Ellē, Bakery-Centric American in the Former Heller's Bakery Space, Mount Pleasant Avenue in Mount Pleasant

[DonRocks]

On 1/23/2018 at 1:45 PM, Rieux said:

The Heller’s location has reopened under the ownership of the Room 11 group. I just stopped in for the soft opening for a coffee (nitro cold brew, $4.50) and a guava turnover (delicious, like $2 or so).

Breads and savorys coming next week. The space is amazing. I’m very excited to have this two blocks away and I think it’s going to change Mt Pleasant street for the better. 

Don, probably should start a thread for Elle, which I (and Washingtonian) anticipate is going to become hot. 

Go to Ellē.

[Marty L.]

14 minutes ago, DonRocks said:

Go to Ellē.

What are the "soft" hours this week?

[Rieux]

Not super set.  They said they've been in from "the morning" until about 2pm the last couple of days.  Right now they are trying to just serve the locals with coffee and pastries as they organize and get their flow going.

[Marty L.]

3 hours ago, Rieux said:

Not super set.  They said they've been in from "the morning" until about 2pm the last couple of days.  Right now they are trying to just serve the locals with coffee and pastries as they organize and get their flow going.

Is it the pastries that have wowed you, Don?

[Rieux]

I'm not Don, but I did like the pastry.  Plus if it's by Nick Pimantel and the Room 11 folks the food is going to be good.

[DonRocks]

5 hours ago, Marty L. said:

What are the "soft" hours this week?

Just for the record, that was a lame attempt at a pun - I haven't been!

[naxos]

Lizzy Evelyn provided a wonderful wedding cake got daughter's wedding in July!

[Marty L.]

18 hours ago, DonRocks said:

Just for the record, that was a lame attempt at a pun - I haven't been!

Sorry to disappoint, Don, but it's pronounced "Ellie"!

Had a very nice coffee and scone today.  They are gradually easing into things over the course of several weeks.

 

[DonRocks]

10 minutes ago, Marty L. said:

Sorry to disappoint, Don, but it's pronounced "Ellie"!

[I was the one who put the accent mark in! I told you: LAME attempt. Oh God, now how do I delete all this.]

[Marty L.]

On 1/24/2018 at 3:39 PM, Marty L. said:

Sorry to disappoint, Don, but it's pronounced "Ellie"!

Had a very nice coffee and scone today.  They are gradually easing into things over the course of several weeks.

Had an excellent almond/chocolate cookie yesterday, with delicious coffee.  Purchased a mighty fine loaf of bread, too.  Not inexpensive, especially for the neighborhood--but that's hardly unique to this place these days.  There are now evening cocktails at the bar, and soon there'll be dinner service, too, apparently.

[Kev29]

(this is not a shot at the place itself -- and this move is probably very wise considering the nature of the food industry right now but) A bakery with a cocktail list is so very post-gentrification urban life.

[Marty L.]

40 minutes ago, Kev29 said:

(this is not a shot at the place itself -- and this move is probably very wise considering the nature of the food industry right now but) A bakery with a cocktail list is so very post-gentrification urban life.

Oh, you've got it all wrong, Kevin:  It's a bar with some coffee and baked goods!   ;-)

Actually, I think the idea is to be a neighborhood place to hang out in, whether for breakfast, snack, drink or dinner.  Tres post-gentrification, I suppose.

[Kev29]

10 minutes ago, Marty L. said:

Oh, you've got it all wrong, Kevin:  It's a bar with some coffee and baked goods!   ;-)

Actually, I think the idea is to be a neighborhood place to hang out in, whether for breakfast, snack, drink or dinner.  Tres post-gentrification, I suppose.

Yeah, what they're aiming for here is basically Maketto (with fewer shoes and more baguettes). And I frickin love Maketto. 

[Deborah Lee]

04.22.2018

Exceptional dinner at Ellē!  Brad Deboy & Team are creating the most exciting and tastiest comfort dishes in the city!  Many thanks to Dom Perkins for curating an extraordinary evening!  Love, love, love Ellē! 

• TONNATO TOAST✨✨✨
  Whipped Tuna Confit, House-cured Capocollo, Arugula 
• CHARRED BROCCOLI SALAD✨✨✨
  Mustard Green Pesto, Parmesan, Torn Sourdough Crouton
• STRACCIATELLA✨✨✨
  Flash Fried Tomato, Toasted Baguette, Basil
• POZOLE VERDE✨✨✨
  Gnocchi Royale, Roasted Pork Belly, Spring Radish
• CLAM SPAETZLE✨✨paired with 3 Stars Southern Belle (Imperial Brown Ale)✨
  Black Pepper Spaetzle, Little Neck Clams, Zesty Breadcrumbs
• HOT DUCK & BISCUIT✨✨✨
  Duck Confit, Buttermilk Dressing, Fermented Squash Slaw
• ULTIMATE BIRTHDAY CAKE!✨✨✨

[petercarrjones]

Super excited to spend all my money here. Still desperately awaiting bagel sandwiches.

