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Bayou Bakery, Pastry Chef David Guas In Courthouse - Capitol Hill Location is Closed


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I stopped for the first time yesterday morning and thought the Vanilla Bean Muffin was absolutely splendid- -got it in a bag so I could bring half of it to work for later and it didn't make it out the door- -well-prepared espresso, comfortable space and extremely friendly service made it a great morning stop.

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Dear BB:

I want to love you but you got me again. I had a craving for gumbo so I purchased a bowl of yours. This is how my face looked after: :-l

It was fine but not great. Too much tomato. You don't have etoufee on your menu but I'm betting you'd put tomatoes in that as well.

Since you like tomatoes so much, why not put a nice shrimp creole on the menu? If you do, let me know.

Oh, don't know what it has to do with NO but the meatloafsandwich was really good. --NC (who refrained from all LSU bashing)

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Dear BB:

I want to love you but you got me again. I had a craving for gumbo so I purchased a bowl of yours. This is how my face looked after: :-l

It was fine but not great. Too much tomato. You don't have etoufee on your menu but I'm betting you'd put tomatoes in that as well.

Since you like tomatoes so much, why not put a nice shrimp creole on the menu? If you do, let me know.

Oh, don't know what it has to do with NO but the meatloafsandwich was really good. --NC (who refrained from all LSU bashing)

No. Tomatoes. In. Gumbo.

It should be a law.

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had the gumbo today. Loved it. spicy, warm, wonderful sausage.

also visited the little boys room there. In lieu of wall paper or simple paint the wall above the tile is completely papered over with pages from cookbooks, food pics. Really interesting!!!!! kudo's for the design work in the men's loo!!!!!

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I wrote an ode to the crack cookie on my blog. That is the best cookie hands down I have ever had, it happens to be gluten free, but it tastes better than any gluten or non-gluten cookie I have ever had. It's just phenomenal. Chocolaty, gooey, but crisp and held together, perfect in texture, both brownie and cookie like mmmm. I secretly like full day trials or afternoon hearings in Arlington so that I can stop in here. I need to see if that crack cookie is in the cookbook, or some of the other gluten free recipes. If so I will buy that cookbook in a heartbeat.

Anyway we were there again on Sunday, and boy was it busy, busy. I got the cheddar grits with brisket, which was really good, the brisket was braised in a tomato based sauce that had a lot of depth and flavor. The grits were cooked properly. I had a side of collards, liked those as well, they still had some texture to them, but were cooked down with nice flavor. Had a biscuit that was ok, not my favorite biscuit ever, but not bad, not my Mama's biscuits though. (But next time I will skip the biscuit and get the cookie.) Hubby had Jambalaya that I don't know that he liked as much as he liked my collards and brisket (although he isn't a big grits person). I always want to get here for red beans and rice but just don't eat out a lot on Mondays.

Also if anyone there is reading this- can you please get diet cola. I don't mind diet ginger ale, but I would really prefer diet cola.

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They introduced a pretty darn good Bahn Mi to the rotating sandwich specials menu today, listed on the board as a Vietnamese Po-boy. My only nit was that it was a little heavy on the spiced mayo (for my taste; not the spice, the mayo).  Priced at $7.95 which is in-line with their other sandwiches, albeit twice what you would pay at the Eden Center.  A welcome addition to the sandwich specials menu joining the Bitter Pig and Turkey Meatball as among my favorites.

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I love the Bitter Pig and very much like the Turkey Meatball.  Their red beans and rice dinner is tasty, though I found the crawfish etouffee disappointing (lacking in flavor and rather watery/soupy). I like the gumbo and don't mind the tomatoes - it has a nice rich flavor.

My favorite thing there right now is the guava pastelito, which I think is only available Wednesdays when they have Cuban sandwiches.  Really wish they'd carry these every day - they're fantastic!

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The Dat-O cookies are not to be missed. They are insanely good.

There are many dishes and foods l love there.  That is not one of them.  If I was forced to eat one I'd crack it in half and lick the creamy filling.

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I love their coconut pie - makes me so happy when they have it.  I wish I knew when it was going to be served, I'd be sure to be there.

