Where to Brunch This Weekend: Macon Bistro & Larder
Macon Bistro & Larder can easily become one of my favorite restaurants in the Chevy Chase neighborhood. Essie’s Biscuits and Bacon Gravy hold enough weight to win the dish of the year. The restaurant marries the cuisines found in Macon, Georgia and Mâcon, France, which is where the owner/Executive Chef, Tony Brown spent much of his life. He is on to something here and this could be a good marriage.
Essie’s Biscuits and Gravy
The usual suspects that you want on a southern style brunch menu are present: shrimp and grits, biscuits and gravy and hash. The only problem I ran into was where the French side entered these dishes. The shrimp & grits would have been a hit had it not been doused in a sauce better suited for beef bourguignon. The hash would have fared better if it really took a unique twist, but instead it was simply a mix of over fried potatoes and rib meat. I know this sounds like I have given you all the bad, but I wanted to save the best for last in revisiting my initial statement.
The starters were phenomenal at Macon. The aforementioned biscuits, the fried green tomatoes, the deviled eggs and the brunch cocktails are the absolute reasons I will return. They are the best around these parts and I have reason to believe there is no way a man who can make biscuits this good cannot turn those shrimp & grits into the best in D.C.
Category: Brunch, restaurant reviews, Reviews, Washington D.C.
About the Author (Author Profile)
Johnna French is a Harlem NY native with deep roots in Panama, Washington, DC and North Carolina. All four places have heavily influenced her life and the foods she loves today. After graduating Howard University School of Law and beginning her life as a young professional in the city she was led to start Johnna Knows Good Food in November 2007 to keep family, friends and colleagues updated on where to go and what to eat while dining in the nation’s capitol. French, who still practices law, leads a team of three writers to cover the ever expanding Washington, DC food scene. French has been featured in print and television, appearing in Washingtonian Magazine and is a regular contributor to various local TV affiliates including WUSA 9, FOX 5 DC and WJLA (ABC Affiliate) News Channel 8. During the 2016-2017 football season, Johnna aired on Comcast Sports Mid-Atlantic (CSN) show, Redskins Life, as the weekly tailgate host. Johnna is currently a regular contributor to the FOX Baltimore Weekend morning show.Subscribe
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