Washington DC: Croissants for Breakfast

For some reason, I always end up getting croissants for breakfast when I travel.  When I think about it, it is probably because it's hard to mess up a croissant and it's somewhat less messy... so a latte and a croissant is my usual morning combo.

I saw a Le Pain Quotidien my first night in DC right from the hotel, so decided to stop by.  I had it get it to go since I didn't have much time before meeting my co-worker.


Le Pain Quotidien
2000 P St NW
Between N 20th St & N Hopkins St
Washington, DC 20036
Dupont Circle
lepainquotidien.com

Le Pain Quotidien is actually a chain so I know what to expect.  Sometimes, that's the best way to go when traveling, going for what you are familiar with, especially if you are short on time.

Iced latte.  Even though Le Pain Quotidien call it their iced latte, they make it more like iced macchiato.  Instead of milk added to espresso for latte, espresso is added to milk.

Pain au Chocolat.  Fancy term for chocolate croissant.  Glad to say that it is exactly like any of Le Pain Quotidien's croissant that I've had.  Solid Belgian chocolate bar in the croissant.  Would be better if warmed.

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The next day, I woke up a little earlier because I wanted to try something local.  I was gonna stop by a cafe, but once I got ready, it was too late so I aimed for Firehook, a bakery around the Dupont Circle Metro stop.

Firehook Bakery

1909 Q St NW

Between N 19th St & N 20th St

Washington, DC 20009

Dupont Circle

firehook.com

Firehook Bakery is actually a small chain in the DC/Virginia area.  It was really busy when I got there.

Again, went for the latte + croissant combo!

Their logo on the cup sleeve.

Latte.  Nothing fancy about it :P

Went for a chocolate almond croissant this time!

Croissant was definitely more buttery than Le Pain Quotidien's.  About a 50/50 mix of chocolate and almond paste.

Glad I got to try a local place, and something that's well-known like Firehook, although if there was a McDonald near by, I probably would've got that :P  

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A little extra to close out the Washington DC posts.

Generally I try to avoid eating at the airport but Dulles International was just SO FAR AWAY.  After we were done with the day, hopped onto the Metro with our luggages and transferred to a shuttle stop to head straight to the airport.  The whole trip took close to an hour and 40 minutes.  Since we left straight for the airport, we just camped at the Gordon Biersch Airport Restaurant at the United terminal.

I actually like these restaurant & brewery places (Gordon Biersch, BJ).  Since this is an airport location, the beer is mircobrewed off location somewhere, but the beers are solid.  Went for the hefweizen.

BBQ Marzen Chicken Sandwich.  Why not use beer to make your BBQ sauce!  The sauce was good, but damn that chicken was just so dry =|

Gordon Biersch's garlic fries.  Tastes better at Dodger's Stadium haha.

After this work trip, I'm convinced that I need to come back to DC on my own time and explore more of the capital.  I want to do all the touristy crap too since I was a kid when I went to DC and I barely remembered the trip.  Time to save up more of the airline miles.