Ambar Balkan Cuisine

Amazing Cheese Pies

We set out for our next stop on a warm and sunny Saturday afternoon on what has been an otherwise cold and bleak DC winter. Down on Barracks Row crowds of people were out enjoying the day as we stepped into Ambar to try our third Richard Sandoval brunch (last year we visited El Centro and Masa 14). It was #ClassicSandoval; this time with a Balkan twist. Overall score: 3.83/5.00

The Deal

Ambar is Sandoval’s newest restaurant in DC, having only opened about a year ago. Like his other brunches, Ambar offers a $35 Unlimited Brunch. Everyone at the table must participate in order to get the deal. Another fusion restaurant, its aim is to “put together the finest products of the New World and Old World.” There is a nice, brief history on their website. The deal is a good one and standard fare for DC bottomless food and drink. Average price score: 3.81/5.00

Drinks

The Ambar brunch menu features three drinks: Traditional Mimosa, Ambar Mimosa, and a Bloody Mary. You can switch between them during the unlimited brunch, and we tried all three. Everyone liked the Ambar mimosa, which has peach puree and blood orange but tastes more like pear. The traditional mimosa was also delicious and medium in strength. The questers that tried the Bloody Mary were also pleased, finding it flavorful, well rounded, not too spicy, and not too strong. Average drink score: 4.00/5.00

Food

Definitely the highlight of the brunch. With the small plate unlimited brunch we were able to try almost everything. Our waiter recommended the Cheese Pies first (pictured above), and we are so glad he did. After our first bites we immediately wanted to order three more… per person. The menu features an abundance of prosciutto and cheese—two things I love. Even the eggs benedict has prosciutto on it, and it’s phenomenal. Other highlights include the salmon omelet, the roasted mushroom crepe, the Balkan salad, and the Balkan Panini. The fried potatoes and steak both have a hint of garlic and are delicious.

Steak & Fried Potatoes

We sampled all the desserts. The cinnamon sweet sourdough and strawberry waffle clearly were the best. C’mon, they both had Nutella; the other desserts didn't stand a chance.

The Mezze Platter for Two was more trouble than it was worth. The tiny portions of meat, cheese, and bread come on an oversized cutting board that takes up half of your table and is $16 if you’re not doing the unlimited brunch. I’d say skip it and move on. The Balkan Burger was OK. The patty is a mixture of beef and pork and tastes more like a sausage than a burger. The fried chicken sandwich had a quality cutlet but a powerful slaw. We’re still not sure how we feel about it.

Mezze Platter

What actually would have made my brunch experience better was a cutting knife. We shared our dishes, and trying to cut burgers and sandwiches with the knives on the table gets frustrating after a while. So if you plan on sharing your plates, ask for a proper knife. :)

Overall the food was really good and is reflected in the score, but in terms of the other Sandoval restaurants we've tried I’d choose El Centro or Masa 14. However, other questers choose Ambar. I may be biased because I love Latin food but hey, you gotta do you. Average food score: 4.38/5.00

Service

This is where it received a mediocre score. Though we liked the food and drink, they came very slowly. There were too many long stretches of time with no food in front of us and with our glasses empty. However, our waiter was friendly, helpful, and gave us some good recommendations. Average service score: 3.38/5.00

Ambiance

It was a great day for brunch, and we all enjoyed our time at the restaurant. Some people docked points for what they thought of as ill-fitting music, but it wasn't too loud and I didn't notice it until someone pointed it out at the end of the meal. The noise level was low, we were able to have good conversation, and we were right inside of a nice outdoor bar area. Average ambiance score: 3.56/5.00

If you find yourself on Barracks Row, Ambar should be near the top of your list of brunches to try.

Ambar Balkan Cuisine
523 8^th St. SE
Washington, DC 20003
tel. 202-813-3039
www.ambarrestaurant.com

District Commons

Washington Circle, Foggy Bottom

Lebanese-American poet Khalil Gibran once said “The deeper that sorrow carves into your being, the more joy you can contain.” We should all take solace in this thought, that the sorrow and disappointment to arise from the premiere Brunch Quest outing of 2014 might serve to make all of the others that much better by comparison.

