DC Brunch Scene Looking Up

The homemade pop tarts in the window of Ted's Bulletin.

Ted's Bulletin is a new creation from the masterminds behind Matchbox. Located on 8th St. in the Barracks Row neighborhood, Ted's gets its name from the owners' father and is themed to the hilt.  It feels like Disney imagineers had a hand in the design.  It is border-line cheesy--totally over the top--but I loved the newspaper menus, old movies playing in black and white, and restrooms fashioned after streetcar station offices.  

B and I made our way to Ted's last Sunday for brunch and though it was only 10:45am, we saw the crowds outside before we saw the restaurant.  But once we entered the bar area and put our name in for what we were told would be a 20 minute (was actually 35), wait, I was so taken with the beauty of both the bar area and the baked goods on display, that it seemed to go by quickly.

And before I get to the food, I have to note that the hostess here, like in so many places, was neither organized or savvy or a had a clue what time management means.  Fortunately, the floor managers stepped in to help.  But it got me thinking that Danielle, the original Ray's hostess--and now a manager at the East River establishment--should consider running a hostess boot camp.  DC could use more Danielles.  But I digress.

We were seated in a booth built for two, which means that coming as a party of two your wait time will be significantly less than the larger groups since these tables cannot be moved to accommodate larger parties.  

We had perused the menu while waiting, and were promptly greeted by our waitress, who did let us know that a new batch of sausage gravy would be ready soon, but would mean a five minute or so delay.  No problem as we were again so taken by the atmosphere, that we hardly noticed the wait.

While I really wanted a pop-tart and an adult milkshake (next-time!) I decided to go for a bit more nutrition and got the "Walk of Shame" breakfast burrito.  The presentation was great, the hash browns were nostalgic and flavorful with a good crunch.  But the burrito while decent, lacked the promised green chile sauce  and instead was covered in a heavily-oregano tinged sauce.  With a zestier sauce or salsa this dish would be complete.

B's entree of beer batter biscuits and that house made sausage gravy was one of the best brunch entrees we have ever enjoyed.  The biscuits were so moist and had a nice savory sweetness from the beer and the gravy was rich without being cloying.  And the picture is a bit blurry, but this was huge and came with two eggs and a side of hash browns.

Brunch for two with tax, and tip was $28.  And we will be back for pop-tarts and milkshakes.