Palena Open Mondays; Republic Starts Brunch

TAKOMA PARK— Brunch has begun at Republic. Jeff Black's restaurant will offer such dishes and drinks as a charred tomato Bloody Mary, monkey bread, an oyster po' boy, and more. Here's the full menu. [EaterWire]

CLEVELAND PARK— Any chance to get a Palena burger is welcome. The Cleveland Park restaurant Tweets they're now open on Monday evenings, beginning at 5:30 p.m. [Twitter]

OPEN THREADS— PoPville has a fun thread going asking readers to name restaurants they used to love but no longer do. Some of the places named include Eatonville, The Heights and Tabard Inn. There are a whopping 320 comments.

RESTAURANT WEEK— Slate takes a stand against Restaurant Week. Moneybox columnist Matthew Yglesias advises restaurant-goers to skip the free dessert and instead...have a Snickers? [Slate]