So, instead of going to the Le Pain Quotidien in Georgetown like I always do, I decided to round up my lady friends and head to the remarkably convenient Dupont Circle LPQ (convenient, because only an idiot wouldn’t be able to find it — it’s right in front of the bus stop and metro, and in plain view from The Fountain) for brunch.
I wrote about LPQ before for Wonkette but this time I will not be so nice, because I am officially docking off a star on my little imaginary five-star scale (although, you will be happy to know that I am usually not this harsh — I recently added a half-star to Busboys and Poets. I think the first few times, I was just gaga over the fact that the chain graced DC’s presence, but I’m over that.
The service, in short, is bad. The food took forever to come out and it seemed like we had three different servers. The food runners kept confusing the tables. The couple next to us ordered one thing and got another (some asshole with a Kindle, so he deserved it). Two plates of food came out to a party of three sitting next to us, and Number Three got her plate ten minutes later, while her polite brunch companions’ food got cold.
Also, I did not have a good Communal Table experience. The Egyptian man sitting next to me smelled of vinegar and spoke Arabic loudly. The width of the table is really huge, so I had to publicly announce the juicy gossip I wanted to tell my friends to the entire restaurant (I was screaming). Elbows bumped. Someone was breathing on my egg. I played footsie with the Egyptian man. Eek.
Also, the food wasn’t that stellar this time around, either (trust me, I am NOT being cynical. I give credit where credit is due). My bread tasted like a towel, and the Belgian waffle we ordered was too doughy on the inside, not crispy and lukewarm. Also, the chocolate sauce was a thin, bittersweet disappointment.
Here’s some pictures of our meal anyway. Things that we ordered: yogurt parfait (up at top), Belgian waffle, soft boiled egg plate, Nicoise salad. 
