Georgia Brown's - Washington DC

Georgia Brown’s

950 15^th St. Northwest

Washington DC, 20005

Washington D.C. has many things to see and places to go and eventually you have to stop to eat.  After a busy day of flying, sightseeing, and visiting family we stopped in at Georgia Brown’s.  The restaurant is gorgeous with lots of arched windows, huge metal sculptures attached to the ceiling, black and white tiles in the kitchen area, and soft carpeting and tablecloths.  The entrance is welcoming and the staff is exceptionally friendly and attentive.  We were asked if we had reservations, which we did not, but being somewhat early on a Friday evening, we were taken directly to a table and seated.  We sat for a moment to take in the ambience and listen to soft jazz being piped in, and we knew we were in for a treat.

Georgia Brown's bee logo

Table setting with spicy vinegar

 The menu features “low country” cuisine and we excitedly ordered appetizers of Fried Green Tomatoes, and Crab Cakes.  Before they were delivered to us, we were served a plate of biscuits and sweet corn bread with a side of butter.  The biscuits were delicious – light and fluffy – and the sweet corn bread was heaven.  We munched on those and very shortly our appetizers arrived.

Cornbread, biscuits, and honey butter

The Fried Green Tomatoes were assembled as two thin slices of green tomato with a goat cheese filling, breaded and fried.  They were piquant, slightly crisp, and delicious.  The Crab Cake was served on a corn pancake and fresh pea shoots.  They were thick and loaded with crab.  The tartar sauce was thick and flavorful and the dish was scrumptious and just the right size to share.

Fried Green Tomatoes

Crab cake atop corn pancake

For our entrees, we ordered Arctic Char with Lentils, Fried Chicken Salad, She Crab Soup, Beer Can Chicken and their signature dish, Shrimp and Grits.

The Arctic Char with Lentils came with the fish atop black lentils, zucchini ribbons and tomato puree.  The fish was perfectly cooked and the lentils were tender and flavorful.  The zucchini ribbons added just the right amount of brightness to the dish and the overall experience was delicious.

Arctic Char with Lentils

The Fried Chicken Salad came with fresh garden greens from a local market, dried cranberries, peanuts, blue cheese, croutons, red onions and tomatoes.  The fried chicken was succulent and flavorful, perfectly cooked, and the vegetables were fresh and crisp.  The croutons were homemade, crunchy and buttery, and overall the salad was perfect except that there was too much dressing.  Next time we’ll ask for half the dressing and it should be perfect.  Having fried chicken in a salad – well, what could be better?  You get to feel noble for the salad part and yet you have the delicious fried chicken as a bonus!  We loved it.

Fried Chicken Salad

She Crab Soup isn’t something you can get anywhere and whenever we visit the east coast we try to find it.  The She Crab Soup at Georgia Brown’s is loaded with chunks of lump crab meat and deliciously flavored with cream, nutmeg and sherry.  It was unbelievably good and incredibly rich.  You must try this when you go!

She Crab Soup

The Beer Can Chicken came with half a chicken, which we knew we’d never finish, but was so delicious we gave it our best effort!  The chicken had been cooked perfectly in Guinness beer and then was coated with a Guinness beer glaze – scrumptious.  It came with macaroni and cheese that was cheesy and gooey, and a nice succotash of peas and corn.  The peas in the succotash were sweet and perfectly prepared. We enjoyed the entire dish immensely.

Beer Can Chicken

The Shrimp and Grits is the signature dish for Georgia Brown’s and the reasons for its popularity are many.  The shrimp – and there were about 8 of them – are large and served heads on, a delight for anyone who has tried them.  The dish has their specially made grits which are unimaginably creamy on the bottom, topped by Andouille sausage, shrimp and scallions, all swimming in a succulent broth.  We’ve had this dish a few times and each time marvel at the incredible creaminess of the grits.  They are amazing and addictive.  Long past our point of being full, we continued to eat simply because it was that good!

Shrimp and Grits

 After all of this we determined we couldn’t possibly order dessert, but our server, Emily (who was wonderfully attentive, friendly, and informative) brought the menu and we decided to just take a look.  The offerings were inviting and despite being full, decided to try the Banana Cream Pie and the Peach Cobbler.  Well, you only live once right!

The Banana Cream Pie was served with the small pie cut in half and arranged one half against the other, beautiful.  The pie was topped with maple glazed pecans and salted caramel glaze.  It was a lovely presentation, but the pastry was so tough we could hardly cut through it.  The inside of the pastry was coated with chocolate ganache – very unusual – and filled with custard.  The chocolate was delicious but the custard was a little too soft and thin.  We couldn’t find the salted caramel, but overall the dessert was very good. 

Banana Cream Pie

The Peach Cobbler stole the show arriving in a darling mason jar, steaming hot, served over cinnamon spiced oatmeal with a vanilla orange zest sauce on the side for drizzling.  This dessert was unbelievably good!  We loved it – every last bit of it!  Definitely try this when you go!  It’s sweet, spicy, warm, gooey, and everything a dessert should be.  Perfect!

Adorable presentation of the peach cobbler

Peach Cobbler detail

Dining at Georgia Brown’s was a great experience.  Very relaxing, elegant atmosphere, comforting, welcoming staff, and incredibly delicious food.  If you’re in D.C. you must go.  Don’t miss this jewel!