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DC Restaurants

CBBQ
CBBQ Posts: 610
edited November -1 in EggHead Forum
We are going to be in DC all next week and are looking for restaurant recommendations. We are staying right by the Capital building. My Congressman(R) and Senator(D)will each be taking us through a tour of the White House and Capital building respectfully. I'm not looking for bbq, just good restaurants regardless of cost. Thanks.

Bill

Comments

  • ResQue
    ResQue Posts: 1,045
    Ben's chili bowl is a tourist trap. pretty cool place and not too expensive. The chili half-smokes are good.
  • Hilary
    Hilary Posts: 1
    There are too many great restaurants in DC to count! Check out www.washingtonian.com for dining guides... If you can get a reservation Mini Bar at Cafe Atlantico gets Rave reviews! For Tapas try Jaleo or La Tasca... There are more good steak places than I can name, some great Mexican places (Rosa Mexicano or Lauriol Plaza if you lean more towards TexMex), and the best Brazilian Churasceria I have ever been to - Fogo du Chao. Hope you enjoy DC!!!!
  • ResQue
    ResQue Posts: 1,045
    I was trying to remember that places name. I totally agree! Fogo du Chao is awesome!
  • Fidel
    Fidel Posts: 10,172
    You can get a pretty good steak at Bobby Van's which is within spitting distance of the national mall. Between the mall and the zoo if I remember correctly.
  • "between the mall and the zoo". ..that is a pretty long putt buddy!! . ..like 2 miles!! . .. LOL .. ..
  • check out the bar on the roof of the hotel washington (they call it the "W" now) at 15th and E Penn ave, right by the white house.. . great views of downtown from up there. .. food is average, but go for some apetizers and the view. ..

    my favorite old pizza/italian joint is luigis, on 19th street NW between L and M streets. ..

    if you want a good steak that isn't mortons/ruths/etc ...go across the river to arlington and check out "Ray's the Steaks".. .at Arlington courthouse. ..its only a block from the courthouse metro stop.. . .

    lots of great vietnamese food over in arlington as well. .. .as well as some great jerk chicken joints.. ..
  • Fidel
    Fidel Posts: 10,172
    I stayed at the Hilton in between the two, and walked to the mall and to the Marriott up the hill a few times when I was there.

    You're right, it is a little bit of a haul, but I can spit a long way.
  • Jeffersonian
    Jeffersonian Posts: 4,244
    My favorite place when we went there a few years ago was the Gordon Biersch brew pub on F Street. Good food and superb beer.
  • Try Oyamel also if you want Mexican. Its a tapas style restaurant (owned by the same owner as Jaleo) that has unbelievable tacos and other small plates. Let us know what type of cuisine you are look for and we can provide more recs. Definitely check out Washingtonian - their list of the 100 best restaurant is a good place to start. I think you can sort by neighborhood so you can find top restaurants close to your hotel.
  • The Hill isn't the greatest restaurant destination in D.C., but in the area, there's B. Smith's at Union Station, Good Stuff Eatery on Pennsylvania Ave. SE, Matchbox over on 8th Street SE and Banana Cafe in the same area. There are a couple of interesting restaurants (and bars) on the emerging H Street NE corridor, although I'm not sure I'm quite comfortable recommending that area to tourists yet (although if you're fine with/know how to use 'urban radar' when walking around in big cities, you'll be fine).

    There are quite a few restaurants in the 7th Street NW Corridor/Chinatown area that are good, in all price ranges. Several have been recommended here already.

    If you want some time out of the city, check out Old Town Alexandria. King Street is striped with restaurants. Among the best IMHO are Vermillion, Hank's Oyster Bar, La Tasca and (for inexpensive Thai food with a view of the river if you can get the right table) Mai Thai.

    Ray's The Steaks is a very interesting pick. They basically cut the ambience and flair/pretentiousness (depending on how you feel about such things) out of the high-end steakhouse experience and serve you top-quality steaks at half the price of a wood-and-red-booths joint. They also have a surprisingly good wine list. However, it's in Arlington not near much of anything that's worth visiting for a tourist (except the cemetery, perhaps 3-4 miles away).
  • Mud Pig
    Mud Pig Posts: 489
    I would definitely eat at FOUNDING FARMERS, great restaurant with locally grown food, owned by a consortium of local farms. If you want to get creative try MANDU in Dupont Circle, great Asian place, nice dumplings and grill meats. OYAMEL is a nice one if you want some Mexican. If you want to go high end CENTRAL is a great restaurant, modern America. MATCHBOX in chinatown is a hip pizza and slider joint.

    Try Eastern Market, they have some good food vendors and a nice outdoor market on Saturdays. Should be near your hotel.

    If you want the best hamburger you've ever head in your life make come out to Arlington on the Orange line and hit RAYS HELL BURGER. Its no joke the best I've ever had.

    Old Town Alexandria is a nice place to walk around, the restaurants are good but not great. They do have a nice high end pub right near the water called O'CONNELS.

    You might also want to check out a baseball game. The new Nationals stadium is amazing and its a lot of fun. Its cheap too, get the $9 seats and just camp out at the centerfield bar and have some beers while watching the game.

    I'm a DC food nut so email me if you have any special requests and I'll find a place.
  • Mud Pig
    Mud Pig Posts: 489
    Fogo de Choa is awesome, but holy hell, make sure you don't eat all day. Its a feast.
  • Jeffersonian
    Jeffersonian Posts: 4,244
    Man, CBBQ is in St. Louis, why would he catch a Nats game? That's like telling a Carioca to go sit in a sandbox after spending his life on Copacabana and Ipanema!
  • Don't be lured in by the salad bar or the chicken they pass around. EAT ONLY LAMB CHOPS! Oh my goodness!
  • Mud Pig
    Mud Pig Posts: 489
    just another excuse to get drunk outside, besides being at a BBQ. That's the only reason I go. :P
  • Jeffersonian
    Jeffersonian Posts: 4,244
    If they charge what they do for a bottle-a suds at Busch Stadium, you gotta be Warren freaking Buffett to get a drunk on at a ball game these days.