Group Dinner in Washington, D.C.

I have been given the task of planning a dinner for 16 in D.C. While I'm pretty good at fending for myself whenever I'm in town, the group planning thing is a bit more of a challenge as not every place may be able to handle a party that large. I believe most people will be staying in the Capitol Hill area.

Anyone have any suggestions?

There are, of course, a ton of steakhouses around downtown. I would be shocked if any one of them could not accomodate a large party.

Just to throw in a dark horse to consider, on the other side of town (i.e., West End) is a newish restaurant called the Blue Duck Tavern that specializes in ingredient-focused American. I should say ingredient-obsessed: it's one of those places that sources and notes every single farm or producer and builds its menu (not to mention philosohy) around artisanal qualities. This is not a place for aesthetics: they do very little plating, usually just serving protein in the dish it was cooked in; everything is a la carte, and they recommend you order starches and/or vegetables on the side. it can be a bit of free-for-all with everything spread out on the table as such.

The food, however, can be pretty glorious. They do an excellent job with meat, particularly less 'sexy' cuts: the marrow bone appetizer is heavenly; the short ribs fantastic; and the rabbit should not be overlooked. Their sides are well worth it: great wood roasted vegetables and fries cooked in duck fat. Fantastic applie pie for dessert.

Anyway, to get your concern, I was there with a party of eight; the room is rather cavernous, and I believe there are separate banquet rooms. The Metro stop (Foggy Bottom) is about 3.5 blocks south of the restaurant, but it's a nice walk.

24 & M Streets, Northwest, Washington, D.C.
{202} 419 6755

I love to see LTH extend its tendrils into cities around the country and around the world, and so I hope that some people are able to contribute information to this thread.

But you may also be interested in donrockwell.com which is DC's answer to LTHForum. I haven't spent a whole lot of time poking around there to see if they are as vivacious, witty, and generally cool as LTH'ers, but I did "subscribe" to a couple of threads over there, mostly out of curiosity about what they'd say about places I know more about than DC...

Hi all- this is my first post here, but I live in DC and will be moving to Chicago in about a year with my soon to be fiance. Let me ask you this- what is your budget for this dinner?

I'm using a place in Cleveland Park (which is a few metro stops north of Capital Hill- ok more than a few- about a 20 minute metro ride) for about 2k for a private room but all the money goes back against the food cost- so we are looking at about $100 per person for 16 of us (plus tip to make 2k)

Give me more of an idea as to food tastes and budget and I can send you some excellent suggestions.

Giallo wrote:I have been given the task of planning a dinner for 16 in D.C. While I'm pretty good at fending for myself whenever I'm in town, the group planning thing is a bit more of a challenge as not every place may be able to handle a party that large. I believe most people will be staying in the Capitol Hill area.

Anyone have any suggestions?

Filomena in Georgetown. Very fun atmosphere for groups and excellent Italian food. Most of their desserts are made at their own bakery and are delicious.

Filomena Ristorante
1063 Wisconsin Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20007
(202) 338-8800
(888) FILOMENA
http://www.filomenadc.com/