DC Eats: Red Derby

Red Derby consistently is one of the top five results that comes up on Yelp! whenever I've searched for a 'brunch' in D.C.  It's touted as a dive bar, so I wasn't exactly clear on how it could be so highly rated.  I mean don't get me wrong, dive bars have delicious food.  I use to consistently go to Quarry House when I lived in Silver Spring, MD for their delicious burgers. But, the word 'brunch' brings with it this air of 'fancy' or 'eggs benedict' or something of that nature.  

When Mirona mentioned that she wanted to do brunch with a few of us, I immediately said 'let's try Red Derby!'  I wanted to lay to rest what all this hype was about.  Now, I think I recall a Yelp review stating that this is the perfect place for hangover food, and I soon learned they were correct. 

On arrival we immediately decided on a rooftop seat, which by the way, their rooftop has a separate bar from the downstairs one - you get a point for that, Red Derby.  Then they had $3 bloody marys, um that's another point.  Now, the menu was definitely minimal with a few items to choose from, and no nothing fancy, although I do think I remember seeing 'eggs benedict' on there.  In any case I ordered the Smothered Tots which came topped with sausage, tomatoes, onion and scrambled eggs (oh! and can't forget the cheese!).  It was delicious don't get me wrong, and probably the best tater tots I've had, and for cheap eats, this is definitely the way to go.  I mean my total bill was around $12 for the bowl and a bloody mary!  But, not sure this would exactly be my go-to brunch spot.  But, certainly, when you're looking for some cheap stick-to-your-ribs kind of breakfast, I think this might be a great go-to.  If I go again, I'm trying out the breakfast burger!!