Another weekend, another bottomless brunch. And yet, it never gets old. This weekend: Espita Mezcaleria, one of D.C.’s most popular Mexican joints, known for its tasty tacos and lengthy mezcal menu.
The restaurant recently launched a new brunch menu: $29 for three courses, which includes guacamole and salsas to share, a choice of salad or yogurt parfait, a main course, and a couple of sides served family-style. Bottomless beverages, including mimosas, Bloody Mary’s, beer, and my favorite, a tequila-grapefruit-sparkling wine concoction, are also available for an additional $16 if you do the set menu. $45 total for brunch may seems like a lot, but its actually a good deal if you plan to get at least more than one drink and you are pretty hungry. If you ordered all that food a a la carte it would cost more, and you can only do the bottomless drink option with the set menu, which makes it totally worth it. These are some damn good drinks, not like the Korbel-and-Tropicana concoction you get by the pitcher at most bottomless brunches.
The two highlights on the brunch special menu are the maitake mushroom tacos, for which Espita is already famous. Fried maitake mushrooms are so meaty and crisp you won’t be able to get enough of them. Topped with pickled onions, cilantro, and a spicy mezcal-infused salsa, these are some of the best tacos in town. The second highlight is admittedly more brunch-esq: eggs benedict served over jalapeno biscuits, doused in a spicy arbol hollandaise. The biscuits are to die for, spicy and buttery and flaky, and the hollandaise adds just the right amount of kick. Don’t worry about it being too spicy, you have your bottomless beverages to wash it all down. If you decide to get a different entree than the eggs benedict you can (and should) still get the biscuits as a side dish. They are too good to pass up.
If you decide not to do the three course brunch menu you can order food a la carte. The a la carte menu has a lot more options like omelettes, French toast, and baked eggs. I find the fixed price food and drink menus to be easy, especially for groups, but if its just two people you may want to order off the regular brunch menu so you can take advantage of all the options. One dish not to miss on the a la carte menu: the fruit salad, drizzled with a sweet sauce that also has just a teeny hint of heat. It is a super refreshing (and Mexican!) way to end your meal.
Brunch like you’re in Mexico and you will walk away full, drunk, and happy.
