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The ***OFFICIAL*** Washington, DC thread (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter dgreen
- Start date
TobiasFunke
Footballguy
That's putting it mildly. I've already starting pilfering my wife's xanax.
It actually happened exactly like this two years ago- Caps ended up
ETA: This Steinz column reminded me it was the Rangers in OT in 2015, not the blowout loss to the Pens. The blowout game 7 loss to the Pens was way back in 2009. Apparently it's all blurring together at this point.
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Don Quixote
Footballguy
I really don't know why I had hopes of tonight going any differently than it has so far.
dgreen
Footballguy
My favorite is during some really good stretches the last two regular seasons, local media talks about how we should just enjoy the ride and good hockey and not worry (at that time) about how they'll do in the playoffs.
Don Quixote
Footballguy
Wieters!
(Sports are dumb though.)
(Sports are dumb though.)
Apple Jack
Footballguy
Don Quixote
Footballguy
I will take whatever enjoyment that I can to end this night, even if it is a walk off single in a meaningless May baseball game.
Apple Jack
Footballguy
I hear ya. At least you're not one of those poor ####ers who bet on all three to win, adding a financial loss to the fun.
MattFancy
Footballguy
I was listening to the Junkies this morning, JP was saying some guy tweeted him last night that he bet on all 3 DC teams to lose. $200 to win $2000. Thought he had it all wrapped up, then the Nats blew it for him. He had the right idea, but DC sports couldn't even lose right for the poor guy.
TobiasFunke
Footballguy
Was so bummed/distracted/tired this morning that I got off the metro at the wrong station. Didn't miss it by one stop either. I exited before I even reached my usual transfer point. Just stumbled out at Archives because other people seemed to be leaving and I didn't have the energy to think about whether or not I should join them. Exited the train, then the platform, then the station. Got all the way to the base of the escalator to street level before I realized something didn't look right.
The_Man
Footballguy
My kid is returning from his year abroad on a State Department scholarship, and I can pick him up at 8 pm on Thursday from his hotel in Foggy Bottom. Am thinking I'll drive down and get parked by 4, then kill time, starting with a visit to the Renwick (my wife's favorite museum). Any thoughts on a decent, casual place to eat around 6 p.m. between the Renwick and Foggy Bottom?
Was kind of thinking about the grilled cheese place GCDC, but am open to any/all suggestions. We haven't seen him since he left for Morocco in September, so I think my wife is going to be ready to start stalking the hotel an hour or so before we're supposed to be there.
Was kind of thinking about the grilled cheese place GCDC, but am open to any/all suggestions. We haven't seen him since he left for Morocco in September, so I think my wife is going to be ready to start stalking the hotel an hour or so before we're supposed to be there.
Don Quixote
Footballguy
I haven't been to GCDC, but I'm sure it's good if you are looking for grilled cheese. A couple casual places in Foggy Bottom are Tonic at Quigley's (standard pub food) and Burger, Tap and Shake (good burgers).
STEADYMOBBIN 22
Footballguy
Chatter for breakfast!
facook
Footballguy
Hey guys, shot in the dark I know, but: several years ago my wife and I visited DC and ate dinner at a fantastic tapas/Spanish restaurant somewhere down off the Mall area. The food was great and Sangria was amazing. We have friends visiting there now and I wanted to recommend it to them. Any idea where I might be thinking of? Probably idiotic, but hoping to pass it along. Thanks!
Ramsay Hunt Experience
Footballguy
Thanks!Bruce Dickinson
Footballguy
Greetings,
Bumping this because this fall I'll be taking the family to Washington DC for a week. Primary purpose for visit is for my daughter (15 at time of travel) to see the city. Advice wanted and needed. My wife and I have both been to DC before, but not since we got married, so it's been a long time.
We will be staying in a hotel in Foggy Bottom. Not planning on renting a car. I don't mind driving around the suburbs and prairie, but I'm not much for big city driving. Is public transit good enough to get around town during the day?
