D. C. ideas

Heading to Washington with my mom, wife, and kids for some pre-Thanksgiving tourism. We are getting a sitter for 1 night and I am looking for any ideas for a nice place, not too wierd, near the dupont circle area. I am considering Galileo, Vidalia, and Cashion's Eat Place, so far. Any ideas? Also the rest of our meals for 3 days will be with 3 kids (1x11, well behaved, 2x6, usually out of control). Any ideas for the whole group? Again near dupont circle (we are staying at the embassy suites on 22nd st), or near the tourist areas (basically the mall), would be great. Thanks- Will

Here are some great threads to get you started

http://www.lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?t=4203
http://www.lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?t=5734
http://www.lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?t=283

I ate brunch at Cashion's almost every weekend for about a year and I would highly recommend it. It's a comforting, sophisticated restaurant with a great, friendly bar. I fell in love with their pork chop with greens and cheese grits for brunch.

Cashion's Eat Place
1819 Columbia Rd.
Washington, DC
202-797-1819
cashionseatplace.com

Best,
Michael

Me and the Mr. just got back from a two week stay on Saturday. We normally stay at The Jury's on DuPont Circle but they were booked solid and because of the length of our stay we opted to stay at The Residence Inn on Thomas Circle so we could have a fridge at the least.

The neighborhood was a new one for me, but 14th had a funky feel to it and the amount of new construction projects rivals the West/South Loop! Barry, for the most part was occupied with meetings all day (he did get private face to face time with both Danny Davis and Dennis Hastert!), and business dinners in the evening, so I was kind of on my own.

I, had to work on a paper that's due, so I mostly stayed around the hotel and got to DuPont a few times as well. 14th St had a few spots...
Thai Tanic, stupid name but decent food, the place got quite crowded. I opted for take out and ended up ordering from them three times during our two-week stay.

Next door, and I sadly can't remember the name, was a nondescript pupusa joint. Dingy and not at all appealing looking, it had some smoking good cheap pupusas and a 99.9% Hispanic clientele.

Here is the part where I regret not having a camera, because across the street from the pupusa joint, (ironically next door to a Popeye's) was a Costa Rican chicken place. Juicy chicken and way cool Latin two stepping as the evening goes on. Foolishly I can't recall names or addresses for either places.

Further up 14th was what started as Hamburger Mary's,but changed into Dakota Cowgirl while I was there. An icon of a gay restaurant, the burgers are good, served medium unless asked for otherwise. It’s loud and noisy and has a kid’s menu, so I think you’d feel welcome. The secret Dakota sauce is merely 1000 Island. I ate in once, at the bar and yakked with the bartender and grabbed take out for Barry another night. We both enjoyed the burgers.

Another block up, and on P St. is a huge Wholefoods. Got fruit and soups there.

Closer to DuPont, there are a slew of restaurants on 17th St just off of P…
Trio’s is a diner that dates back to 1950. Crazy packed on the weekend for breakfast, Trio is a bargain for lunch. I ate there twice, turkey noodle soup with an open-faced beef sandwich and mashed potatoes and Maryland Crab soup with a turkey club. Both soups had hunks of meat/crab and appeared to be homemade. Both sandwiches were good. The turkey was particularly good; freshly roasted and hand carved.

Just down the block is another gay icon, Annie’s Paramount Steakhouse. Nothing fancy, but welcoming and hearty. I had steak and eggs one morning, and Barry brought me back a steak sandwich one evening. The sandwich was sort of like a Philly cheese steak and I devoured it!

Continuing down 17th is La Frontera Cantina. Just grabbed some chicken tacos here, but I liked the vibe. Nice people watching, strong drinks and lots of tequilas to choose from. I’ve eaten here a few times during previous trips and I really like the neighborhood feel to it.

Did some googling and came up with Sette Osteriafor pizza. Wood burning stove, trendy, Barry really liked the pizza.

Anna Maria’s has the Bruna’s vibe down. Old school Italian with a perfect mix of taste and atmosphere.

Thai Tanic
1236 14th St NW
Washington, DC
202.588.1795

pupusa joint next door, chicken joint across the street…

Hamburger Mary’s---now known as—Dakota Cowgirl
1337 14th St NW
Washington, DC
202.232.7010

Wholefoods
1440 P St NW
Washington, DC
202.332.4300

Trio
1537 17th St NW
Washington, DC
202.232.6305

Annie’s Paramount Steakhouse
1609 17th St MW
Washington, DC
202.232.0395

La Frontera Cantina
1633 17th St MW
Washington, DC
202.232.0437

Sette Osteria
1666 Connecticut Ave
Washington, DC
202.483.3070

Anna Maria’s
1737 Connecticut Ave
Washington, DC
202.667.1444

My folks live in DC and are pretty sophisticated eaters. They are not big Galileo people. They find that if you are not a regular, you get treated like dirt. Also, it's a good tick above Vidalia and Cashion's on the price scale. You might check out Otello for your dinner sans kids.

In Dupont, you should definitely try Johnny's on the Half Shell. Great seafood place. They used to not take reservations; not sure what the policy is now. Could be kid-friendly. For a light lunch of breakfast, try Teaism. It's great.

If your group is up for it, I think the best Ethiopian food in the country is in DC. Try Meskerem or Red Sea in Adams-Morgan.

thanks for the ideas, and the links.....when I searched for washington, only one of them came up....should have used DC.

-Will

WillG wrote:thanks for the ideas, and the links.....when I searched for washington, only one of them came up....should have used DC.

-Will

Please report back!

Have a great trip!

Best,
Michael

We really only ate at two places of note on our trip. Pizzeria Paradiso was very good. Very small place with a long line, but they didnt bat an eye at 3 kids. Very friendly, quick service. I liked the pizza a lot, but they could have crisped the crust more. Vidalia was excellent, but a bit overpriced I thought. I had the shrimp and grits that were 25% more money and 33% less food than nice places in Charleston. They were delicious though. Oyster stew appetizer was also excellent. Crispy sauteed rainbow trout was very good too. Wine list was huge and very expensive but some decently priced bottles were available. Thanks again to all.
-Will