Washington, D.C. Special Menu Report: Martin Luther King, Jr. Day 2015
City Tap House
Monday, January 19 from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., City Tap House is hosting a cask brunch that includes two special beers from Laughing Dog Brewing for $7 each: the IPA and the Alpha Dog Double IPA. If you are still thirsty, sidle up to the bottomless brunch bar and, for $18 a person, enjoy endless bloody Marys, mimosas, and beer-mosas. They all pair perfectly with decadent menu choices like the crostini with shaved Benton's ham, spicy pimento cheese, and pickled green tomato; the strawberry-almond French Toast with vanilla mascarpone and Marcona almonds; and down home-style biscuits and gravy with country sausage gravy, buttermilk biscuits, Cabot Cheddar, and fried eggs.
Copperwood Tavern
Charming farm-to-table restaurant, Copperwood Tavern, in Shirlington, Virginia is serving their usual Saturday and Sunday brunch menu on Monday from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Egg dishes take center stage here and include British favorites like Scotch egg, which is a boiled egg that is wrapped in breakfast sausage and then breaded and fried and served with frisée salad; duck hash made with duck leg confit, potatoes, onions, and two poached eggs; and a burrito filled with chorizo, black beans, eggs, salsa, and queso fresco. If you crave something sweet, there are fluffy blueberry and ricotta pancakes, which taste lovely with mimosas, Bellinis, spiced milk punch, and Laird's apple brandy. The menu prices range from $14 to $18, not including the lovely cocktails.
El Centro
Spice up your holiday brunch at both El Centro locations. Their all-you-can-eat brunch will be served from 10:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. at the 14th Street and Georgetown outposts, and both menus include authentic Mexican dishes like the potato and chorizo pambaza sandwich made with crema fresco, lettuce, and Cotija cheese; enfrijolades, comprising scrambled eggs, morita bean sauce, and chorizo; picadillo empanadas filled with ground beef, carrots, peas, potatoes, and Mexican cheese; and of course, bottomless Micheladas, bloody Marias, and Aqua Fresca cocktails.
Farmers Fishers Bakers
Farmers Fishers Bakers has been ahead of the sustainable food curve in terms of both quality and flavor. For this holiday, they are serving their farmers market-style brunch buffet from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. for $29.99 per person. For this price, you can dine on favorite brunch selections and enjoy complimentary drip coffee, iced tea, biscuits, cinnamon rolls, and passed trays of sushi, pizza, and more.
Masa 14
Latin-Asian fusion cuisine is on the menu at this lively 14th Street restaurant's Martin Luther King, Jr. Day brunch. Masa 14 helps you start your holiday off right with a classic mimosa, or you can opt for a Masa mimosa, lychee Bellini, bacon bloody Mary, or lemon lager; they all taste fantastic with any of the dishes on the ample menu. If you crave eggs, the menu includes chilaquiles made with corn tortillas, chorizo, queso Cotija, and soft scrambled eggs, or you might want to try the smoked chicken hash with caramelized onions, chiles, chipotle hollandaise, yucca, and poached egg. Other irresistible savory dishes are the wild mushroom flatbread with Jack cheese, roasted red pepper, and avocado, and the Korean short rib ropa vieja with wasabi black bean, smoked spinach, fried eggs, and kimchi pico de gallo.
Zengo
Penn Quarter Latin-Asian restaurant Zengo has enough zing in their brunch menu to get you up and out of bed on your day off. Their bottomless brunch is $39 per person and $10 per child under 10 and includes all-you-can-eat ceviche, sushi, and salads, dim sum, and antojitos, and brunch plates along with seven special brunch cocktails. Bottomless brunch must be ordered by the entire table, and the menu is offered exclusively for the prix-fixe service. Savory small plate selections include shrimp ceviche with coconut, charred pineapple, red onion, basil, and bonito flake; Thai chicken empanadas with chile poblano, Oaxaca cheese, and mango salsa; short rib hash with poached eggs, potato, rajas, and caramelized onion; house-cured bacon and eggs, ancho-cured bacon, black beans, and pico de gallo, as well as Hanoi pandan waffles with strawberry-guava sauce and whipped cream. There are four kinds of mimosas on offer as well as bloody Marys and bloody Marias, sake sangria, and signature cocktails from the full menu for an addition $5 per cocktail.
Summer Whitford is the D.C. City Guide Editor at The Daily Meal and the DC Wine Examiner. You can follow her on Twitter @FoodandWineDiva.