Contacted my Congressman's office for tour tickets. So far we've booked a Capitol tour, Library of Congress tour, Bureau of Engraving and Printing tour, Courtroom Lecture at the Supreme Court, and will ask for a White House tour when the time window opens for our visit. (Yes, it was a bit awkward asking the office for favors given I've declared on social media that one of my current goals in life to make sure my Congressman loses his next election. But his staff has been really nice.)
I expect most of our time to be spent at the National Mall and surrounding area, but open to suggestions. The kid will be starting a specialized high school program this fall where most of her electives will be geared towards the science, economics, and politics of green technology and renewable energy. So anything in that realm will be welcomed.
Of course I'm interested in restaurant suggestions. We're not formal people or wine drinkers, so we're probably going to pass on restaurants with stricter dress codes than "no shirt no shoes no service" and the quality of the wine list is N/A. We like to partake in cuisine from the around the world: Asian (especially southeast Asian), Indian, Italian, Southwestern, are all in play, plus others. We'll probably hit up a Nando's once as a nod to our recent visit to England, where Nando's is seemingly omnipresent.
Thanks in advance. I'll browse back through this thread for ideas, too.
Bumping this because this fall I'll be taking the family to Washington DC for a week. Primary purpose for visit is for my daughter (15 at time of travel) to see the city. Advice wanted and needed. My wife and I have both been to DC before, but not since we got married, so it's been a long time.
We will be staying in a hotel in Foggy Bottom. Not planning on renting a car. I don't mind driving around the suburbs and prairie, but I'm not much for big city driving. Is public transit good enough to get around town during the day?
Contacted my Congressman's office for tour tickets. So far we've booked a Capitol tour, Library of Congress tour, Bureau of Engraving and Printing tour, Courtroom Lecture at the Supreme Court, and will ask for a White House tour when the time window opens for our visit. (Yes, it was a bit awkward asking the office for favors given I've declared on social media that one of my current goals in life to make sure my Congressman loses his next election. But his staff has been really nice.)
I expect most of our time to be spent at the National Mall and surrounding area, but open to suggestions. The kid will be starting a specialized high school program this fall where most of her electives will be geared towards the science, economics, and politics of green technology and renewable energy. So anything in that realm will be welcomed.
Of course I'm interested in restaurant suggestions. We're not formal people or wine drinkers, so we're probably going to pass on restaurants with stricter dress codes than "no shirt no shoes no service" and the quality of the wine list is N/A. We like to partake in cuisine from the around the world: Asian (especially southeast Asian), Indian, Italian, Southwestern, are all in play, plus others. We'll probably hit up a Nando's once as a nod to our recent visit to England, where Nando's is seemingly omnipresent.
Thanks in advance. I'll browse back through this thread for ideas, too.
Capella
Footballguy
As a fellow Disneyland corn dog aficionado, make sure you go to the original ben's and get a half-smoke.
Get two half-smokes actually.
Old Ebbitt Grill is a neat place to see. Make sure they sit you in the old building, not the modern business center add-on attachment that has no character or history.
Chinatown Express are the best noodles and Chinese food I've ever had. It's only 3 stars on Yelp which is baffling. It must be because it looks like a prison kitchen inside. It's not pretty but it's amazing. There is somebody hand pulling noodles in the window when you walk in.
Stachowski's Deli is the best pastrami sandwich in the nation. And I've been to NYC multiple times. DO IT. I go every time I am in DC. You should be fairly close to it in Foggy Bottom.
Get two half-smokes actually.
Old Ebbitt Grill is a neat place to see. Make sure they sit you in the old building, not the modern business center add-on attachment that has no character or history.
Chinatown Express are the best noodles and Chinese food I've ever had. It's only 3 stars on Yelp which is baffling. It must be because it looks like a prison kitchen inside. It's not pretty but it's amazing. There is somebody hand pulling noodles in the window when you walk in.