[Rieux]

Paisley Fig is now based inside of Ellē in Mount Pleasant (would someone please start a thread for Ellē?). 

I've been to Elle several times.  It is wonderful.  The coffee shop during the day has wonderful pastries and breads for eat in or take out and a good coffee program.  I've had good muffins and financiers inside, as well as a good old bay scone.  I've also taken out delightful individual goat cheese cakes and lemon bars.

I've had dinner there once, where we had interesting and tasty cocktails, good wines, a friend had a rare cider, and some unique beers.  Service is spectacular.  Attentive, friendly, able to make good recommendations and pairings.  Between four of us we had the cheese sticks, a kim chee bread, another toast I can't remember, two orders of clam spaetzle, a charred broccoli salad, and another beet dish I can't recall.  The charred broccoli was delicious, but, really, everything was spectacular.  Desserts were the goat cheese cake and a chocolate tart. The cheese cake was the favorite.  For four people with at least 2 drinks each, and enough food and desserts among all of us the bill was $100.  Not bad at all.  We walked in on a Thursday at 7 with no reservation, but this was about 10 days ago, before Tom S listed it as # 1 in his dining guide.  I think it is the neighborhood restaurant DC has been looking for, and is especially the one I have been looking for in MY neighborhood of Mt. Pleasant!

[Deborah Lee]

About Ellē 

(info from the website below)

"Ellē is a cafe, bakery, restaurant, and bar.  We also house our wholesale bakery, Paisley Fig.  During the day, we are counter service, serving Coffee and rotating baked goods, sandwiches, and pastries.  At night, we turn into a full service restaurant and bar (but you can still swing by and grab some bread and desserts from the counter!)."

We are now accepting dinner reservations through Resy.  Our bar, counter, and cafe seats offer our full dinner menu and are available for walk-ins.  Unfortunately, for now, we are not able to seat parties larger than six.

Hours:

WEDNESDAY-MONDAY 
8am-4pm & 5:30pm-11:30pm
(evening kitchen closes at 10pm)
TUESDAY 
8am-4pm(Closed Tues Evenings)

[Marty L.]

13 minutes ago, Rieux said:

I've been to Elle several times.  It is wonderful.  The coffee shop during the day has wonderful pastries and breads for eat in or take out and a good coffee program.  I've had good muffins and financiers inside, as well as a good old bay scone.  I've also taken out delightful individual goat cheese cakes and lemon bars.

I've had dinner there once, where we had interesting and tasty cocktails, good wines, a friend had a rare cider, and some unique beers.  Service is spectacular.  Attentive, friendly, able to make good recommendations and pairings.  Between four of us we had the cheese sticks, a kim chee bread, another toast I can't remember, two orders of clam spaetzle, a charred broccoli salad, and another beet dish I can't recall.  The charred broccoli was delicious, but, really, everything was spectacular.  Desserts were the goat cheese cake and a chocolate tart. The cheese cake was the favorite.  For four people with at least 2 drinks each, and enough food and desserts among all of us the bill was $100.  Not bad at all.  We walked in on a Thursday at 7 with no reservation, but this was about 10 days ago, before Tom S listed it as # 1 in his dining guide.  I think it is the neighborhood restaurant DC has been looking for, and is especially the one I have been looking for in MY neighborhood of Mt. Pleasant!

Rieux must have included a typo there -- four people with at least two drinks each and desserts would run you at least $200.  But yes, it's *very* good (much better than Tom's #2 Fancy Radish), and the people running it are terrific. For starters, their retail breads are, along with Tail Up Goat's, the best in town.  I'm especially keen on the sesame (available Thursdays) and Saturday's multigrain; a good friend swears by the Friday loaf with corn grits.  And, as many of you know, the Lizzy Evelyn's Paisley Fig concoctions include the best pastry in town -- the Guava turnover -- and the best cookie (Chocolate Almond Oat).  [These are both statements deeply against personal interest, because the pastries and breads often sell out, leaving me crestfallen when I arrive to empty shelves.]  Dinner is also excellent -- not that I'll ever be able to get a table again now that the cat's out of the bag.  If you can, ask Somm Alaina Dyne (from Komi) for recs to go with your meal -- last week she pointed me to a delicious Riesling that was perfect with the pork belly posole (which, while very good, was not as good a deal as other items on the menu, especially not when $9 will get you posole heaven at Taco Bamba in Falls Church).

As you can tell, I've been selfishly reluctant to rave about it, but they deserve the accolades, and Rockwellians should take the opportunity to check it out before it becomes almost impossible to do so. 

