For Mother's Day brunch, I took my mother, brother and the in-laws to a cozy spot on U Street called Ulah Bistro, located on 12th and U. The location was picked last minute due to trying to make reservations last minute, but the staff there was very accommodating. In case you are not familiar with the U Street area, it is essentially between Howard University and the end of Adams Morgan, it consists of various food and party spots. Making it a place that is frequented almost as much in the day as it is at night.
I ordered the breakfast burrito sans bell peppers, but my lovely waitress Ana informed me that it comes pre-packaged. I cancelled that order and requested the steak and scrambled eggs with a side of sausage and home fries. My party ordered the Mediterranean omelet, Crab lump and brie omelet,and the nova scotia, we also ordered a side of bacon and a plate of French toast. Yeah it was about to be on. Our food arrived probably 10-12 minutes after we ordered.
Let's start with the fact my plate was clean within 7 minutes of receiving it. My only regret was not ordering the steak medium rare because the medium came out more like medium well. Otherwise, everything on the plate was amazing The sausage (links, pork) were really good. Although they tasted familiar like the store bought ones (hey being honest). Those brown n serve sausages were a fixture of my childhood, and that is what they tasted like. Still banging. The french toast was really good as well, we all shared them. Everyone gave their respective meal two thumbs up. On top of the fact the food is moderately priced, and the service was more than phenomenal I would say Ulah Bistro is definitely a good look for Sunday brunch. Oh did I fail to mention the outdoor seating, upper level seating, and the big screen tvs on ESPN. I don't think Mother's Day brunch could have been any better.
Sunday, May 8, 2011
Saturday, May 7, 2011
Diamond in the Rough
Greetings and welcome to my new blog dedicated to my brunch adventures with my close friends and family. As you may know from my other blog: K. Jobe's Thoughts . I really enjoy brunching with certain people, I feel like it is a good chance to... you know what, this blog is about brunch spots, not how I feel so let's dig in (pun intended).
Today, two friends and I enjoyed brunch at a spot in Northeast called Liberty Tree located on 10th and H Streets. Since this is my first post, I should point out the name of the restaurant will and does act as a link to the restaurant's website itself. The neighborhood around Liberty Tree is not the best neighborhood (aesthetically) as there is construction, people yelling, and even an occasional homeless man sleeping on the street. My people from NYC and DC natives should not flinch at this. Since this is not downtown or even near the capitol, there was plenty of parking available when I arrived at 1:00 pm. I go inside...
The place is small, but has a cozy and relaxed feel to it. There is a bar straight ahead with the tables in a dining area to either side of the front door. I was not a big fan of the layers of white paper covering the table, but not annoyed by it enough to mention it beyond this sentence. I was told to sit wherever I like, so naturally I chose a window booth to wait for my friends. After their arrival, I ordered one mimosa and one of my friends ordered a Bloody Mary. The mimosa was not very strong or tasteful, not going to lie I could have stuck with water. But our waitress was pleasant and had beautiful eyes so I drank it (never make a pretty woman frown).
