As a college student in DC, I understand the feeling of late-night and early morning study sessions where you are tired of staring at your cinderblock dorm room walls or not knowing what time it is when you leave the library. Each morning you have the same routine of rolling out of bed, getting ready for class, and grabbing a quick breakfast at Starbucks or the dining hall. Sometimes the dining hall doesn’t even have anything you want, but you’ve already paid your meal swipe, so you are obligated to get something you don’t even want to eat. We get stuck in a rut moving through the motions of the day until the semester ends. Try to break up your routine and try something new!
It’s time to go to Call Your Mother, where you can get your breakfast and early lunch fix. Unless it’s the weekend, we’re on a schedule dictated by our class load. So, anything off-campus has to be close and quick – but not fast food like McDonald’s or Starbucks, but I do mean food that can be purchased and eaten on the go (while walking to class, to take to a meeting, or eat with friends on the quad in between classes). Call Your Mother supplies us with food that’s high quality, delicious, and different from what we find on campus, and it is only a few blocks away!
About Call Your Mother
You can’t miss it. The building really stands out and adds so much color to the neighborhoods in which each location sits. And the owners who run Call Your Mother focus on a breakfast favorite – bagels. In fact, it’s a specialty of gourmet proportions. But saying Call Your Mother sells bagels is like saying Tiffany’s sells jewelry. No, Call Your Mother is way above your basic breakfast nook. And they also have sandwiches, cookies, and coffee. We’re talking the best bagels outside of Manhattan and clever combinations of gourmet ingredients.
Think of Call Your Mother whenever you need breakfast fuel before or in between classes. It’s also a great place to stroll with friends, take some photos for social media, and eat. Everything here is on the go and ready to eat.
Location in relation to college campuses
Call Your Mother is made for a college student. Lots of others go there, but you can see that Call Your Mother’s locations are perfectly positioned for college students. Check out the map. The pink location icons show storefronts and a trolley. The teal location icons represent farmers’ market locations where Call Your Mother has a booth. The storefronts are located in:
Parkview
Bethesda
Georgetown
Capitol Hill
Many of DC’s colleges and Universities are in walking distance or a few Metro stops away:
Georgetown University
George Washington University
Howard University
Catholic University of America
Trinity Washington University
Gallaudet University
American Univeristy
University of the District Of Columbia
In Bethesda location, Call Your Mother sets up shop every day of the week in a vivid pink and teal trolley, parked in a corner just across from the National Institutes of Health. Here, the friendly staff brings the same high-quality bagels, sandwiches, coffee and other goodies to a suburban crowd. The unique setting makes buying breakfast a colorful experience.
Call Your Mother transformed this antique street car, but wanted to pay homage to the history of the street car and the trolley trail. The funny thing is that the original name of this street car was Honey, and Honey was the nickname of Dana the owner of Call your Mother's grandmother, so Dana kept the name of the car to keep the history as well as have the sentimental memory of an important and influential family member.
Pricing
Call Your Mother gets rave reviews from connoisseurs and foodies. But it’s also priced right for students on a budget. If you’re worried about spending too much of your fun money, the prices at Call Your Mother will keep you from freaking out. The bagels and sandwiches are big enough for a meal, or worth splitting with a friend. Your basic bagel with cream cheese is just $4.50. The fancier sandwiches range from $5.50 to $11.00. Think about it: You could go to Subway for a sub or fast food for a burger and fries and spend as much or more. But, Call Your Mother fills you up with high-quality ingredients that foodies love. And they’re easy to eat – on the go, or saved for later, shared with a pal or creating an instant brunch on a budget. The tasty truth is that the bagels and sandwiches are so generous with ingredients, they’re almost too big to finish and will keep you full for the rest of the day.
Variety of CYM's Menu
The difference here, as they say in class, is qualitative. It’s a deli with a difference. Call Your Mother creates food experiences with clever combinations of ingredients. How would you define it? In the words of Call Your Mother, it’s a “Jew-ish deli.” The “ish” means that it’s close to the classic bagel shop but unusual enough to keep you from getting bored. They’ve got the basics but they’re also known for taking their bagels to the next level.