And I adore the guava pastelitos and am bummed that they're only there Wednesdays starting at lunchtime -- they're usually gone if I stop in Wednesday after work for one.  They are really fantastic, crisp and flaky and just the right amount of tart guava balanced with sweet cream cheese.  Please, offer these more often!! On weekends or evenings, preferably, so your neighbors who work elsewhere can enjoy them when they're home! :)

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The Black Eyed Pea Spread;   a hummus like spread with pickled black eyed peas, cayenne pepper, some southern styled spices, garlic, sweet onion, xtr v olive oil and other ingredients.   This was simply one of the finest taste treats I've had in ages.  Simply scrumptious.

I got the ingredients but not the portions but this I suppose can be made similar to making hummus.   This little side dish is buried in the snacks portion of the menu...but it sent me into savory taste bud heaven.

Just like the folks in Courthouse in Arlington, the folks on Capitol Hill are in for a treat if they find this dish on the menu.  Its outta this world.

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I've been watching American Grilled on the Travel Channel (my favorites-BBQ, competition, towns I like) & I think Mr. Guas is doing a great job as host. It's similar to 'Chopped' (which I love, except for dessert round), but a little more low key. Looking forward to future episodes.

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I had the crawfish patty sandwich a special last Thursday, with deviled eggs.  I didn't realize, although I should have, how rich the crawfish patty was, it was served with melted cheese and a little lettuce on sesame seed roll.  It was way too rich after I ate my deviled eggs, which were really good, a little spicy, but nicely balanced.  It was also terribly messy, so I ate the inside out with a fork and knife and left most of the bun.  The patty was really good, but I didn't love the accompaniments on the sandwich, which didn't help with the messy factor.  Anyway I hope they edit the sandwich a little bit, wouldn't be my top choice compared to other things on the menu.  But I love this restaurant and it is a great place to crash while waiting to be at the courthouse.

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I stopped in for a cup of coffee at the Hill Center location this morning, and the space is gorgeous, with lots of natural light.  They've still got a limited menu, but there were a decent number of options.  The pastry case held some appealing possibilities, though I tried not to look too closely  <_<.

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I stopped in for a cup of coffee at the Hill Center location this morning, and the space is gorgeous, with lots of natural light.  They've still got a limited menu, but there were a decent number of options.  The pastry case held some appealing possibilities, though I tried not to look too closely  <_<.

As someone who is close enough to the Courthouse Bayou Bakery to be able to stop in a fair amount and sample many of their foods, I'd say you and that neighborhood are in for some wonderful treats!!!   :D

Congrats and enjoy.

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We were wandering the Hill Saturday afternoon and popped into Bayou Bakery to check things out.  Great space, love what they have done.  Three different rooms/areas inside and a decent sized patio area outside.  Galactic and Trombone Shorty playing over the stereo system.  This is what "third space" establishments should be like.  

We just grabbed a coffee and a very tasty chocolate chip cookie to go.  I hope this place is fully embraced by The Hill.

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We were wandering the Hill Saturday afternoon and popped into Bayou Bakery to check things out.  Great space, love what they have done.  Three different rooms/areas inside and a decent sized patio area outside.  Galactic and Trombone Shorty playing over the stereo system.  This is what "third space" establishments should be like.  

We just grabbed a coffee and a very tasty chocolate chip cookie to go.  I hope this place is fully embraced by The Hill.

I got coffee there today too, and I discovered the hard way that it had grounds in it.  I didn't realize this until I was walking along and had gotten pretty far down the cup.  Choking and spitting coffee on the sidewalk had not really been in my morning plans.  I'm scheduled to meet people there tomorrow and now have to decide if I'm going to complain about today's cup of coffee when I'm there.  If it had been a cup I was staring down into, I might have noticed them and could have stopped drinking before I got near the bottom of the cup.  But there shouldn't be grounds in the coffee anyway.

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I got coffee there today too, and I discovered the hard way that it had grounds in it.  I didn't realize this until I was walking along and had gotten pretty far down the cup.  Choking and spitting coffee on the sidewalk had not really been in my morning plans.  I'm scheduled to meet people there tomorrow and now have to decide if I'm going to complain about today's cup of coffee when I'm there.  If it had been a cup I was staring down into, I might have noticed them and could have stopped drinking before I got near the bottom of the cup.  But there shouldn't be grounds in the coffee anyway.

Absolutely tell them about the grounds!  I plan on spending a good amount of time there, and want to make sure they know how to properly brew the coffee I'll be drinking.

