Help with tricky Old Town restaurant search...

[Oobay]

Hello All -

I have the quasi-in-laws coming into town next week and am hoping to find a restaurant for 6 that is agreeable to all. I grew up in Alexandria, but live in DC now and have almost no idea what the eating scene is like in Old Town anymore - we will be doing a walking tour down there and will need either lunch or dinner on Thursday. Here are the parameters:

- moderately priced (under $20 for lunch OR dinner entrees, ideally)

- moderate-to-conservative/traditional tastes (not my personal choice, but the older folks are classic suburbanites who would rather eat at a Ruby Tuesday's - because it's familiar - than try something new. Ahhh... In-laws.). Standard "American," Tex-Mex, maybe Asian or Latin influenced would be fine. Sadly, nothing more adventurous.

- ideally within walking distance of the King Street strip, although a little further afield is OK if parking is relatively easy (even Del Ray is OK, I guess)

- BIG HEADACHE: the really tough, and unfortunately firm, requirement is that the place be able/willing to serve a completely plain (i.e. only salt and pepper) steamed/broiled piece of fish. One person in the group is on a super-restricted eating plan and literally will not eat any other entree.

I have already ruled out Evening Star Cafe and the Majestic because they look too expensive (don't want quasi-father-in-law to have a heart attack...). Gadsby's, for the same problem. I plan to call King St. Blues and Austin Grill to see if they can accomodate the extremely-bland-fish request.

Any other places I should check out? I thought of the Union Stree Publick House (I think that's the name), but can't find a website for them. And I know that I am forgoing all the really stellar choices (Eve, FarrahOlivia, etc.) because of the limits on $$$ and innovative tastes.

Basically I need a restaurant that either (a) I would not normally go to because it's too boring, but is competent and not a waste of time/money, or (b) a place I would love, that just also happens to have more conservative choices that others can also enjoy.

ANY help is appreciated many times over!!!!! Thanks, chowhounds. (Go Titans!)

[BrianD]

I would take a look at Vermillion. I suspect, though, that it might be a little over your price range. Another idea might be Geranio, an italian restaurant on King Street -- I've found italian seafood options to be generally prepared simply, it might be relatively easy to get plain piece of broiled fish. But, again, it may be out of the price range you've set. Finally, Hank's Oyster Bar, also on King Street, would probably be able to accomodate your seafood need, and it's possible to keep the price down if you stay away from their specials.

[Oobay]

Thanks for the suggestions. I checked out Hank's, and the only problem is that it fits my super picky eater, but not the 3 other, merely semi-picky eaters - they aren't big seafood fans, and the only meat plates at Hank's seem to be the daily specials. :( And you're right, Vermilion and Geranio are probably too expensive (although if we ultimately must go more expensive to accomodate all the ridiculous menu demands, so be it!!!). Thanks for the help!

Edit - I checked out Hank's after your post, just to be clear (I know sometimes people get miffed if the poster doesn't mention the options that have already been ruled out before the request for help!)

[BrianD]

Well, there is one other place I thought of, but I sort of hesitate to recommend it, is Monroe's. It's on Commonwealth and Monroe, on the outskirts of Del Ray. I haven't been there in years. The last time I went I got a pretty bland (and dry) piece of grilled fish, so it might meet your needs on that front. And they have a broader menu that probably would meet both the desires of your other guests and your price range.

[weezycom]

Overwood is a possibility, it can get a little loud in there, but lots of good bargains and I'm sure a call-ahead could accomodate your plain fish eater. Keep in mind, there's a free King Street bus ("trolley") that can help get you from one end to the other to broaden your choices. Vasos ("a little piece of Greece" -- worst rest. slogan I've seen in ages, but good food) has parking and it's not far from the Old Town strip, at 1225 Powhatan Avenue (northwest of intersection of Washington & Madison).

[Oobay]

Ah... Overwood is an option I had never heard of before your suggestion, and the menu on-line looks very promising! I should have mentioned that Rustico was another option (I like it, and there's a hardcore microbrew fan in the group), but there is no permanent fresh fish preparation on the menu. Overwood has a couple of options it seems (mahi mahi and salmon). Thanks a lot! Really appreciated.

