dining out: batter bowl bakery

How about that weekend weather! Our neighbor told me that Sunday's gorgeous weather was only about 5 degrees above average, but it's been so unseasonably cold lately that it felt like a much larger reprieve.

Saturday, Tony and I took advantage of the nice weather to clean up the yard. And on Sunday, we met up with Ben for lunch at Batter Bowl Bakery on H Street. We followed that up with a game of bocce at Valerie's apartment with Ben. (Guys won.) And then Tony and I took advantage of the extra daylight to do some more yard work at home. (We're getting the backyard ready to put in a raised vegetable garden! We ... er, Tony, has started on the demo.)

Batter Bowl Bakery is at 4th Street and H Street Northeast. It's right next to Ethiopic, the Ethiopian restaurant, and in fact, the two restaurants are sister companies. Batter Bowl Bakery is a relatively new restaurant, and it's been on my list of places to try.

The bakery is beautiful inside, albeit a little crowded when the rush comes. And the food is great, which is really the most important part.

I originally had my heart set on a parfait with granola, fruit and SOY YOGURT. I feel like if a restaurant puts soy yogurt on its menu, I should order it regardless of the time of day, just to reward the restaurant for offering a dairy-free option. But alas, the bakery ran out of soy yogurt. So I opted for an open-faced sandwich of hummus, garbonzos, avocado and tomatoes. The flavors were wonderful. My only suggestion is that the bakery, being a bakery and all, serve the sandwiches on thicker, sturdier bread.

Tony also ordered an open-faced sandwich. His was tuna, and he loved it.

I ordered the fresh-squeezed orange juice, which was lovely. I'm not a coffee drinker, and Tony only drinks coffee occasionally at work. He really liked his iced coffee at the restaurant, though. "I forgot what good coffee tastes like."

Batter Bowl Bakery is a great neighborhood spot and a great addition to the area. We'll be back.