Stachowski's Deli is the best pastrami sandwich in the nation. And I've been to NYC multiple times. DO IT. I go every time I am in DC. You should be fairly close to it in Foggy Bottom.
Ramsay Hunt Experience
Footballguy
Metro and Metro bus will get you anywhere you need to be. You'll want to get everyone a SmartTrip card and look into whether it makes sense to load some form of 7 day pass on it or just put money on. https://www.wmata.com/fares/farecard-options.cfm I assume you've got the Smithsonian stuff locked down. Outside the Smithsonian museums, the Holocaust Museum, the Spy Museum, and Newseum are all in play.
If you're in Foggy Bottom, you're near one of the best Indian restaurants in the city, Rasika West End (the Rasika in Federal Triangle is one of the best Indian restaurants in the country). It's not a shorts and tee shirt place, but polo shirt and slacks are fine. You could probably get away with jeans. It's a modern take on Indian, so it won't be as familiar as just butter chicken or roganjosh, but the food is consistently amazing. It is not, however, cheap. At the same level of formality (maybe a bit more formal, I usually wear a jacket), but more affordable, is The Bombay Club. That's my favorite place for more traditional Indian food served up at a place that feels like a British colonial club in the days of the Raj. It's the place to get that kind of quintessential DC vibe without going to a wood paneled steakhouse.
DC is probably better at "authentic" Mexican restaurants than southwestern. The Austin Grill won't make any best restaurants list, but I've always enjoyed it the same way I enjoy something like Chuy's. It has the same keep Austin weird vibe. Oyamel is good Mexican taco place run by Jose Andres in Federal Triangle, but the best new Mexican/Taquria place I've been to recently is Espita Mezcaleria in Shaw (the same neighborhood as Ben's Chili Bowl). In terms of fast casual but authentic tacos, District Taco is very popular and has several locations.
I always worry about recommending Ben's because it's not really about the food there. I mean, it's a good half smoke, but it's really about the history and the vibe. My best memories or it are pretty much always late night, after drinking, with some great soul or R&B coming out of the jukebox. The problem with Shaw is that it's not really around many of the tourist spots. It's a neighborhood with amazing history, and it has the best nightlife/restaurant scene in the district right now, but it's not a family vacation neighborhood. If you do try that neighborhood, and you're open to it, they have great Ethiopian spots there (Dukem, Etete). Also a bit off the beaten path, but kind of in that Indian/Ethiopian/middle Eastern sweet spot, a lot of Afghan places in DC are great values.
There's a more middle of the road Ethiopian spot a short walk from Foggy Bottom in Georgetown called Zed's. That was frequent neighborhood spot for my wife and I when we lived in Georgetown. Stachowski's which Capella mentioned, is also in Georgetown, but it's a bit more hidden. It's not really a restaurant so much as a butcher's shop that does massive sandwiches. The pastrami is at least 1/2 pound of meat. The meatball grinder will easily feed two. His hot dogs and sausages are also amazing (and hand made).
For Asian food, Ramen shops are very hot in DC right now. Daikaya or Bantam King wouldn't be too far from the Mall/Smithsonian or White House area. There is a very well reviewed Lao place called Thip Kao that is apparently mad spicy if you order off the jungle menu.
If you're a Top Chef fan, you might want to try one of Mike Isabella's restaurants (Graffiato for Italian, Kapnos for Greek). You also can't go wrong with Jose Andres' venerable tapas and mezze restaurants, Jaleo and Zaytinya. As a non wine drinker, you'd be missing out on one of life's greatest treasures in Jaleo's sangria (either the red or the white, both are amazing).
FWIW, I don't recommend Old Ebbit's Grill. The food isn't worth the wait (it's just a part of the Clyde's group, so you can get pretty much the same thing by going to Clyde's in Georgetown if that's your thing.
