Ana at District Winery (Washington, D.C.)

Before you mention anything, no, no wine is going to be featured in this review.  Although, I can appreciate a good glass of red sweet wine.  (Yes, they’re out there).  By now you should know that if you’re in D.C. and don’t brunch, you’re considered a nobody, so I’m trying to keep myself relevant within the District.  This restaurant was referred to me by someone who raved about the mushroom toast, so of course I had to try it.

Ana at District Winery is located off of Water Street in Southeast.  If you have kids or grown adults that act like children, this is a great place to take them because there’s a huge water park outside for people to walk around and get some “splash” action when its a thousand degrees outside.  The interior of this restaurant is beautiful.  Huge glass windows, plenty of space, and a beautiful scene that overlooks the water.

During my visit I was able to order three dishes.  Wild Mushroom Toast, Canele French Toast, and Rice Grits Porridge were my choices for the day.  I’ll start with the Wild Mushroom Toast.  It consisted of Wild Mushrooms (duh), hazelnut, and Parmesan.  This dish wasn’t my favorite.  I didn’t think the hazelnuts complimented the wild mushrooms because mushrooms can naturally have an earthy flavor.  That means it needs something sweet to compliment it.  Hazelnuts are NOT sweet.  Hazelnuts are dry and have a nutty flavor.  The mushrooms were fresh and the Parmesan was a great add-on, but this is a dish that I wouldn’t order again.  It wasn’t bad, I just believed that it needed something sweet to accompany the dryness.

The next dish that was ordered was the “Canele” French Toast.  It consisted of nutella, white chocolate crunch, and whipped coconut cream.  Sadly, they ran out of nutella during my visit, but that’s a blessing in disguise because I hate nutella.  Wasn’t nutella invented like four years ago by a mad scientist?  Seriously, if you like a match to nutella, that shit can start a nuclear war.  The French Toast, however, had great flavors.  It was sweet, savory, and crunchy.  The outside of the toast was cooked to perfection with it’s crispy texture.  The inside however, was as soft as your grandmother’s hospital food.  I’m not sure how I felt about it.  It was almost as if the inside wasn’t cooked.  The overall dish was amazing, please, don’t get me wrong, but it’s my job to provide an honest review with each dish.  I would order this dish at your own discretion.

The last dish which was my favorite was the Rice Grits Porridge.  It consisted of rice grits, pork blade steak, poached egg, broccoli kimchi, and cracklins.  This dish was perfect!  The pork was amazing and the only negative thing I have to say about that is that I wish they added more to the dish.  The poached egg was cooked to perfection and dripped with a thin cut with my knife, just the way I like it.  The brocoli kimchi added a bit of spiciness to the dish and the rice grits tasted like they had a hint of sugar in them.  I’m not a fan of sugar in my grits, but this dish I could order a thousand times over.  Just add more meat next time!

Overall, this restaurant is a go-to if you’re in the area.  There were a couple of things that I couldn’t get passed, but the Rice Grits Porridge saved my overall experience.  If you decide to go, let me know your thoughts!

OVERALL RATING : STUCK ON THE RUNWAY