There's very little to say about Kapnos that hasn't already been said, but I'll go ahead anyway and add my two cents - it has possibly one of the best brunches in the city - eggs, waffles, spit roasted meats, Greek coffee and the all important bottomless mimosa. I'm an indecisive diner, I tend to ask the server come to me last when taking an order, I want to know what my dining companions are having and I'm one of those people who can't order the same as someone else at my table, you know who you are. The problem with this is I get dish envy, I had wanted to order Spit Chicken and Waffles, but a friend beat me to it, and when it came out there was immediate regret. The Greek honey was almost reflective, drizzled over the crisp skin of the chicken, the server offered the option of all white meat which was taken up. This dish was the first to be finished, understandable. Don't get me wrong, the other dishes ordered at the table were great too, but not as impressive.
Read MoreDining: Fainting Goat
In a former furniture store in the heart of U Street, Fainting Goat is a relatively new addition to the neighborhood that has managed to not let the allure of 14th Street overshadow it. With three bars and two floors of spacious-casual dining, the restaurant offers a somewhat limited, but structured menu - which is a welcomed approach from what many kitchens offer - a menu that requires a half hour of reading just to get through it. The recently updated spring menu provides four dining options: nibbles/grazing/chomping/feeding, the nibbles being very much a sharing course while the chomp and feed to be more substantial dishes, with the feed section of the menu offering dishes including skate over succotash and English peas, which is slightly more sophisticated than the sausage and burger offered to chomp on.
It's all about the char, but I'm not complaining.
Read MoreDining: Shaw's Tavern
Original Red Pizza
Located on the corner of Florida and 5th, Shaw's Tavern could have rested on its laurels and benefited from being one of the few dining options in the Shaw neighborhood when it opened back in 2011, but the restaurant didn't. With neighborhood block parties and nightly events ranging from karaoke, live jazz to trivia, as well as an industry brunch every Monday, the restaurant has embraced the community it serves and the community has embraced it, there's rarely an empty table come dinner time, and not just because of the entertainment. The food at Shaw's is simple yet satisfying, what it does it does well, for the most part.
I'm a sucker for good bar food which is why I go to Shaw's as often as I do, one of my go to dishes is the Original Red Pizza, it's no fancy pie you would find at the likes of Etto on 14th but it's cooked in a brick-oven which makes for a fluffy crust and oozes with tomato sauce and just enough grease to make each bite worth the calories I choose not to think about. Sometimes you just need a pizza that's a little rough around the edges.
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