George Washington, Step Aside

    Our great country was established by our founding fathers, but our great food in DC has been established by "Founding Farmers" in Foggy Bottom.  This place is amazing.  It is owned by a collective group of farmers, using their locally grown food as much as possible to create all the delectable choices on their menu.  Every sauce, dressing, juice or gravy is made in house and their bread is all from scratch.  Founding Farmer's is all about sustainable, good quality, "All American" food while also keeping their restaurant very "green".  Everything from their electricity to how to their concrete poured bar top is eco-friendly.  They even take is as far as becoming the first restaurant in DC to be LEED Gold Certified and they offset their annual greenhouse gas emissions through Carbonfund.org!  This was definitely the kind of place I love to support with my business. 
  
     We went for breakfast one morning.  They offer a lot of unique twists on breakfast classics, like hash made with beets or carrot cake pancakes.  But when I saw "Chicken and Waffles" my decision was made for me.  Crispy-Fried Chicken Tenders, Gravy, Two Eggs, Waffle, Whipped Farm Butter, and Syrup.  That's right, syrup AND gravy.  I knew I couldn't go wrong there.  (I ordered mine with eggs over medium.)

   It was great!  The waffle was soft, fluffy and sweet, the gravy was thick, white gravy (of course) and tasted fabulous.  The syrup tasted the way that only REAL syrup can taste, which is incredible.  My eggs were cooked perfectly, with the yolk still runny in the middle, which tasted heavenly with the gravy and chicken.  And last but not least, the chicken was incredible.  Not overly fried, very juicy and tender, and seasoned so well.  The chicken was some of the best chicken I've ever had.  Not like the fried chicken I am used to in Georgia, with the thick, crunchy bits all over it, but fried just enough to give it a slight crunch and enough crevices for the syrup and gravy to soak into. 

     I wish I could have gone back for every meal, but Founding Farmer's is a VERY popular place.  I would strongly recommend reservations if you planning to go.  I loved my experience here and would definitely put this on my top 10 favorite restaurants ever.  Such a cool place trying to feed us real, whole food made by real, hardworking farmers.   

http://www.wearefoundingfarmers.com/washington-dc/