Fodor's Expert Review City Cafe
$
Capitol Hill
American
Editor's Note: This location is no longer in operation.
Everything is made from scratch at this charming little bakery and café, including the stocks for the French onion soup and other daily restoratives offered alongside the stacked-high sandwiches. Freshly baked for more than a hundred local restaurants, the dozens of varieties of breads are also available to take home or eat at a booth in the light-filled space. On Fridays, owner and baker Michael Bortz references his native Pennsylvania and his heritage as a third-generation chocolatier from the Philadelphia area by offering cheesesteaks and shoofly pie. If you're there when he makes his buttery, golden-shelled crab cakes, order extra to take home. Bortz is also the one responsible for the delectable tiramisu, éclairs, real-butter croissants, and other pastries in the front case, and he makes a mean marjolaine, the classic French dessert of layers of hazelnuts and pastry cream.
Quick Facts
Known For:
- Excellent baked goods
- Christmas stollen (a fruit bread)
- Delicious Cubano sandwich
Restaurant Details:
Rate Includes: Closed Sun. No dinner, Reservations not accepted