Hot food bars are few & far between in the upper NW area, with one notable exception... Epicurean and Company by the Van Ness-UDC Metro station. It may not be as busy as its Georgetown University Hospital counterpart (higher turnover = fresher food) but it's impeccably clean; and depending on what time you get here, well worth a visit.
Sadly, this wasn't the case during my most recent stop. 9:30 AM is "pushing it" for a trip to the buffet, and the selection was thin to say the least. We're talking ones and twos of an item (i.e. take what you can get.) At $5.99/lb., there's no arguing with the price (same rules apply... watch out for deceptively heavy items) and I was able to fill my plate for just $4.13. This included scrambled eggs (almost ice cold) home fries (cold, too thick) the final piece of turkey-ham (always good) one overcooked link of pork sausage (greasy inside) and quite easily the worst turkey sausage patty I've ever had the misfortune of putting in my mouth. Yuck. Looking back, I should have stuck with fresh fruit.
I must qualify this review by saying I've enjoyed decidedly better visits to the buffet (both for breakfast and lunch) in the past. Timing is everything; but that doesn't excuse any restaurant from serving cold, uninspired food to its customers... even ones without the ability to tell time.
Service, as always, was top-notch; and the entire restaurant was clean & tidy. I bet you this review would have been a whole lot better, had I arrived an hour or two earlier. Perhaps it's time to start wearing my watch again. My advice: Come early, to avoid late-breakfast disappointment.
