Picture: Open-Faced Cucumber Sandwich from Seylou.

Today we added Seylou Bakery to the list of recommended places to eat in Washington, D.C.  You can look up this place and over 200 other recommended restaurants on our site, displayed in LIST and MAP format.

Seylou Bakery – In a storefront by the entrance to Blagden Alley is a deceptively small shop.  There are a few tables, a counter to get coffee, and a small display case with that day’s goods.  What you can’t ignore, because it juts into the café, is the working bakery.  The small space holds a big idea about bread.  According to their website, “Seylou offers a unique experience, starting with the farmers and leading to the seeds, which are milled on-site and baked into 100% whole grain breads in a wood-fired oven.” Along with the bread, they sell some savory (like bialys, focaccia) and sweet (like cookies, croissant) items that you can have with coffee or tea.  Jonathan Bethony and his wife Jessica own this place.  Jonathan worked at the Washington State University Bread Lab, made slightly famous for its work with Dan Barber.  If you saw the Chef’s Table on Barber you may remember the intense discussions with the Lab team as they experimented with options.  D.C. is lucky that when Jonathan and Jessica decided to go out on their own they settled here.  The fact this place exists is perhaps not that surprising.  The fact it exists in D.C., in a storefront near the Convention Center, is more than a pleasant surprise.  Go buy something from them.