5. Cowboy Café
4792 Lee Highway, Arlington | 703-243-8010 | thecowboycafe.com
Best known as a neighborhood dive bar, Cowboy Café has a surprisingly robust brunch menu. Sizable portions make it a good place to go if you want to recover from a hard night or bring home leftovers that actually taste good when you reheat them. The breakfast burrito is a glorious mess of scrambled eggs, cheddar cheese, Andouille sausage, grilled onions, poblano peppers and potatoes wrapped in a tortilla and served with sour cream, salsa and home fries. Bananas Foster French toast is drizzled with just the right amount of caramel and topped with a scattering of sliced bananas and walnuts. In this congenial spot, the chatter of toddlers and the rattle of silverware sound cozy rather than annoying.