Cuisine: Bob’s Big Boy meets trendy bistro. Produce is trucked in daily from a nationwide collective of farmers, and the menu covers more ground than a roadhouse diner—soups, salads, fish, steaks and chops, cheese plates, cocktails, and a slate of wines. Portions are big, and prices make you think you’re dining in the country, not three blocks from the White House.
Mood: The two-level space can best be described as barnyard chic—urban industrial touches are leavened most memorably by a collection of pickled produce. Young professionals at the bar give the front of the house a party air.
Best for: A comfort-food pick-me-up.
Best dishes: Skillet cornbread; fried chicken with waffles and a side of mac and cheese; rib-eye steak with mashed potatoes; “fisherman’s pasta” in broth for two; the 17-vegetable salad (big enough for three); buttermilk pancakes and eggs.
Insider tips: The big, home-style breakfasts are of the sort you wouldn’t expect to find in the city. Forgo an order of pancakes and get them on the side—you’ll still get three.
Service: ••
Open Monday through Friday for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, Saturday for dinner, Sunday for brunch, lunch, and dinner. Moderate.
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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.
