Breadline, Washington, D.C.

Things started off yesterday with an unexpected last minute invitation to lunch at Breadline, a popular downtown lunch spot on Pennsylvania Avenue near the White House, and because of the usual throngs of lunchers, the invitation was pointedly for 11:30, or we'd not be able to get a table. It was well-timed—we were able to walk directly to the counter to order our food, then pretty much had our pick of decent tables in the long, deep dining room off to the side, and not fifteen minutes later, the cafe was packed and there were lines of people going out the door to order and end up having to do take-away.

As you may have guessed by now, Breadline is another of those blended self-service bakeries/sandwich shops/coffee shops, and, in keeping with the tradition of the best of them, they have absolutely excellent sourdough breads and rolls, and in this case, it's not a national franchise, it's a local bakery. Their breads are so renowned that they are purveyors to some of D.C.'s finest restaurants, including Michel Richard's Citronelle in Georgetown. The local ownership gives them the opportunity to do a lot of intriguing daily specials in addition to the usual fare, and interesting indeed they were. Wednesday's special was "dalliah chicken," a spicy, spicy West African dish that includes a well, but thoroughly seasoned chicken breast redolent with hot pepper spice and stewed tender with caramelized onions, fried plantain strips, and peanuts.

The other guys at the table also had sandwiches, but the order-your-own situation didn't permit me to hear details of their orders. The only thing I didn't like about Breadline is that the iced tea comes in lidded plastic cups with no urn for self-serve refills (and being a Southern boy, I love my iced tea!), but that's a small complaint given the value, the taste, and the wonderful bread.