Founding Farmers

click the logo to visit Founding Farmers' website

Although I spent the majority of my spring break at home in Washington, DC catching up with friends and family, I had the opportunity to try out one of the city's most popular new restaurants, Founding Farmers. Owned by a collective of 42,000 North Dakota family farmers, the restaurant utilizes seasonal, locally grown ingredients to prepare an American menu that mixes classic with contemporary.

My party of four had to endure a half hour wait for Sunday brunch, but examining the restaurant's inventive interior kept me totally occupied. Tucked into the lower level of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) building in the transitioning neighborhood between Georgetown and downtown Washington, Founding Farmer's surprises with its chic farm motif, ranging from oversized jarred vegetables to a dairy cow invasion in the men's room.

Our novice waiter was friendly, if inconsistent, but we were anxious to try the food we had all come for, and once it arrived, it didn't disappoint. My bacon and sausage hash was perfectly prepared, balancing the flavors of the meat, potatoes, and poached eggs on top. Two of my companions opted for the scrambled eggs, which they seemed to eagerly devour almost before I took my first bite, and my other friend tried the specialty french toast, prepared "New Orleans style," with a cream soak followed by a deep fry. The entrees were delicious, but the side portions of fruit available with each main dish tasted fresh off the farm, and that alone gives me enough reason to plan a return trip.