Three orders were placed: 2 orders of the pancakes and one order of the breakfast pizza. The breakfast pizza is delicious, but the eggs are sunny side up, meaning only the bottom side is cooked the top part the yolk is uncooked so to speak. The pizza comes with home fries, bacon and the eggs all cooked in. My suggestion request the eggs to be scrambled and replace the bacon with their spicy Portuguese sausage (unless of course you enjoy your eggs sunny side up). Their home fries are cooked with butter, and they are very good. I definitely ate more than my share. They are small like hash browns not the big home fries with onions and peppers that many other restaurants cook. The pancakes must be served with a different fruit topping every week, because we were told the pancakes today have apples and strawberries on them. When I tell you my mouth threw a celebration, okay maybe not that good, but the pancakes were pretty freaking phenomenal. I also got a side of the Portuguese sausages (name of which still escapes me, but if you tell them they will know). I think the food was delivered about 15 minutes after we ordered and the food was gone 35-40 minutes after we ordered. **Disclaimer: I had done March for Babies/March of Dimes that morning and had not eaten that day, so truth is I was on a whole extra level of hunger.**
Liberty Tree also has one other advantage besides parking, coziness and phenomenal food. They sit next door to Rita's Ice-Custard-Happiness. The staff here is friendly and patient (I had never been to one of these places and had no idea what to do or get). The dessert I chose was a Vanilla Mango Crunch Blendini. In my first bite I knew that I was in for the worst "itis" of my life. The cup needless to say did not last long. If you are looking for upscale, swank, or exciting then this is not the place for you. If you are looking for convenience, low-key, and quality, then I recommend checking it out. Oh but if you are adhering to a strict fitness nutrition regimen, you may want to save 2 cheat meals for an hour or two out here because I feel like I was one of the pieces in hungry hungry hippo. I hope this post suffices as a decent "brunch review" blog. Questions, comments, concerns, or SUGGESTIONS please do not hesitate to contact me. Until next time
Today, two friends and I enjoyed brunch at a spot in Northeast called Liberty Tree located on 10th and H Streets. Since this is my first post, I should point out the name of the restaurant will and does act as a link to the restaurant's website itself. The neighborhood around Liberty Tree is not the best neighborhood (aesthetically) as there is construction, people yelling, and even an occasional homeless man sleeping on the street. My people from NYC and DC natives should not flinch at this. Since this is not downtown or even near the capitol, there was plenty of parking available when I arrived at 1:00 pm. I go inside...
The place is small, but has a cozy and relaxed feel to it. There is a bar straight ahead with the tables in a dining area to either side of the front door. I was not a big fan of the layers of white paper covering the table, but not annoyed by it enough to mention it beyond this sentence. I was told to sit wherever I like, so naturally I chose a window booth to wait for my friends. After their arrival, I ordered one mimosa and one of my friends ordered a Bloody Mary. The mimosa was not very strong or tasteful, not going to lie I could have stuck with water. But our waitress was pleasant and had beautiful eyes so I drank it (never make a pretty woman frown).
Three orders were placed: 2 orders of the pancakes and one order of the breakfast pizza. The breakfast pizza is delicious, but the eggs are sunny side up, meaning only the bottom side is cooked the top part the yolk is uncooked so to speak. The pizza comes with home fries, bacon and the eggs all cooked in. My suggestion request the eggs to be scrambled and replace the bacon with their spicy Portuguese sausage (unless of course you enjoy your eggs sunny side up). Their home fries are cooked with butter, and they are very good. I definitely ate more than my share. They are small like hash browns not the big home fries with onions and peppers that many other restaurants cook. The pancakes must be served with a different fruit topping every week, because we were told the pancakes today have apples and strawberries on them. When I tell you my mouth threw a celebration, okay maybe not that good, but the pancakes were pretty freaking phenomenal. I also got a side of the Portuguese sausages (name of which still escapes me, but if you tell them they will know). I think the food was delivered about 15 minutes after we ordered and the food was gone 35-40 minutes after we ordered. **Disclaimer: I had done March for Babies/March of Dimes that morning and had not eaten that day, so truth is I was on a whole extra level of hunger.**
Liberty Tree also has one other advantage besides parking, coziness and phenomenal food. They sit next door to Rita's Ice-Custard-Happiness. The staff here is friendly and patient (I had never been to one of these places and had no idea what to do or get). The dessert I chose was a Vanilla Mango Crunch Blendini. In my first bite I knew that I was in for the worst "itis" of my life. The cup needless to say did not last long. If you are looking for upscale, swank, or exciting then this is not the place for you. If you are looking for convenience, low-key, and quality, then I recommend checking it out. Oh but if you are adhering to a strict fitness nutrition regimen, you may want to save 2 cheat meals for an hour or two out here because I feel like I was one of the pieces in hungry hungry hippo. I hope this post suffices as a decent "brunch review" blog. Questions, comments, concerns, or SUGGESTIONS please do not hesitate to contact me. Until next time
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