As you firm up your plans and know what neighborhoods you'll be in, let me know. I haven't gone into a lot of the fast casual options (RIP, Shophouse
),
Don Quixote
Footballguy
Public transit is good enough during the day, particularly since you are staying downtown in Foggy Bottom and the areas that you wanted to hit are in the mall area. If you wanted to travel to the suburbs to visit Mount Vernon and or the Air & Space Annex at Dulles Airport, those are the only places where a car might be handy.
The National Museum of American History has some science/energy exhibits that might be of interest for the kid.
If you want to check out the Museum of African-American History and Culture, they release all the tickets for a particular month at once, about three months in advance. So, you may check into their release date for when you are visiting.
Others might be better with restaurants than me. If you are looking for dinner in Foggy Bottom, District Commons could be a good choice. Tonic is a more downscale bar-food type place with burgers/tots options (although it will probably be full of preppy GW students in the fall). Lots of fast casual lunch type options north of the mall. CAVA or Roti could be medi-type options. District Taco good for Mexican.
ETA: Revised from either side of the mall to north of the mall. South side of the mall does not have as many options.
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TobiasFunke
Footballguy
Public transit should be totally fine. There's a metro stop at 23rd and I that puts you on a straight line across the southern border of the mall to the Capitol, and if you want to explore somewhere that's not easily metro-accessible you can get a cab or Uber down there instantly. I don't know much about Foggy Bottom, you probably want @Don Quixote or @Ramsay Hunt Experience for stuff in that immediate area and @nittanylion is our resident restaurant expert for the whole area. if your family is adventurous when it comes to dining it's worth doing Ethiopian food, just because it's something the city is known for and it's kind of a fun change of pace.
I usually recommend the Supreme Court and seeing the monuments after dark for tourism visitors, looks like you've already got one of those planned. As far as wandering off the Mall a bit, it depends on your family's preferences. Georgetown is an easy walk from Foggy Bottom and I would assume a 15 year old girl would love that scene. If you want to get further off the path I'd recommend the U Street corridor or maybe the Eastern Market area, both of which have a little more character but still have shopping/dining and the DC rowhouse feel.
I'm racking my brain trying to think of things that match up with your daughter's interests/academic program. Obviously there's tons of stuff related to that around here, but nothing tourist-friendly as far as I know. The Air and Space and Natural History Museums are great but they're not really geared towards anyone looking to do more than stare at interesting stuff and read two sentences about it. Maybe this place?
And of course if you want to do a Nats/Wiz game while you're in town let me know.
dgreen
Footballguy
Wow, surprised to hear this from someone whose restaurant opinions I really like. The fajitas have been ok, but everything else I've tried there has been borderline gross. I've heard it used to be great. My BIL has worked for Austin Grill for years and I always felt bad that I'd barely eat when he'd invite our family there. I just couldn't find dishes that I like. But, that's all irrelevant now because they've changed almost all of the Austin Grill's to a new southern-themed restaurant called Hen Quarter. Although overpriced (IMO), it's a significant improvement over Austin Grill. I think the only Austin Grill left is in Springfield; Penn Quarter, Alexandria, and Silver Spring have all converted, I think.
dgreen
Footballguy
That's part of the National Academy of Sciences. Maybe give them a call and ask about places to go and things to do related to your daughter's interest? Make sure to visit the Einstein statue in front of the main NAS building on Constitution Avenue. That building has a really nice interior (make sure to visit the Library of Congress while you're in the Supreme Court area, btw) and I believe a gift shop, but not sure how open it is to the public.
The National Geographic Museum might have some relevant exhibits.
Looks like EPA has an exhibit at their HQ. I'd guess it's pretty small and nothing amazing, but probably worth checking out.
Ramsay Hunt Experience
Footballguy
The National Geographic building also has a very extensive public cafeteria that is a very good value (I work right across the street).
Bruce Dickinson
Footballguy
Thanks so much, everybody! I'll definitely be bumping this thread periodically as the trip approaches.