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I'm afraid I can't recommend the biscuit breakfast sandwiches at the Hill Center Bayou Bakery: the flavor is fine, but the biscuit is way too crumbly, almost cakelike--it explodes into crumbs with one bite. These biscuits just don't have the stamina to work as sandwich containers. The muffalotta sandwich is better option--good bread and meat; the grilled pimento cheese sandwich is crispy on the outside, coolish on the inside. Excellent snickerdoodles. But so far, I'm more enamored of the space than of the food.

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For those of you who like meat in tube form, the Smoked 'Douille Sausage Dog with Vidalia Onion Marmalade and Creole Mustard is might fine eating.

I still haven't try a whole lot on the menu but the Hill location is a wonderful "third space"

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I stopped off at Bayou Bakery, Courthouse the other night, met a friend and had the large Jambalaya and their tap beer from Louisiana.  At $3 the HH special is a great deal for a tasty IPA.  The jambalaya is sadly so-so, a large in this case at $12, was very filling but so-so, IMHO.  A little dry for my taste and not as diverse as can be done.

Love, love. love an excellent jambalaya and worked on variations for some years, with ultimately some good results in both my and the diners' perspectives.  Haven't done one in a while, but a favorite dish.  There is a nice jambalaya thread here with some diversity and various recipes.  Probably worth my while to try one for a group.  Otherwise I'd call Bayou Bakery's version adequate, worthwhile to meet a need but not one done from the heart and exhibiting careful tender loving care.

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My habit for years is to find places I or a friend and I enjoy and keep going back to it.  Doesn't make for a diversity of reviews (or a diversity of dining, or a diversity of tastes and meals, etc.).  But it is what it is.  Bayou Bakery is one of those places on my regular to go list.  I've hit it for dinner a number of times, alone and accompanied.   Here is what is terrific:

Bayou Bakery (courthouse) at night (open to 9PM) is not generally crowded.   Its far busier in the morning and for lunch.   During the later hours its a great place to "chill".   The choice of music is funky...and if you like NOLA you'll like the music at Bayou Bakery.  Its relaxed.  So I have to pick up my food rather than get it delivered by a server.  No problem.  So they ask us to clean our table....ha ha.   Hey, it aint your Mama's kitchen.  Ha Ha.  Good line.

Last week with friend we ordered the spiced shrimp and an abita on tap an argula with chicken and a boudin and white wine.   At the end of about 2.5 hours coffee and pastry.  We shared a lot.

Very very tasty.  The only drawback is that the spiced shrimp dinner is a 2 baguette dish for sopping up the wonderful spicy sauce.  The 2nd baguette cost a $1.50.  OH OH OH.   really not a problem for a tasty relaxed long drawn out very comfortable meal.   It is a very relaxed enjoyable good quality tastes and cooking place for dinner.  BUT...they ask you to buss your table.  So beware!!!!!!!   :D

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Bayou Bakery keeps calling me back.  The Va location is convenient and I enjoy the casualness, the music, the vibe.  Last evening I tried a "cajun cocktail" of some sort; A latte with cinnamon, cayenne, probably inexpensive bourbon.  Oooooh....I just relished that version of an Irish coffee or coffee/alcohol drink.  (I'm a sucker for many of them).  Its not on the web menu.  Also, and not on the menu, was a guava flavored BBQ pork ribs.  Pretty flavorful.  

Bayou does a fair bit of flavorful experiments.  Most are winners, some strike out.  Last night...big winners!!!!

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Decided to try the "Port of Call" New Orleans-style burgers that Bayou Bakery at the Hill Center has been advertising ahead of Mardi Gras, as my Fat Tuesday indulgence. Big mistake. The "fat, juicy" burger they promoted was fat, but not really juicy--cooked to at least medium-well (they didn't ask how I wanted it cooked), the patty seemed to have been overhandled and was mostly just dense. The bun was decent as were the toppings, but they fell apart after a few bites. The loaded baked potato on the side was huge, but lacked most of of the promised "loaded" toppings--only cheese, no sour cream, bacon bits, or chives. Super disappointing. For less than the $15 I spent here, the burger at Beuchert's is far superior (and half price on Tuesdays).

