Local flavor: The Firehook in Dupont Circle, one of the trendy bakery's seven locations in the city. (ElvertBarnes via Flickr)
Firehook Bakery and Coffeehouse in Cleveland Park is a busy joint in the a.m. (or at least it was when I was there), and it was filled with a diverse clientele when I patronized the place recently.
Firehook is known for their breads, which they bake themselves. It takes them two days to bake a loaf, and there is plenty of TLC involved in the process.
You can choose from 10 to 20 different types of bread, depending on the day you walk in. You can even order bread and other treats online, as well as have them cater your event. But renters aren’t likely going to need to cater anything in the near future: You’re renting for heaven’s sake!
As mentioned, the place in Cleveland Park was packed at about 9:00-9:30 a.m., a typical morning rush that didn’t seem too rushed. There was the nearly bald guy with the glasses and laptop in front of me, two cute coeds chatting away up ahead on my right (including one girl who probably thought she was in a Parisian café in the 1920s – if in spirit), friends of differing ages doing the same, businessmen in suits, a construction worker and what looked to be a courier of some type with (if I remember correctly) dreadlocks.
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There were even some people with precocious kids (who weren’t too loud, thankfully), one of whom even hinted he might park his coterie at my small table. That got a laugh from his accompanying grownups.
Suffice it to say, all seemed welcome.
Inside, the narrow-shaped Cleveland Park Firehook seats about 35-45, and when it warms up they have an outdoor garden that seats 80.
The single shot caramel macchiato I had was very sweet and set me back $2.35. They have a full line of hot beverages: coffee, espresso drinks, hot chocolate, teas. They also serve juices, soda and milk.
You’ll find a full line of breakfast and light-fare items like tarts, quiche, soup, cakes, breakfast sandwiches, normal sandwiches, panini, salads and omelets. I didn’t get a chance to taste any of those wares, but they looked good and fancy.
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Firehook has had its share of positive ink. None other than W magazine “included Firehook in its short list of top five bakers in the world, alongside the quintessential Parisian bread baker Poilane, as well as bakeries in Milan and London, New York and Los Angeles.”
Zagat, the Washingtonian and Modern Baking magazine have also shown Firehook some love, so I can’t be too far off the mark in touting it. Nix that. I was there, I can tout it all I want.
So yes, at Firehook you pay for quality. But from the look of things while I was there, people didn’t seem to mind.
Firehook Bakery and Coffeehouse has 11 locations in Washington, D.C., and Northern Virginia (included in that number is the retail facility in Chantilly, where they bake all their bread). If you live in either area, there is a decent chance one is near you.
Renters in Cleveland Park can just stroll on up Connecticut Avenue and drink it in. If you’re not already comfortably ensconced in this very nice neighborhood, the Cleveland Park Metro stop on the Red Line is the next block up.