[Rieux]

Yes, $200 total, $100 per couple.  Brain fart on my part.  And I, too, was keeping the secret, selfishly.

[DonRocks]

6 minutes ago, Marty L. said:

As you can tell, I've been selfishly reluctant to rave about it, but they deserve the accolades, and Rockwellians should take the opportunity to check it out before it becomes almost impossible to do so. 

3 minutes ago, Rieux said:

And I, too, was keeping the secret, selfishly.

Ha, ha, ha! I first had Lizzy's baked goods nearly five-years ago, and I was pretty sure she would become a superstar - it looks like cette borne is getting closer and closer.

(Sorry - I've always wanted to use that in conversation.)

[FranklinDubya]

Went here last night and would definitely say it lived up to the hype - I don't think I've heard one bad thing between here, friends, Instagram, reviewers which is pretty rare.  My favorite city restaurant (excluding tasting menu spots) is Tail Up Goat which this reminded me quite a bit of with the friendly but snappy service, bread program and overall high level of cooking however it's even more neighborhood-y and definitely cheaper.  

My dining companion and I got the tuna crudo, spicy farm apples, spring tartine, kimchi toast, clam spaetzle, and hot duck with biscuit plus the famous goat cheese cheesecake for dessert.  Pretty consistently killer across the board although the spring tartine and the apples really blew me away (both felt like perfect light, fresh, but still flavorful and balanced spring things).  Got a loaf of country bread to take home as well.  Will edit later with pictures.

[Marty L.]

54 minutes ago, FranklinDubya said:

My dining companion got the tuna crudo, spicy farm apples, spring tartine, kimchi toast, clam spaetzle, and hot duck with biscuit plus the famous goat cheese cheesecake for dessert.  Pretty consistently killer across the board although the spring tartine and the apples really blew me away (both felt like perfect light, fresh, but still flavorful and balanced spring things).  Got a loaf of country bread to take home as well.  Will edit later with pictures.

"and I" ?

[FranklinDubya]

3 hours ago, Marty L. said:

"and I" ?

Yes - thank you sir 😁

[funkyfood]

7 hours ago, FranklinDubya said:

Went here last night and would definitely say it lived up to the hype - I don't think I've heard one bad thing between here, friends, Instagram, reviewers which is pretty rare.  My favorite city restaurant (excluding tasting menu spots) is Tail Up Goat which this reminded me quite a bit of with the friendly but snappy service, bread program and overall high level of cooking however it's even more neighborhood-y and definitely cheaper.  

My dining companion and I got the tuna crudo, spicy farm apples, spring tartine, kimchi toast, clam spaetzle, and hot duck with biscuit plus the famous goat cheese cheesecake for dessert.  Pretty consistently killer across the board although the spring tartine and the apples really blew me away (both felt like perfect light, fresh, but still flavorful and balanced spring things).  Got a loaf of country bread to take home as well.  Will edit later with pictures.

I was there Thursday and ordered almost the exact same dishes and thought similarly highly of them.  My only complaint was that the backroom was a bit cold and REALLY loud, even though it wasn't full and no individual table was particularly rowdy.

[cantjosh]

We had dinner at Elle this past Saturday and really enjoyed the whole experience. We ordered the country loaf with nori butter, gem salad with curry green goddess and crispy lentils, tuna crudo, kimchi toast, and hot duck and biscuit. The kimchi toast really stood out to me, but the whole meal was great. If I had to pick a weak point, it's probably the tuna crudo. I'm really looking forward to eating here again soon. 

[Deborah Lee]

I love celery.  This is one of my favorite dishes now on the menu at Ellē featured in the Washington Post article by Bonnie S. Benwick:

A sweet and sour strawberry salad recipe that lets summer’s star fruit shine

"It features peak-season strawberries, a quick-pickled vegetable, toasted hazelnuts, lots of black pepper and a syrupy sauce of vinegar and sugar, and I am only a little obsessed with it. Believe it or not, executive chef Brad Deboy came up with the combo because he wanted to highlight . . . celery. Lightly pickled, it happens to be a great match for the fruit and nuts. None of this takes much effort, and you might just eat it all yourself instead of sharing."

 

 

[Deborah Lee]

On 4/25/2018 at 9:25 PM, petercarrjones said:

Super excited to spend all my money here. Still desperately awaiting bagel sandwiches.

 

Dan Fogg, baker for Paisley Fig, Ellē just posted on Instagram.  From a post the day before, he mentions Sourdough bagels.  Limited batch of Sourdough Everything Bagels!

 

[petercarrjones]

Yessssss!

[petercarrjones]

On 7/16/2018 at 8:47 AM, dslee said:

 

Dan Fogg, baker for Paisley Fig, Ellē just posted on Instagram.  From a post the day before, he mentions Sourdough bagels.  Limited batch of Sourdough Everything Bagels!