But disappointing is often my feeling about this place. Placing an order is often a shit show, with no menus of lunch items available as you queue up, no prices for specials listed on the board, and frequent confusion. Most of the bakery items I've had here have been tooth-achingly sweet; the biscuits dry and crumbly. Only a few items, like the pimento cheese, seem consistent. Bayou Bakery, unlike its New Orleans influences, is making temptation easy for me to resist.

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4 hours ago, Tujague said:

Decided to try the "Port of Call" New Orleans-style burgers that Bayou Bakery at the Hill Center has been advertising ahead of Mardi Gras, as my Fat Tuesday indulgence. Big mistake. The "fat, juicy" burger they promoted was fat, but not really juicy--cooked to at least medium-well (they didn't ask how I wanted it cooked), the patty seemed to have been overhandled and was mostly just dense. The bun was decent as were the toppings, but they fell apart after a few bites. The loaded baked potato on the side was huge, but lacked most of of the promised "loaded" toppings--only cheese, no sour cream, bacon bits, or chives. Super disappointing. For less than the $15 I spent here, the burger at Beuchert's is far superior (and half price on Tuesdays).

But disappointing is often my feeling about this place. Placing an order is often a shit show, with no menus of lunch items available as you queue up, no prices for specials listed on the board, and frequent confusion. Most of the bakery items I've had here have been tooth-achingly sweet; the biscuits dry and crumbly. Only a few items, like the pimento cheese, seem consistent. Bayou Bakery, unlike its New Orleans influences, is making temptation easy for me to resist.

I saw them advertising this and was wondering how it would be. I have friends who love to meet here, but it just doesn't do it for me.  It is beautifully, how do you say? curated and seems like I should enjoy spending time here.  It just doesn't do it for me.  

I've been through enough ordering issues that I just walk away if there are more than a couple of people ahead of me.  The last time I was there was a weekday morning and all I wanted was to get a decaf coffee.  I waited and waited while they tried to provide something for the woman ahead of me. Then, finally, the employee said that the decaf coffee urn/device was "broken."  She and I both walked out with no sale.

Somewhere here I posted about getting coffee with grounds in it. It's happened again since then.

I like the cornbread they sell, fwiw.

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Yeah, I was there Sunday 9 am with a friend.  I go about once a year.  There were a couple of people ahead of me on line.  I ordered a small French Press and beignets.  They gave me the card "Feliciana".  I waited and waited and my friend already had her oatmeal, getting cold while she waited until I got my beignets.  She had also ordered drip coffee and was waiting for it to be called.  Finally, I went up and asked about my beignets.  They looked and looked and could not find my order.  However they made them quickly.  Then I went back to the cashier (and there was a much longer line now) and asked for my French press.  They said it is almost ready but I could take it now and wait a minute then plunge it.  I asked about my friend's drip coffee.  Oh, it's right here, she should have picked it up right after she ordered it.  Great, probably cold by now.  It seems after all these years, they should have their act together.  However, warm beignets softened me to their service deficiencies.

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Reading both the DGS (which I have demoted from Italic) and the Bayou threads today (both of which have had good, strong, diverse participation), makes me wonder if people are easily able to tell the difference in quality when one really good restaurant (and DGS and Bayou were both really good) opens a second location, and the second location falters after a time.

One thing *I* haven't yet been able to do - and I'm hoping some Young Turk has - is to determine how the quality is when the second location closes, and the restaurant reverts back to the first-and-now-only location. 

DGS, for example, lost Barry Koslow - do you think that mattered? I certainly do - Brian Robinson (of Restaurant 3) is a fine chef, but I don't think he has schmaltz in his soul.

David Guas is, I believe, from NOLA, but he can't be cloned - how good are the restaurants with him splitting his time? The Clarendon location wasn't perfect even with him there full-time - very good, but not perfect, though it was bordering on being great during the first few weeks.

Sorry to piss on people's parties, but I see these as legitimate topics for discussion which perhaps deserve their own thread.

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10 hours ago, DonRocks said:

David Guas is, I believe, from NOLA, but he can't be cloned - how good are the restaurants with him splitting his time? The Clarendon location wasn't perfect even with him there full-time - very good, but not perfect, though it was bordering on being great during the first few weeks.

Sorry to piss on people's parties, but I see these as legitimate topics for discussion which perhaps deserve their own thread.

