Dining in DC: Notes from a Week in the Capital
This happening Dupont Circle spot had hits – and misses.
We spent our first morning in DC, the first Sunday of February, visiting the memorials at the National Mall and working up an appetite. Brunch at Balos Estiatorio was next on the schedule. I’d chosen that restaurant because I saw it recommended in some list and my daughter noticed that it offered baklava French toast. As a lover of both baklava and French toast she was intrigued – and while I don’t like baklava myself, I was curious.
Balos was very busy when we got there (good thing I’d made a reservation!), filled with beautiful, mostly young people relaxing and taking advantage of the bottomless brunch cocktails. We had plans for the afternoon (visiting the Spy Museum with a friend), so we didn’t partake on alcohol, but I certainly got the appeal.
The restaurant is large, stylish but casual, somewhat loud and definitely hip. Service was as personable and polite as we quickly came to expect in DC – despite living at the center of the neo-apocalypse, Washingtonians seem to have (or fake) much better attitudes than Californians. It’s definitely not the weather.
We hit Balos the last day of the winter restaurant week, and they were offering their pre-fix three course brunch menu for $36 (it was listed for $35, but Balos also ads a 4% “operations fee” to make their prices look lower), a $10 saving over the regular price. This time we all partook of it.
Though there were quite a few options for appetizers, both Mike and I decided on the Greek Onion soup, which was very much like French onion soup but with graviera cheese instead of gruyere. It was quite good, particularly in a chilly day, though I think I prefer gruyere in this soup. Still, the broth was sweet, the cheese added saltiness and I enjoyed it.
My daughter had the spanakopita, an old favorite. This was a very good version, and she particularly enjoyed how flaky and crispy it was.
As my main course, I had the lavraki filet, an 8 oz branzino filet, which came with a light herbed sauce and lemon juice. I’m not usually much of a fish eater, but I wanted something light and this fit the bill. There was nothing amazing about this dish, but it was well cooked, well seasoned and tasty – my only complain was that it had too many bones. I did like how the lemon came encased in a mesh covering to keep the lemons inside.
Mike had the steak & eggs, which included “8 oz prime NY strip, Greek fries, eggs your way.” The steak was well cooked and seasoned and was very tasty, we liked the fries, but the eggs were disappointing. He had ordered them over medium, expecting the yolk to be partially runny so he could dip the fries in it, but they were solid. It’s a minor complain and he overall liked the dish.
The biggest disappointment, however, was my daughter’s “baklava” French toast, served with “mixed berries, pistachio, almond, walnut, Greek yogurt.” It had nothing altogether reminiscent of baklava. It was just run of the mill French toast. The two slices of bread were thick, and came with real maple syrup and some berries. There were a couple of nuts, but nothing that would make you think of baklava. My daughter was very disappointed.
There were three choices for dessert, and we tried them all. I had the mascarpone cheesecake, which came with Vyssino cherries. I wasn’t really hungry by this point, which was a good thing as I didn’t really enjoy the cheesecake. It wasn’t what I’d call bad, but it just wasn’t worth the calories and the carbs. It wasn’t as creamy as a regular cheesecake. No one else thought greatly of it either.
Mike enjoyed his galaktoboureko (a custard filled phyllo pastry) much more. He thought it was absolutely great.
Mika had the baklava, which was served with Greek frozen yoghurt. The sour frozen yoghurt was great, and provided a nice contrast to the sweetness of the syrup. My daughter, however, realized she doesn’t really like “wet” baklava, that so soaked in syrup that becomes soggy. She enjoyed the taste, but wished it had been crispier.
In all, we had a nice brunch.
Balos Estiatorio
1940 N St NW,
Washington, DC 20036
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