When you think of a diner, your mind probably gravitates towards a tiny hut off of a major highway filled with travelers, burnt coffee, and copious amounts of scrapple. However, The Diner in Adams Morgan couldn’t be farther from this preconceived definition, and we are all about it…
When you walk up to The Diner for weekend brunch, prepare to face the masses. The establishment is cooking up some awesome stuff and the whole DC community knows it. Everyone from around the District flocks to this sunny diner for their weekend brunch fix, so you might have to put your name in and grab a coffee from The Diner’s sister coffee shop, Tryst, which is located right next door.
Once you’re finally seated and basking in the sun (literally, they have floor to ceiling windows and it’s glorious), prepare for the real challenge: what to order. The Diner and it’s other sister restaurant, Open City, are known for massive menus with several quality food items, all carefully coded for dietary restrictions. That’s right – every item that is gluten-free is marked, making it very easy for NOBREADers to navigate.
After careful consideration, I decided to order the Corned Beef Hash, Migas, which is essentially eggs and cheese cooked with tortillas, veggies, and chorizo, The Heights Omelet, with more chorizo and veggies (can you tell I love chorizo?), and finally an order of gluten-free pancakes.
Naturally, the first bite I took was of the pancakes, because they were absolutely gorgeous and because I literally couldn’t remember the last time I ate a pancake. These were phenomenal. A lot of times, gluten-free baked goods and breakfast items take on this undesirable dense quality. On the contrary, The Diner’s gluten-free pancakes were extremely light and fluffy, with a slight crunch on the on surface. These cakes coupled with the fresh strawberries and a light dusting of powdered sugar were easily one of the highlights of the meal.
My second favorite dish was the corned beef hash. I have consumed corned beef hash in several different ways, but The Diner’s application was easily a favorite. The corned beef was cooked in with hash brown-style potatoes, providing a crispy and meaty contrast to the sunny side up eggs served alongside them.
The Migas were a beautiful monstrosity. This item includes fried corn tortillas, eggs, cheese, tex-mex corn, chorizo, salsa, sour cream, cheese, and avocado, which could easily be shared amongst two as a main dish. The best part about this dish is the fact that the tortillas remained crunchy, in contrast to several soggy chips I have consumed previously in Mexican breakfast dishes.
The Heights Omelet was a great addition to the meal, yet again made possible by the delightful chorizo I’m sure The Diner painstakingly chose as the addition to their dishes. Make sure to ask for grits as your side dish, as the home fries, toast and biscuit are not gluten-free.
The Diner is an essential piece of the Adams Morgan food scene, and for good reason. Head here to fill up on the several gluten-free options on the menu, all clearly marked for convenience, and then take a nice stroll back to the Dupont Circle or U Street metro stations – a walk that will surely be accompanied by some of the trendiest sights DC has to offer.