[EatOrGoToYourRoom]

Southside 815 might work.

[Oobay]

Good idea! I've been thinking of trying this place for my own reasons, but hadn't thought of it for the visit. I'll give the menu another look. Thanks.

[crackers]

Since you mention Del Ray, I'll suggest one of my favorites: the Del Merei Grille. They will grill a plain piece of fish for you, and have good stand-bys like meatloaf, steak and grilled chicken. Very reasonable prices too. Ample off-street parking (in the same strip as Bombay Curry Company.)

http://www.delmereigrille.com/images/...

[justaddwater]

Everyone loves Italian food so I would strongly suggest A La Lucia, but it is far off of King St. on the northern end of Old Town. The good news is that parking might be easier than the touristy part, but you you'll have to weigh whether its worth the trouble. You could stop there, then go on to Old Town for an afternoon of sightseeing.

Hard to recommend anything in particular because everything is great, but the lasagna is a standout in my opinion. Gets busy at lunch, you would need to get there early. Lunch prices are around $10 per person, but don't let the reasonable prices fool you, the food quality is much higher than the price would indicate. I've never been for dinner, but the prices jump threefold and I doubt it is as good a value.

Along the lines of Ruby, Bennigans, etc, but with local flavor, there's Chadwicks and Union Street Public House near the water and sites.

[Oobay]

Just to update here (which I'm usually really bad at doing - must work on the Chowhound etiquette!)... Our group ended up at Commonwealth Gastropub, just down the street from our apt. in Columbia Heights. They had a simply grilled fish with parsley butter on the menu for our picky eater, lots of interesting microbrews for our beer guy, and UK specialities for the Anglophile in the group, too - perfect! I've never done a review here before, but I'm sure folks are interested in Commonwealth so I'll give it a shot.

We were pretty early (around 6 pm) for dinner, on a Thursday. Wasn't too crowded. Sat inside, at the communal table - but no one else joined us until we were literally getting up to leave, so not at all awkward. A few minutes after we sat down, we got two lovely little dishes of freshly pickled young vegetables (haricots vert, cauliflower, beets, carrots) "from the chef" - vinegary, sweet, crispy... really tasty. Chef Leeds was out chatting with people during the meal, actually, too - which was exciting in a food-dork kind of way...

Anyway - the picky fish-only eater didn't end up sticking to her rigid eating plan, but someone else got the simply grilled fish anyway. It was 'corvino' (corvina?), and I was told it was OK. The yorkshire puddings we got as appetizers were tasty - better than most restaurant versions, but not quite as savory as a really good homemade version (i.e. bathed in fresh roasted grease). They come with onion gravy, which was all right and not really necessary for that egg-y popover goodness anyway.

Fish and chips were excellent - light batter, thick fries. Good mayo/mustard dipping sauce. $16 seems steep to me for fish and chips, but somehow it was all right. I guess because the portion was substantial and really was tasty. Chicken pot pie was good - again, not as lip-smacking as homemade, partly because the crust-to-filling ratio for an indvidual serving leans too much towards starchy for me. But tasty and very rich. Bangers and mash were good, too - the potatoes were a little loose (maybe that's a UK style thing?) and sausage a little mild for my personal taste, but the person who ordered it was happy - and she's been to Ireland a couple of times. We did dessert at home, so no sticky toffee pudding for us... maybe next time.

There was no cask ale available yet, but the beers we did try were well-liked by everyone. St. Joseph's (I think?) was a big hit; I had a good UK hard cider, and the beer lover with us had some very satisfying IPA's.

Service was good, sometimes a little awkward but always in a very gentle, eager-to-please way. In all, I was pleasantly surprised - I expected to be less satisfied for the price, but we left feeling happy with what we had. I will definitely go back to drink my way through that beer menu and when funds are a little more flush, to get some grub. This could be my Winchester (albeit with MUCH more expensive "pig snacks"!!!!).

Thanks again to all who gave suggestions for the weekend! :)