Eatonville

This past Saturday, Lindsay and I wanted to hit up our go-to-brunch spot, Busboys and Poets. While I will never say anything bad about my beloved Busboys, it does have a tendency to get crowded. Especially when you arrive when we did, at the height of the brunching bunches circa 2:30. So instead, we decided to skip the crowds and go Busboy's rival across the street - Eatonville. 

I have been wanting to try Eatonville ever since I spotted its psychedelic-neon mural of willow trees from the windows of the sunken entrance. Apparently, the placement of Eatonville across the Street from the Langston Hughes-inspired Busboys was deliberate, as the restaurant is a tribute to Hughes's Harlem creative rival, Zora Neale Hurston. Apparently creating restaurants in honor of famous literary legends is a DC thing. 

We first started with a  perfect dish for our Saturday hangover - fried green tomatoes. The best part was the guacamole and aioli clove sauce that came with the lightly fried veggies. 

While Lindsay was the brave one and decided on $5 mimosas and mint juleps, I stuck with some iced tea and water. But I don't think the alcohol was to blame for the good 10 minutes she spent trying to balance a spoon on her nose. That is completely normal. 

For the main course, Lindsay choose the arugula-orange salad. I went with the vegan chilli. We both actually wanted the shrimp and grits with the mac and cheese - but there is only so much southern comfort food you can have before it start to get too comfortable - if ya know what I'm saying ;) 

But...we couldn't day no to the pecan pie. And who couldn't - look how cute it is!! 

So thanks Busboys and Eatonville - now I am completely conflicted between the alternate food egos of Langston Hughes and Zora Neale Hurston. Only in DC.