By: Cori Sue
There I was, waiting for my fellow brunch bitch and our table, sitting upstairs in my favorite spot, Churchkey, for coffee and a “hostess cupcake”—filled with delicious house-made crème and topped with yummy frosting. Not a bad way to wait out a Sunday morning—and our table was ready in a jiffy.
Photo credit: Cori Sue Morris
We went to Birch & Barley in search of a unique menu and good beer, but decided instead on their delicious cocktails—Brunch Punch (rum, cherry herring, cointreau, pineapple juice, angostura bitters) and the strawberry Cava Mimosa.
According to the Bitches Brunch Rules, if donuts are available, donuts must be eaten. At Birch & Barley, they bring you three flavors—bittersweet chocolate, lemon-poppy glazed, and <gasp!> toffee-bacon. Yes, toffee-bacon donuts. Though this pescetarian did not sample, my co-bruncher said they were delicious and tasted of toffee with only a slight hint of bacon. The lemon-poppy glazed donuts were the best.
Photo credit: Cori Sue Morris
I had the sausage, egg & cheese biscuit (hold the sausage) on warm crème fraiche with a simple salad. The biscuit takes the cake for the best part of brunch. It was moist, delicious, amazing and—wait for it—maybe the best breakfast sandwich I’ve ever had.
Photo credit: Cori Sue Morris
The Grand Marnier French Toast with early glow strawberries, marscapone and bacon was also delectable. Birch & Barley’s food is high quality and about as delicious as it gets.
Photo credit: Cori Sue Morris
Our server was competent, attentive, and speedy—he answered our plethora of questions with a charming smile (the single bitch wouldn’t have minded snagging his digits).
The bitches say: A+. Delicious food, yummy cocktails and brews, great service. All in all a wonderful establishment.
Birch and Barley
1337 14th St. N.W.
Washington, D.C.
(202) 567-2576
[...] Sandwich: The winners of our most innovative menu, Birch and Barley, take the cake for best breakfast sandwich, hands-down. (One bite of the soft, cheesy biscuit [...]
[...] converges regularly at Churchkey, so last Sunday we did so for brunch. While the Bitches have brunched at Birch & Barley downstairs, we’ve never brunched at Churchkey. And, while Churchkey’s brunch was good, it paled [...]
Totally agree the atmosphere and food are wonderful at Birch & Barley. #ftw
some genuinely fantastic information, Gladiolus I found this. -Karyn
A friend of mine and I have been dying to try brunch here for months, especially sine becoming fans of your blog and reading the review. After a 3-week wait to get a reservation (gasp!), we finally got our chance today, for our first brunch post-graduating from law school. It was… sad. Our server took 20 minutes to get us coffee, never brought our requested cinnamon raisin toast, and the entrees were ok at best. My friend had one the souvlaki flatbread, which fell flat. She kept saying “It’s all crust. It’s good crust, but it’s all crust.” I had the huevos rancheros — my favorite brunch item in the world, and thought that since B&B was so well-ranked, I was in for a treat. Boy was I wrong. It was an omlet with cheese and avocado, some sauce (of which there was not enough), a side of sausage (which I requested not to have, but got it anyway), and some interesting fried things with black beans (which were tasty and perhaps the best part of the meal?). We saw some friends on our way out the door and warned them not to be lured by the hype, as we weren’t impressed. Frankly, I liked the place better when it was Hamburger Mary’s.
[...] #2: Birch & Barley brunch, c/o Bitches who Brunch. I recommend the BLT, which is served on a pretzel roll with PORK BELLY. The sides, such as [...]
[...] dinner from chef Danny Bortnick of Firefly and chefs Kyle Bailey and Tiffany MacIsaac of Birch & Barley and it all sounds too good to be true. Even better: one hundred percent of the profits are going [...]
[...] also created by the same people who bring to D.C. some of our favorite brunches, such as Rustico, Birch & Barley, ChurchKey, and Tallula. Just like in those kitchens, Vermilion gets most of its produce and meats [...]
[...] Tonight, they’ll be pouring Pints to Help Half-Pints: A Beer Dinner Benefitting 826DC at Birch & Barley. The event will feature a five-course tasting menu paired with nine different craft beers by [...]
“I had the sausage, egg & cheese biscuit (hold the sausage) on warm crème fraiche with a simple salad. The biscuit takes the cake for the best part of brunch. It was moist, delicious, amazing and—wait for it—maybe the best breakfast sandwich I’ve ever had.” ~ Wow! What a mouth-watering appetizer in your brunch. Will give them a visit one of these days and try what you had as well. Nice post and yummy pics.