Kramerbooks, an oldie but goodie

WASHINGTON DC, USA - I love brunch, love love love it. The fact that at brunch I can acceptably order a Diet Coke, fried potatoes, and food smothered in hollandaise sauce and call it a meal appeals to me. Washington DC is not short of incredible brunch places (the Tabard Inn fries their own donuts and covers them with cinnamon sugar and vanilla whipped cream, I am drooling just writing about it), however, the brunch at Kramerbooks & Afterwards Café remains my favorite in the city.

Kramerbooks & Afterwards Café gets its name due to the fact that the front half of the restaurant is a funky bookstore (with tons and tons of travel books, woot!). Kramer’s first combined the bookstore/full service café in 1976 and has been going strong ever since.

All brunch orders come with fresh orange juice (granted the glass of OJ is tiny), mini muffins, and coffee or iced tea. They also provide the option of getting a Bloody Mary or Strawberry Mimosa for $3 (second drink $1.50) for those of legal age.

Given my affinity for hollandaise, I normally order the Eggs Benedict. This Eggs Benedict is served over toast with asparagus, ham, and a yummy hollandaise sauce for dipping the fried potatoes that come on the side (make sure to get the eggs poached, for some reason they also give the option to have the eggs scrambled but that seems kind of sacrilegious).

The french toast, especially the Banana French Toast, exceeds expectations, however, despite the fact that I also normally love pancakes and waffles, they seem to fall flat at Kramer’s in comparison to their other amazing options.

The only downside to this place is that they do not take reservations for less than six people, but if you get there for brunch before 11am, the wait is usually bearable and there are worse things than waiting for a table for a wonderful brunch in a great little bookstore.

Kramerbooks & Afterwards Café
1517 Connecticut Ave NW
Washington, DC 20036
(202) 387-1462

Jenn loves this spot too! See her post from last year here.

Guest post by LittleTravelBugger