I can't speak to your larger issue, but I do see Guas at the Capitol Hill location, and he even staffed the booth at the Barracks Row festival last fall. But the place still seems like it has weak or erratic management; my partner reports similar service issues. And I wish they would either add smaller tables to the patio or police them better--when I was there, most of the four-tops were taken up by table hogs who appeared to have set up office for the day, while the main dining room was almost uninhabitable due to the sun and a lack of air conditioning.

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3 hours ago, Tujague said:

I can't speak to your larger issue, but I do see Guas at the Capitol Hill location, and he even staffed the booth at the Barracks Row festival last fall. But the place still seems like it has weak or erratic management; my partner reports similar service issues. And I wish they would either add smaller tables to the patio or police them better--when I was there, most of the four-tops were taken up by table hogs who appeared to have set up office for the day, while the main dining room was almost uninhabitable due to the sun and a lack of air conditioning.

and for one more perspective:   I've been to the Courthouse location a very healthy number of times.  I believe though that the majority of times have been at relatively off hours when its not that busy.  Never had bad service.  Not once that I recall or sticks out.

Frankly for what is on their menu I don't think it matters if Guas is there or not in the kitchen.  I suspect everything they put out should be well prepared so long as the back of the house staff is up to snuff and well trained.  If he has great management skills then of course he should be at one or the other location.  Possibly that isn't his strength, especially in reading some of the commentary, but I wouldn't know.

And I still enjoy Bayou Bakery and will continue to return.

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3 hours ago, Tujague said:

I can't speak to your larger issue, but I do see Guas at the Capitol Hill location, and he even staffed the booth at the Barracks Row festival last fall. But the place still seems like it has weak or erratic management; my partner reports similar service issues. And I wish they would either add smaller tables to the patio or police them better--when I was there, most of the four-tops were taken up by table hogs who appeared to have set up office for the day, while the main dining room was almost uninhabitable due to the sun and a lack of air conditioning.

Yes, the service at the Capitol Hill location is uneven enough that it almost certainly has to be a management issue. Things just seem uncoordinated. Part of that might be the structure of the building, with the kitchen being on another floor from the service area.  In a well-managed place there's a sort of choreography going on, but things don't flow very well here.  Occasionally I get decent service, but it's often just confused. I went back the day after I found grounds in my takeout coffee and informed the person who waited on me. Her reply was that she hadn't worked the day before.  There's no boilerplate, "I'm sorry. I'll make sure to mention that to the manager" or equivalent.  I didn't even bother saying anything the next time it happened.

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I hope Silverman succeeds with getting the lease from the Hill Center. Since he's already got a good reputation in the neighborhood, that should help.

Quote

Silverman is light on details at this early stage, but the new restaurant would continue to serve sandwiches, pastries, and coffee. In the evenings, it would convert into a wine bar with small plates. The place does not yet have a name.

I trust that this will work better than when the owners of Pound down the street tried to do that.

Having the kitchen upstairs seems to me one of the difficulties in serving people at the Bayou Bakery carriage house space, but since the current P&P cafe is situated in front of a black curtain at the very front of the building while the food is prepared in the back and shuttled out in a takeout package, conquering the multi-level situation shouldn't be incredibly challenging. At the very least they're swapping one logistical challenge for another.

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4 hours ago, Tujague said:

Glad to hear that someone with a real eye for customer service will take over this space. And I'm willing to bet Silverman can make a better biscuit than Guas.

I'm not going to make any comparisons, but *damn* that bread at Rose's Luxury is good.

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21 hours ago, Pat said:

I hope Silverman succeeds with getting the lease from the Hill Center. Since he's already got a good reputation in the neighborhood, that should help.

I trust that this will work better than when the owners of Pound down the street tried to do that.

Having the kitchen upstairs seems to me one of the difficulties in serving people at the Bayou Bakery carriage house space, but since the current P&P cafe is situated in front of a black curtain at the very front of the building while the food is prepared in the back and shuttled out in a takeout package, conquering the multi-level situation shouldn't be incredibly challenging. At the very least they're swapping one logistical challenge for another.

One thing I hope he or one of his staff does is simply hang out in the front space and watch how it flows and how they might make it work better, including reconfiguration. Right now, it's often confusion. As far as the wine bar idea, one of the things that they will need to overcome is the fact that the Hill Center does not get the same kind of foot traffic as the main commercial spots on Capitol Hill (Eastern Market, Barracks Row, Penn Ave), though it's adjacent to those. That was one reason Bayou's efforts at evening service didn't work. But with Silverman's reputation, I imagine that it will attract more people, especially if it puts out Rose's quality food and service.

