Market Lunch - Terrific Breakfast and Lunch inside of Eastern Market, Open since 1978

[Kev29]

1 hour ago, DonRocks said:

True, but shouldn't it support one, really great place?

I haven't really been enough times or in years, but I think Market Lunch would be a candidate here. 

[DonRocks]

2 hours ago, Kev29 said:

I haven't really been enough times or in years, but I think Market Lunch would be a candidate here. 

I haven't been in years either, and it it has a reputation as mostly a bacon-and-eggs (and bluebucks!) kind of place, but Market Lunch is goooood.

It also gets a place on the Oldest Restaurants in the Washington, DC Area thread.

[Finatic]

IMHO, Market Lunch like many of the other vendors at Eastern Market are way over rated and way over priced. The locals do support them however! My neighbor once chastised me for not supporting our neighborhood coffee shop.  I said to her that I had been going for years, but could not stand drinking the burnt coffee anymore. It is a two way street.  Why should I support a vendor who is not willing to provide a decent product at a fair price?

[Keithstg]

1 hour ago, Finatic said:

IMHO, Market Lunch like many of the other vendors at Eastern Market are way over rated and way over priced. Why should I support a vendor who is not willing to provide a decent product at a fair price?

Please don't take this the wrong way as it isn't directed at you per se, but often "fair price" translates into "an arbitrary number I picked out with no regard for the underlying cost of goods, real estate, and labor, or recognition that a profit must be made".

Sadly, we are not on the Hill much anymore, but in the eight or so years we lived there we frequented Market Lunch. In fact, my wife is still miffed that they won't add a crabcake to the Brick sandwich.

[Finatic]

Not offended.  Fair price does not mean cheap.  I am always willing to pay more for better quality! If I can buy better produce at Whole Foods for less than at Eastern Market, I question their pricing.

The underlying cost of ingredients has absolutely nothing yo do with the value of the end product!

[Mark Dedrick]

18 hours ago, DonRocks said:

I haven't been in years either, and it it has a reputation as mostly a bacon-and-eggs (and bluebucks!) kind of place, but Market Lunch is goooood.

It also gets a place on the Oldest Restaurants in the Washington, DC Area thread.

We still go to Market Lunch fairly regularly. Huge fan of the crabcake sandwich (and the fried oyster sandwich). 

[mtureck]

The Brick with bacon is still my favorite breakfast sandwich of all time, and I also love the buckwheat pancakes and the crab cakes. 

I find it neither overpriced nor overrated.

 

[Pat]

15 hours ago, Finatic said:

Not offended.  Fair price does not mean cheap.  I am always willing to pay more for better quality! If I can buy better produce at Whole Foods for less than at Eastern Market, I question their pricing.

The one produce vendor at Eastern Market is significantly cheaper than the other one and the quality is generally pretty good.  They also have discounted bags of produce with items that are past their prime. I feel bad sometimes that I generally patronize only the one stand, but unless the higher-priced vendor has something I need/want that the other doesn't, I go to the cheaper stand.

And I haven't eaten at Market Lunch in some time either. I find it hard to eat inside there because of the smell from the fish counter opposite, so unless I get something to take home or outside is particularly appealing, I don't buy food there. They do have good breakfasts, though. I enjoy the Brick with scrapple, but it's a rare indulgence.

[Keithstg]

2 hours ago, Pat said:

And I haven't eaten at Market Lunch in some time either. I find it hard to eat inside there because of the smell from the fish counter opposite, so unless I get something to take home or outside is particularly appealing, I don't buy food there. They do have good breakfasts, though. I enjoy the Brick with scrapple, but it's a rare indulgence.

I can see this - in retrospect I wonder how it never bothered me, honestly! Market Lunch is also much, much, better on weekdays.