 

Still technically no bagel sandwiches, but plenty of everything bagels (only flavor) baked daily. Had one with cream cheese today. Not transformative, but very good. Everything isn't my go-to flavor, so possibly biased against, but would probably still choose Bethesda Bagel. That said- well-made as far as crust and texture. Pretty dense, salty, lots of very strong poppy, sesame, onion seasonings, AND CARAWAY! Heard good things about their breakfast sandwich, so will have to close my eyes and shell out the $9 at some point. 

Edited August 10, 2018 by petercarrjones
ETA: Caraway seeds too! That's what the distinctive rye flavor was.. couldn't quite put my finger on it. 

[sheldman]

I ate at Elle for the first time last night, and (1) it was very nice though loud and (2) it made me realize why I go out so rarely in DC these days. Eating light and vegetarian, two drinks each, $75 per person with tip. I wish I understood the economics of running such a restaurant better. I am not saying that it was yielding enormous profits for anyone. I have no idea. Maybe all employees are very well paid, which would be good. Maybe good bok choy costs more than I imagine. Maybe rent/mortgage is bizarrely high even in Mt. Pleasant. I suppose that maybe I am saying I don't want to pay double for good food, for the opportunity to sit for an hour and a half and have people fold my napkin and refill my water glass. I wish we had restaurants like Superiority Burger here in DC.

[astrid]

Why Is My Vegan Entree as Expensive as the Meat?

😯

[sheldman]

34 minutes ago, astrid said:

Why Is My Vegan Entree as Expensive as the Meat?

😯

From the linked article: "Personally, I go to restaurants primarily for the hospitality and secondarily for the actual food." I am kind of the opposite  

[Tweaked]

I met a friend at Elle around 9:00 for some late-ish night eating.  I was already out and about and had had a couple of drinks, so when he texted me, I said, why not?

I think they have done a very nice job with the space, it feels neighborhoody, yet also hipstery, with a nice looking bar and several smaller dining areas.  It feels like a modern restaurant of the moment, but also like a place that's been around for a while.  Perhaps the old Heller's had good bones.

The food was a bit of a mixed bag.  My friend had already ordered the Beet & Fermented Chipotle Dip, which was excellent.  Next we had the Kimchi Toast which was also very good, I can see why it draws the raves.  Next we had the Fall Harvest Vegetable Curry, which was forgettable, it was very bland, never a good description for a curry.  Finally, for some reason, we decided to order one more dish, which was a mistake.  The Feta & Everything, frankly by the time we got to it, and had had several glasses of wine, on top of the several glasses of wine I'd already consumed, it was kinda gross.  Too much rich food.  Maybe I'd think differently if we had ordered it first, but we didn't finish the dish.   On another note, I didn't enjoy any of the wines we ordered.  Maybe stick to cocktails.

Anyway, I'm not sure if this a fair review (too many drinks consumed that night).  But I would say be aware about what you are ordering...the food is so rich that if you order wrong, it will catch up with you.

Kimchi toast with Labneh

[FranklinDubya]

Elle has a bunch of interesting breads in their weekly lineup currently (from their website) :

Baguette - AVAILABLE EVERYDAY
Country - AVAILABLE EVERYDAY
Olive - MONDAY
Polenta Fennel - TUESDAY
Sesame Emmer Wheat - WEDNESDAY
Deli Rye - THURSDAY
Maple Oat - FRIDAY
Brioche Loaf - SATURDAY
Seeded Multigrain - SATURDAY
White Sourdough - SUNDAY
Spelt Sandwich - SUNDAY

I've had the Sesame Emmer wheat and it was phenomenal.  The  Country bread is so damn good it makes the other sourdough varieties disappointing  (to me) by comparison.  Really interested in trying the Olive, Polenta Fennel, and Deli Rye if I can make it over there for them though.

[Deborah Lee]

 

[sandynva]

 Has anyone gotten the Cacio Pepe dinner kit?  I wanted to know if they prepared the cheese sauce, or if they  just gave you a pile of shredded cheese.   

[saf]

Took a walk over to Mount Pleasant on Saturday to stop by the farm market. They have 2 places that have good lettuce ALL YEAR ROUND! Decided to stop here to try out the coffee.

Never again. The boy did not like the drip. I found the latte OK, but the line was long and full of bros who were being $^&(^%. It was not worth standing and waiting for the coffee.

Ran into a friend who still lives in the neighborhood, and talked about the place. She agreed with us on the coffee. We talked about the food. So consensus was:

bakery food good.

Dinner good but expensive for what it is.

Coffee not worth it.

(I point out, we are inclined to love this place. 30+ years later, we still kinda miss MtP. And we so loved Hellers. I mean, we got our wedding cake there!  We also love the delicious baked goods that these folks have sold in various places over the years. But this was a bad experience.)