603187 Thu Mar 12 11:01:42 -0700 2009 5 14 Washington DC & Baltimore Area 0 4498149 3 day art/culture trip 3/15 - 3/18. Staying at Marriott on 22nd Street not far from Dupont Circle. We're going to focus on Corcoran, Hirschorn, but also want to see zoo, hear music. Looking for spicy interesting restaurants/cafes/taco stands accessible by public transit. ISO: - Breakfast that isn't in the hotel - Ethiopian (my girlfriend's current obsession) - what to choose? - Other African if it's super - Vietnamese. It looks like lots of choices but mostly in suburbs & we don't have a car - Soul food - the more down-home the better - Mexican (long shot, but...) - BBQ (if it's fantastic) - At least one encounter with a Chesapeake Bay crab - softshell or in cake form. Or anything else you can't resist mentioning. We have typical chowhounder disdain for chains or suburban mediocrity - would rather byob and travel a bit for food with feeling. Thanks in advance. Thu Mar 12 11:01:42 -0700 2009 85915 jcrcarter 1 4500602 Just one data point here (you'll get dozens) - Nando's Peri-Peri for a nicely done spicy grilled chicken. Not fancy, but a little fancier than most order-at-the-counter places. They serve on real plates with real metalware, and bring your order to the table. Go for lunch. on 7th St NW in the Chinatown neighborhood, close to Metro. The 9:30 Club and Bohemian Caverns are both in the U Street/Howard University neighborhood and have good, but very different music. This is also the place where you'll find several Ethiopian restaurants. One good bet is Queen Makeda, which is very homey, and where you can tell your server (who might just be Queen Makeda herself) what you like and what you don't like and how spicy to make it. Etete is across the street, Dukem a couple of doors down, both good, but both generally busy enough so that you won't get quite the personal service that you can get with Queen Makeda. Fri Mar 13 04:52:12 -0700 2009 4498149 10624 MikeR 1 4500890 1. Breakfast- Cafe Atlantico Saturday regular latin brunch (I love the egg benedicto but not so spicy) or Sunday latin dim sum brunch. 2. Vietnamese- Minh's in the Courthouse area is accessible via the Orange line to Courthouse, also Pho75 in Rosslyn Orange Line again for Pho. There is also Nam Viet in Clarendon also on the Orange line (Arlington has the Vietnamese population because when the metro was being built in the area the American businesses left and a lot of Vietnamese businesses began, they have slowly migrated now out into the suburbs, but a few footholds remain). 3. Oohs and Aahs or Creme- I haven't been to Creme, Oohs and Aahs is sorta a dump I used to get it take out, not having been to Creme it is where I would go (they have brunch too) 4. Mexican- if you have to have it with a caveat we don't do it that well, I would go to Guajillo in Rosslyn. Oyamel is supposed to be good, but I haven't been and reports from my friends have been very back and forth so I dunno. I think Guajillo is very good. You might also try Taqueria Nacionale. 5. Crabcakes- go to the Market Lunch at the Eastern Market. During the week you could go to CF Folks which is only open during the day. Avoid BBQ in the city, if you absolutely have to have it you could try Rockland's or Red Hot and Blue, but I really think all BBQ inside the city lines are crap, and you really have to travel far out for anything good. I haven't eaten Ethiopian so I cannot give recs on that but search the boards there are lots of threads on it. You might check out the spicy dish thread on the board, although a lot of that is in the burbs... I would also consider Rasika for very very good Indian, it is a little more high end, but excellent, and they have some very spicy stuff. Hope that helps, you might also find Tyler Cowen's ethnic dining guide helpful if you google it will come up. Fri Mar 13 07:07:01 -0700 2009 4498149 92426 ktmoomau 2 4501178 Capitol Q in Chinatown is OK for Texas style BBQ, but anyone looking for Kansas City, Georgia, or North Carolina style will think Capitol Q isn't fit to feed to their pigs. <G> BBQ lovers are VERY polarized. Fri Mar 13 08:30:16 -0700 2009 4500890 10624 MikeR 3 4501315 And they don't smoke on premisis... Fri Mar 13 09:00:31 -0700 2009 4501178 92426 ktmoomau 1 4501251 Soul Food: go to Oohs and Aahs at 10th and U Sts. The proprietress is from Coastal Carolina, and that is reflected in the food. Get the grilled shrimp, the lemon pepper wings, and the broiled crabcake. Four stools to sit on in front of the kitchen, a few tables hidden upstairs. For sides, I rec the greens and the rice with gravy. Food tends toward spicy. The definition of hole-in-the-wall. Metro is across the street. Don't rule out the suburbs just because you don't have a car. In some case all you need to do is walk a few blocks after the Metro, or even take a short cab ride after metro.. But you must be up for the adventure. In Maryland, the ultimate spicy item to get is the Floating Market Noodle Soup at Nava Thai. A few blocks walk from the Wheaton Metro stop. Do a search for other recs here. Also in Maryland inRockville is Joe's Noodle House for Sichuan small plates. Wontons in Red Hot Sauce, pickled vegetables, shredded radish. Order the H-20 (but ask for it the 'old' way.) I believe this is walkabable from Metro. In Virginia, you can go to Eden Center,a Vietnamese shopping center with over 23 restaurants plus cafes, delis, bars, and retail. Many hole-in-the wall places hidden from street view are worth exploring. My fave is Bay Lo. Go for the miscellaneous salad, the Bay Lo 7 special, and the fried goat roll (a misnomer). There will be a bit of a language barrier. Just before Bay Lo is a soup place that has a fine duck noodle soup among other choices. Who knows, you could even go to both! To get there, take a cab from the East Falls Church Metro. If you go at dinnertime, I'm sure there will be cabs waiting at the Metro. Or It's a mile walk. www.edencenter.com Fri Mar 13 08:47:26 -0700 2009 4498149 10156 Steve