Chef Opie Crooks, who helmed one of the hotel’s former restaurants, A Rake’s Progress, is back with more locavore fare. Buttermilk-biscuit sandwiches are stacked with egg, cheese, and sausage or bacon, or diners can go for a morning fried-chicken biscuit. Other plates include a roasted vegetable frittata; pancakes; or “carrot cake” oatmeal with pecans and raisins.
Mah Ze Dahr Arlington
1550 Crystal Dr., Arlington
The hit New York City bakery continues its expansion in DC—part of a collaboration with local restaurant group Knead Hospitality + Design. The latest location, in Arlington’s National Landing, is its biggest yet with 71 seats and a test kitchen. A sweet and savory lineup includes treats like brioche doughnuts; croissants filled with mushrooms and leeks or smoked salmon; and caprese sandwiches.
Anna Spiegel covers the dining and drinking scene in her native DC. Prior to joining Washingtonian in 2010, she attended the French Culinary Institute and Columbia University’s MFA program in New York, and held various cooking and writing positions in NYC and in St. John, US Virgin Islands.