IN for Ethiopian food, ramen shops, half-smoke, and giant stacks of pastrami. And we're ready to branch out a little on Indian food: we have a growing Indian restaurant scene here (disproportionately large Indian population in NE Kansas because the Sprint and Garmin headquarters are here) so we're learning the cuisine and ready to play a varsity game.
IN on the monuments at night. Will look into a night tour or something like that to see them lit up.
Not sure if we will catch any sports. We're visiting in mid-October, and as fun as it would be to see the Nats get knocked out of the playoffs in person we will probably prioritize other stuff. Am open to maybe doing a stadium tour while the girls go shopping - could probably take a bus, tour Camden Yards, and get back to Lush before the wife/daughter noticed I went missing.
Much appreciation for all who chimed in. I'm sure I'll have more questions soon.
IN for Ethiopian food, ramen shops, half-smoke, and giant stacks of pastrami. And we're ready to branch out a little on Indian food: we have a growing Indian restaurant scene here (disproportionately large Indian population in NE Kansas because the Sprint and Garmin headquarters are here) so we're learning the cuisine and ready to play a varsity game.
IN on the monuments at night. Will look into a night tour or something like that to see them lit up.
Not sure if we will catch any sports. We're visiting in mid-October, and as fun as it would be to see the Nats get knocked out of the playoffs in person we will probably prioritize other stuff. Am open to maybe doing a stadium tour while the girls go shopping - could probably take a bus, tour Camden Yards, and get back to Lush before the wife/daughter noticed I went missing.
Much appreciation for all who chimed in. I'm sure I'll have more questions soon.
Swing 51
Footballguy
Do not like. I hope all that nasty Indian curry gives you all food poisoning.
You should also venture over the bridge and check out Arlington Natl Cemetery for the changing of the guard. Pretty powerful place.
Bruce Dickinson
Footballguy
Tough but fair. I'm a Cardinals fan, so my only joy this October will be watching other teams lose.
Putting Arlington National Cemetery on the list. Definitely fits the purpose of the trip. Thanks!
dgreen
Footballguy
There's also the Mitsitam Cafe in the National Museum of the American Indian for something a little unique.
Ramsay Hunt Experience
Footballguy
If you make it up to Baltimore, the aquarium (near the baseball stadium) is really awesome. Might be enough to entice the family to take the bus trip with you.
Don Quixote
Footballguy
Instead of the bus, you can also take the MARC train right to Camden Yards. It only runs during weekdays and regular commuter hours though.
Mr. Ected
Footballguy
Loved Georgia Browns, although I wouldn't call it DuPont Cir, it's on McPhereson Sq. And like you, I haven't been there for years; you move to the burbs, and you just don't get downtown as much!
Apple Jack
Footballguy
Does anybody have some suggestions for a party of about 85 at a good restaurant with good location/vibe? Money isn't really an object but food doesn't need to necessarily be super expensive.
skol asylum
Footballguy
Don't forget to visit the national archives. Constitution, Declaration of Independence, and a ton of other cool historical documents.
Don Quixote
Footballguy
Found the Bureau of Engraving and Printing pretty much a waste of time. Tried to go there on one trip, but it was full. Made sure to go there last time and just thought it was lame. I'm a finance guy, but it was very disappointing.
On the other hand, the Holocaust Museum is pretty amazing. It is a powerful, unforgettable experience.
I also think the National Gallery of Art is a world-class art museum, if that is your thing.
So much great food in the DC area. I will mention Sichuan Pavilion since it is by Foggy Bottom and very good/authentic Chinese food. Loved the mapo doufu there. YMMV on that though.
Ramsay Hunt Experience
Footballguy
RIP Jim Vance. Guy WAS D.C.
dgreen
Footballguy
dgreen
Footballguy
NREC34
Footballguy
dgreen
Footballguy
NREC34
Footballguy
dgreen
Footballguy
Oh, no, a ton of stuff will be open. Sure, some will close but you'll have options. Many restaurants will have special Thanksgiving menus, although that tends to be at the more expensive places.
NREC34
Footballguy
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