"Oxford Exchange is the best fancy brunch option around. Part of that is due to the setting: there’s a central staircase filled with a bunch of people’s portraits like JFK and Frederick Douglass, a stone fountain in the glass-domed atrium, and a shoe-shine stand in the hallway. Brunch goes until 5pm on the weekend, so you could feasibly knock back bellinis with your lemon poppyseed pancakes a couple hours before the sun sets. There will probably be a wait, but you can pass the time hanging out in their gift shop, drinking champagne, and debating whether or not to buy a 300-page book on Bauhaus art for your dad’s birthday." - cheryl rodewig