Soak It Up: Hudson

Level of hangover: On a scale of 1-10, I'd give it a 3, maybe. I was feeling fuzzy and slightly nauseous from a couple of Manhattans and a beer the night before, and it wouldn't have been an issue had I not been obligated to wake up so ungodly early.

The Soak: The Hudson just opened about two weeks ago, and because it was so ungodly early on a Thursday morning, the place was deserted except for one blue-collar lookin' dude eating some bacon and eggs. Which is what my boyfriend ordered, basically: a heaping pile of thick, crispy bacon, two eggs over easy, toast and some grated hash browns. Pretty much your standard diner breakfast. I, meanwhile, ordered a vegetarian scramble that came with Parmesan cheese, tomatoes, mushrooms and spinach-- plus hash browns and either toast or homemade biscuits. I chose the biscuit, which was appropriately fluffy, but missing something in the taste department. Maybe a little more salt would've helped? I couldn't quite put my finger on it. But no matter: It was the scramble that made my morning. I have tasted many-a scramble in my time, as it's often the only thing you can get at a greasy spoon-type diner that doesn't contain flesh, and the Parmesan really added a nice savory flavor, but it wasn't overpowering. Plus, the eggs were fluffy and beaten into tiny little curds. It was absolutely heavenly.

Next time, I want to come in and try the deep-friend French toast, which is only available on weekends. I can't imagine the place remaining empty in the a.m. for long, as it's located in an industrial area, on a very busy street. The ambiance is casual but classy, the decor simple; it's the sort of place where the nearby industrial workers and the Georgetown hipsters can congregate together in peace, eating conventional diner staples and vegetarian adaptations of them (I was particularly intrigued by the vegetarian chicken fried steak option, which they make with Field Roast cutlets.)

Hair of the Dog: The Bloody Mary. Appropriately citrusy and with just a hint of a kick (admittedly, I could've asked for more heat but didn't), the Hudson makes a decent Mary complete with three, count 'em, three giant green pimento-stuffed olives, a lemon wedge AND a lime wedge. The only thing it was missing was the requisite pickled green bean and/or asparagus spear. However, I prefer a decent drink sans pickled vegetable (I can take or leave the celery, since it's mainly just there to look pretty) to a watery or overly sweet Bloody Mary.

Success of the soak: Any residual nausea I felt disappeared, though all that food felt sort of heavy in my stomach, which I attributed to fullness. Other than that, my hangover was completely cured. Unlike so many of my drinking pals, I don't really want or enjoy overly greasy food after a hard night of liver torture, but this was the exact level of grease I prefer: just enough to cure the nausea, but not enough to taste. Perfect.