Meet Matt and Tony’s, an All-Day Bloody Mary and Brunch Spot for Del Ray

Todd Miller, the pastry chef credited with making Ted’s Tarts a D.C. phenomenon, pops back up at another nostalgia-inducing brunch place in Alexandria’s Del Ray neighborhood.

Matt and Tony’s All Day Kitchen + Bar, opening Wednesday, March 16, comes from first-time restaurant owner Matt Sloan, who formerly led front-of-house operations at Daikaya and Matchbox and helped open Ada’s on the River nearby.

Family-friendly Matt and Tony’s fills in a 127-seat space left behind by short-lived Charlie’s On the Avenue (1501 Mount Vernon Avenue, Del Ray). Before that, it was FireFlies – where President Barack Obama curbed a burger craving back in 2014.

A few years back, Ted’s Bulletin’s then-corporate pastry chef Todd Miller led the mass production of its cult riffs on Pop-Tarts. At Matt and Tony’s, Miller’s latest childhood remix is a Rice Crispy-like bar with peanut butter fudge and chocolate.

Matt and Tony’s opens six days a week (closed Mondays) starting at 8 a.m., which means morning bloody marys could become a new Alexandria trend. One of two anytime bloodys comes with bacon-infused vodka, chipotle, lime, a meat stick, and bacon salt.

Matt and Tony’s

All-day brunch includes corn flake-crusted French toast engineered with cinnamon egg custard and chicken chorizo-stuffed Scotch eggs. The daytime menu includes gluten-free cornmeal pancakes slathered in mole maple syrup and a hearty bowl of homemade steel cut oatmeal with quinoa, millet porridge, and sweet or savory add-ins.

Familiar comfort foods with a twist include baked mac and cheese loops in cheddar mornay and crispy jalapeno, and a turkey meatloaf gets a barbecue balsamic drizzle.

A beverage program filled with spritzes and sangrias includes cocktails like a vodka-based “Wild Goose Chase” with apple and St. Germain and a tamarind-and-tequila “Phoenix.”

An earthy look put together by designer David Anthony Chenault (Bar Bao, Pamplona) plays off a central seating area surrounded by live trees.

Francesca Calisti/Matt and Tony’s

Francesca Calisti/Matt and Tony’s

The “Tony” part of the name pays homage to Sloan’s great grandfather, an Austrian immigrant-turned-acclaimed NYC baker (he even made rye bread for President John F. Kennedy’s inauguration, says Sloan). Breads and pastries are naturally a focus across the menu, starting with baskets of scallion cheddar biscuits to anytime desserts like “Tony’s” torte (Viennese chocolate cake) and gingerbread bread pudding.

Matt and Tony’s opens with dine-in service until 9 p.m. (and 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday), with takeout and delivery to follow.

Matt and Tony’s

• What Did President Obama Order at FireFlies? [P]
• Behind the Scenes Making Ted Tarts at Ted’s Bulletin [EDC]