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Capitol Hill location now closed (from their Facebook page):

"We would like to send our good-bye's and thank everyone for their well wishes today and over the past two weeks when learning of us moving on as tenants at the carriage house on the grounds of the Hill Center. Bayou Bakery, Coffee Bar & Eatery will no longer be present at this location and will not be operating at this location starting Monday, April 17, 2017.

"Please come see us at Bayou Bakery in Arlington, Va where we have been a longstanding community gathering spot for residents and visitors alike for the past 6 years. Also, we welcome you to follow us on Bayou Bakery's Facebook in Arlington to learn about the special offers we have for our guests. The DC location Facebook will not continue after Monday, April 17.

"I am thankful for all who allowed my team and me the opportunity to serve each and every one of you on a daily basis. I hope to continue those friendships and see some of those familiar faces in in the near future. All the best to you and your family on this joyous day on Easter Sunday.

Chef David Guas"

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After getting foiled at Mason Dixie Biscuit Company, I had biscuits on the brain and ended up at Bayou Bakery for the first time last Saturday. My husband and I had beignets and biscuit sandwiches (we were hungry). My 3-year-old also destroyed a biscuit (but refused to try a beignet -- her loss!!). I very much enjoyed my beignets, but I was underwhelmed with my biscuit sandwich. I did the create your own biscuit with turkey sausage (which I'm pretty sure the menu said was from Stachowski), egg, and cheddar. I was a bit turned off by the egg, which was square-shaped, but I see now on the menu that they say they scramble and bake to fit. Well, OK, but everything was lukewarm as if not microwaved long enough. I was expecting the eggs to be cooked to order at least. The sausage was delicious (nicely seasoned), and I enjoyed the biscuit itself, although it was a bit crumbly.

They were quite busy, as I'm sure they always are on Saturday mornings, plus a lot of people seemed to be fueling up for the March for Science. My husband ordered for us at the counter and wasn't impressed with the service. He asked about juice options (for our toddler), and the counter attendant rattled off a bunch of soda options -- so not really paying attention? He also ordered drip coffee and was annoyed that he had to traverse the whole restaurant for cream and sugar. They gave him a token for a free refill on his $3 coffee, but they wanted a dollar to put the refill in a to go cup, plus he would have had to stand in line again to get the refill, so he passed.

Given my love for both beignets and biscuits, this place had been on my mental to do list for awhile, but I don't see myself rushing back, especially since they're no longer open on the Hill. (I rarely find myself in Arlington.)

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While at Bayou Bakery for brunch the other weekend I was thinking about a recent NYTimes article about better restaurants going self serve here.   While the article focuses on San Francisco its a trend spreading around the nation.

Bayou Bakery sort of fits into that category.  It also sort of fits into a breakfast/lunch place category.  In either case it doesn't have waitstaff--never has had them.  In fact most downtown lunch places don't have wait staff.

I've always liked Bayou Bakery, Arlington and still do.  Coffee is excellent.  I relish some of the dishes.  On weekends they have nice brunchy type cocktails.  I love the music and vibe.   I think the serve yourself atmosphere is fine and appropriate.  What got me to think about the "serve yourself" article was a note Bayou Bakery has had as long as I can recall.  They ask that you bus your own table/seating area....and when you leave the dishware in a big plastic tray...there is a note with language to the effect of....

"This ain't your mama's home--clean up your own dishes"   or something to that effect.    A very appropriate message at Bayou Bakery imho.

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3 hours ago, DaveO said:

"This ain't your mama's home--clean up your own dishes"   or something to that effect.    A very appropriate message at Bayou Bakery imho.

Right, that's pretty much what the sign says - like Pupatella, Bayou is "bus it yourself." 

I had brunch here about a month ago, and while the French Press was very good (a small is plenty for one person), I wasn't a fan of the bacon, egg, and cheese biscuit - they make a point to note that they're using Benton's Bacon, but the eggs are "scrambled" in a square-type mold that reminds me of something you'd get at Hardee's. The difference between these types of molded eggs, and the runny delight of either a properly fried or scrambled egg makes all the difference.

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