I've been curious to try the bakery and cafe Bread Furst since it opened this spring, especially after hearing that it was being run by DC's "preeminent baker" whose goal is to try and fill some of the void we have in DC in terms of good bakeries. In particular, I've been looking for a place to buy really good bread.
My first impression was that it was as bustling shop that is intentionally trying to not be a coffee shop - they had a sign on the door asking that laptops and cell phones be put away, and is full of lots of fresh and unique offerings. So this isn't a place to come and get work done on your computer. I went on a Saturday morning, and it was very busy, but it didn't take that long to get through the line, and it made the environment more vibrant.
My first impression was that it was as bustling shop that is intentionally trying to not be a coffee shop - they had a sign on the door asking that laptops and cell phones be put away, and is full of lots of fresh and unique offerings. So this isn't a place to come and get work done on your computer. I went on a Saturday morning, and it was very busy, but it didn't take that long to get through the line, and it made the environment more vibrant.
My second impression was that Bread Furst puts a lot of emphasis on being artisanal. In addition to their really impressive array of baked goods, they also have a wall of canned goods, cheeses, olive oil, and probably other things I didn't see.
I bought an incredibly random, but possibly representative, bundle of goods: a loaf of whole wheat bread, a jar of pickled root vegetables, a mini blueberry pie, and a couple of bagels. By far, the loaf of bread was the best: it had great texture that wasn't too dense or too fluffy, and just seemed expertly done. The pickled root vegetables were also pretty great.
I didn't get any of the hot food, but it seemed like a lot of the other customers were picking up one of these menu items as their Saturday-morning brunch (they had bagel sandwiches, an egg sandwich on an English muffin, and vegetable frittata), as well as coffee.
I didn't get any of the hot food, but it seemed like a lot of the other customers were picking up one of these menu items as their Saturday-morning brunch (they had bagel sandwiches, an egg sandwich on an English muffin, and vegetable frittata), as well as coffee.
One of my thoughts was that this would be a really great place to get a gift for a foodie - it would be really fun to try some of their other canned items and cheeses, and since those things were a little pricey, something someone might not buy for themselves.
The thing I was most curious about when leaving was an intriguing item that was new to me. Conceptually. A tomato bacon jam, with maple syrup and chili powder, which sounds like it would be amazing on an egg sandwich or potatoes. The problem was that it was $22, for a 24-ounce jar... so I think this may go on my list of recipes to try and respectfully imitate.
All in all, I'd love to make this a regular place to buy bread. The only issue is that the location is a bit random, as it's in Van Ness, next to a car wash, so I'll probably just pick up a few loaves when I'm in the area. I really hope this business does well, though, since I think DC needs more artisanal (ugh, sorry for using that word) bakeries, so I encourage you to check it out!
All in all, I'd love to make this a regular place to buy bread. The only issue is that the location is a bit random, as it's in Van Ness, next to a car wash, so I'll probably just pick up a few loaves when I'm in the area. I really hope this business does well, though, since I think DC needs more artisanal (ugh, sorry for using that word) bakeries, so I encourage you to check it out!
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