Take a look at the menu:
Bagels? They’ve got seven kinds. From traditional poppy, sesame, and everything to the exotic za'atar spice. That last one is a specialty that breaks all barriers and adds a new dimension to the Call Your Mother’s distinctive lineup. Food critics have weighed in with their approval!
Cream cheese? Call Your Mother has four kinds. Think plain, herb, candied salmon, and seasonal versions including the summer schmear, berry - available right now!
And what else? Try smoked salmon, whitefish salad, bacon, pastrami, roasted turkey, and tuna salad. Plus, hummus, avocado, jalapeno, and tomato to add to your favorite bagel creations.
Don’t forget drinks: Coffee, tea, cappuccino, latte, chai, mocha and Martinelli’s apple juice.
We haven’t really addressed the most important part – the high quality of the bagels. Chewy on the outside, just the right consistency on the inside, with a slightly sweet hint from the honey used in the dough. New Yorkers swear this is as close to the real deal as you’ll get outside of Manhattan.
On their own or as the basis for a sandwich, Call Your Mother Bagels and their interesting topping combinations are surprisingly good. A few examples of bagels that sound interesting, but are fan favorites are:
The Gleneagle featuring candied salmon cream cheese, cucumbers, crispy shallots and greens on a zaatar bagel.
The Grand Villa takes peanut butter and adds mixed berry jam and vegan granola on a cinnamon raisin bagel.
The Sun City builds a meal around eggs with pastrami or bacon, American and cheddar cheeses, and a drizzle of spicy honey on an everything bagel. Yes, the spicy honey gives it a pleasant kick!
If you want a sandwich but not on a bagel, Call Your Mother builds them on fresh challah or rye bread.
You know you can trust Call Your Mother because all of the ingredients used for their sandwiches, baked goods, and drinks are either made in-house or are locally/privately sourced from all around the DMV.
The Quality of Ingredients
College students might remember a discussion in econ and marketing classes about how local sourcing keeps the area’s economy humming. You may be happy to know that Call Your Mother gets most of its ingredients from regional farms and businesses. So, the food is not only fresh, but it also contributes to area businesses. Among their suppliers is Liberty Delight Farm in Reisterstown, Maryland, which supplies meat, cheese, eggs, and honey.
Giving Back to The Community
Socially conscious students can take comfort in the fact that Call Your Mother doesn’t just sell food or give people jobs. Call Your Mother makes an effort to improve their local community. Since their first location opened in the Park View neighborhood, they did not want to be the restaurant the gentrified the area. Each morning, Call Your Mother provides breakfast for the Park View neighborhood kids who otherwise would not be able to eat breakfast. In addition to helping on their own, Call Your Mother has partnered with local non-profits and community organizations to support and help out the surrounding community. Call Your Mother’s partners include Urban Alliance, AYUDA, Food Rescue, and Park Morton Kids Camp. Urban Alliance is a local nonprofit in the Parkview neighborhood that trains the youth in the area about careers and life after school. Ayuda is the Spanish word for help and is fitting for the organization AYUDA DC because AYUDA helps underserved and underrepresented immigrant families in the DC area. The Food Rescue helps the community end hunger. The Food Rescue picks up and delivers fresh food from local businesses to give out to local organizations that help families that are encountering food insecurity. Finally, Park Morton Kids Camp allows for children to be creative and have a place to interact with their peers when they are not in school. Knowing that Call Your Mother does all of this to help the community makes me want to support their restaurant because my money is being used for a great cause!
When I’m in need of a bagel fix, I can tell you that Call Your Mother is a fun place for students to get your breakfast, brunch, and lunch. I just like being there. It’s off-campus but on target. Each location is distinctive in the way it looks. And the food… ahh, the food. A good bagel is a work of art. Call Your Mother is an art gallery with the best bagels, great menu selections, and reasonable prices. Your mother would be proud.
Credits:
All photos, videos, and graphics were taken and created by Caroline Cascio.