And just how bad was this first brunch to warrant such a judgment? I honestly think the comments from my own scorecard sum things up rather well: “Mediocre food, weak mimosas, and bad service.” But you don’t have to take my word for it: District Commons received an all-around score of 3.04, lower than that received by any restaurant we visited on Brunch Quest 2013. Let’s review each component of the meal to see how things broke down.

The Deal

Located in Foggy Bottom, District Commons offers bottomless mimosas or Bloody Marys for $16 with the purchase of any entrée. The plates themselves varied significantly in price, from $10 to $21, but they generally averaged around $15.  As neither of these numbers (especially for the drinks) is particularly low, it only figures that “Price” received the second lowest score of any category this week: 2.93.

Food

Among its few advantages is the restaurant’s array of menu options. Entrées ranged from brunch classics like Eggs Benedict and Huevos Rancheros, to southern staples like Country Friend Steak and Shrimp & Grits, to more unusual fare like Toasted Coconut Pancakes and Roasted Portobello Mushrooms. This variety, however, did not make up for the subpar quality of the food itself. While there were a few particular complaints (the salsa was very spicy, but lacking in flavor; the Benedict was bland), overall, there was just a general sense of being underwhelmed by the food. Given the price, this is a serious disappointment.

Easily the brightest spot on the menu was the Hot Pretzel Baguette. These delectable delights were served warm, fresh from the oven, with sides of butter and beer mustard. While it would have been nice to get them for free, $2 certainly wasn’t an unreasonable price for something this delicious. The only possible complaint is that the baguettes were too small and disappeared too fast! These things alone probably helped buoy the “Food” score up to a 3.43.

Drinks

An almost universal complaint among Questers was that the mimosas weren’t strong enough. I must say I concur with this assessment. Though not unpleasant, these drinks just didn’t pack the kick one would hope for from a brunch like this – especially considering how much we paid for them. The Bloody Marys also received mediocre reviews. These factors all contributed to an overall drink score of 3.36.

Weak drinks can be forgiven, to a certain extent, if the service makes up for quality with quantity. Unfortunately, this was not the case…

Service

Where to begin here? Despite our making a reservation, upon arrival we found that they had not prepared a table of adequate size for our group. We were forced to squeeze together, take extra chairs ourselves, and request additional place settings. Ordering and receiving food didn’t take exceptionally long, but it certainly wasn’t speedy either. Additionally, when someone in the group ordered oysters, she found that some of them had been crushed with the metal condiment cups they were served with – unacceptable!

However, the real disappointment when it came to service was the drink refills. Rather than mixing pitchers of mimosa to bring around to the tables, servers would collect glasses individually and replace them with full ones the next time they came around. If you’re wondering how this turned out, know that words and phrases like “poor,” “very slow,” and “eternity” were bandied about by our Brunchaneers. One participant claimed to have received only three mimosas in the course of the (roughly two hour) meal – ridiculous. Thus, it should be no surprise District Commons’ lowest score came for “Service” at 2.36

Atmosphere/Ambiance

Though the atmosphere wasn't noticeably unpleasant, this place is LOUD. This is likely due to a combination of the layout – one large and open room – and the plethora of hard, flat surfaces which seemed to comprise everything in the restaurant. While some of Questers complimented the music selection, this too served as a loud impediment to pleasant brunch-time conversation. Though we've brunched in less pleasant places, this one did nothing with its atmosphere to improve our experience, earning it a 3.14.

Despite District Commons' shortcomings, we had a pleasant day in the neighborhood and continued our merrymaking at a local bar.

District Commons
2200 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington DC 20037
tel. 202-587-8277
http://www.districtcommonsdc.com/district.html

Photo credit: AgnosticPreachersKid Licensed Under CC-BY-SA-3.0 via Wikimedia Commons