Cafe 44

[weezy]

On fine days, I've been walking along the river at lunchtime in Old Town, and I had noticed an office building in the Canal Center with an upper floor restaurant/patio.  Well, today I went with an office mate and we checked it out.  It's called Cafe 44, and it's on the 4th floor of 44 Canal Center.  Such a gorgeous day, we got a seat out on the terrace.  Beautiful view of the river.  The space is very clean and modern, whites & grays with touches of orange.  The food is nicely done, fresh and with some thought.  Today I got a Potomac Peach Salad ($6 small/$10 large, plus $2 or $3 upcharge, respectively, for chicken) that comes with a peach vinaigrette.  Nice salad of peaches, apple slices, goat cheese & cashews on an arugula/mixed greens base.   The vinaigrette was tasty although a bit on the sweet side, but with the goat cheese and arugula, things balanced out pretty well. The large is not so very large, I would say somewhat smaller than a GAR  entree salad.  Office mate got the hummus veggie wrap ($7)  and enjoyed it.  They also have beer, wine & cocktails.  Open for breakfast and lunch during the week, for brunch on Saturdays only.  Prices are moderate with a few things seeming a bit high -- they had a hamburger special today that was $16, for instance (served with orzo salad or chips).  Sandwiches come sans accompaniment but you can do a combo that adds a soda or tea, chips & a cookie for another $4.  Service was a little slow but not terribly so, and we were on the far end of the patio from the kitchen door, which might have added to that.  Oh, and you can reserve your favorite table.  There's also a goodly amount of inside seating with window walls so you can still enjoy the view.  A respectable choice for a weekday breakfast or lunch.  

[DaveO]

I used to attend meetings at a conference room on an upper floor at Canal Square.  The Potomac River views were mesmerizing.  Assuming the food was half way decent I'd go there just for the views.  They are that good and rare in this area.