Cheap Places to Eat near White House

[conley17]

My family will be visiting the White House in a couple of weeks and I am looking for cheap places to eat.

[chaofun]

Breadline is great but if you are going during the work week be prepared. Their lunchtime crush is massive, especially on a nice day. It is really quite good though.

[ktmoomau]

Even when the line is out the door it moves very quickly, the line for Cosi is equally long normally. Unfortunately in that area there are few places without a lunch crush.

If you walk a little further your options are greater, Cafe Asia for sushi about $9 for the sushi lunch special, or noodle dishes, Heidi's for decent sandwiches on fresh baked bread (not quite as good as breadline but good), Art gallery grille which has good salads and I think might be under $10.

I can't remember the prices at El Chalan but it is a little Peruvian restaurant not too far away.

[ktmoomau]

Check out the thread about 18th and K as a lot of places mentioned are near the White House.

Breadline is probably your closest best bet, Old Ebbitt has a happy hour that at most Clyde's (their affiliate) starts early and is called Afternoon Delight, it is a great deal.

There is an Au Bon Pain and Cosi close too, just in case.

Teaism is close too although I am not a huge fan of their lunches, others are, and I am a fan of their rice pudding and salty oat cookies.

[ClevelandDave]

For lunch the best deal is the Old Ebbitt take away, which is inside the building where Old Ebbitt is. Under $10 and fresh food. I believe they are open for lunch till about 3:30 pm.

[MakingSense]

There is a pretty good sized food court at National Place. Cheap and lots of variety, including the local burger chain Five Guys which has now branched out as a franchise to other sections of the country. Nothing spectacular in there but lots of good choices at reasonable prices from fried chicken to sushi to a hot/cold buffet.
The easiest entrance is on F Street between 13th and 14th.
There's even a McDonald's right across 13th on F, but you didn't travel to DC to eat there, did you?
Ollie's Trolley is on E at 13th. Good burgers and fries. Another sort of local place. One of the last of a very small chain that once existed in just a few cities.

[conley17]

The food court sounds like a good choice for everyone. I agree I'm not looking for McDonalds! Ollies also sounds good. Thanks for the input!

[ClevelandDave]

Ugh! Ollies sucks. I'm sorry, but it is just terrible. Believe it or not, however, the other place in the Hotel Harrington isn't too bad... but there are so many other better choices. By the way the food court is only open for lunch...

[Steve]

Ollie's will cook a burger to order, and if you order medium rare, they will produce an extremely tasty and juicy burger with their unique blend of spices, which they also sprinkle over the fries (quite delicious). I'd say the burgers are not quite as good as 'back in the day' when the Ollie's Trolley franchise covered a bit more territory. Now, there are just the two here in DC and I think two or three in Louisville. Anyway, they are one of more unique cheap meals in the vicinity. If you go, DO NOT simply order a burger or you will get something pre-cooked, overcooked, and probably unsatisfying.

[Steve]

Breadline is where you want to go. A sandwich shop. If you want to eat one of the world's best sandwiches, then you can order the Italain Sausage sandwich any day. Another very good daily selection is the felafel. Next down the list is the egg salad.

Aside from the Italian Sausage Sandwich, some of the daily specials are gold as well. on Fridays, I order the bbq on a ciabatta (must specify). On Mondays, the Philly Cheesesteak, and on Thursdays the Cubano. Avoid the costlier bottles and get the flavored water to drink for fifty cents.

If you don't share, you will spend just below $10 per person. If you share (the sandwiches are big for kids) you can cut that down considerably.

[conley17]

Breadline sounds really good. Thank you so much for the advise!!!

[Jacey]

Breadline is good but you'll go over your $10 limit for lunch once you add a sandwich and a drink (and maybe chips/soup).

Au Bon Pain you can make $10/person.

[FoodieGrrl]

Agreed. Breadline is pretty pricey. While good, it can induce a "I paid how much for this?" reaction.

[MakingSense]

Yeah, expensive. But those sandwiches are big!
When I eat there, I ask for a piece of foil when I check out and wrap half my sandwich for later - usually supper that night.
We'll split an order of their fries which are very tasty although I wish they made them crispier.
Half and sandwich and splitting the fries is plenty for me.

[ktmoomau]

Yeah I can't imagine eating a full sandwich and chips, let alone fries, I would either eat half sandwich, or the full with nothing else. And they have water sitting out so I never really bothered with a drink, but I am not a huge soda person though.

[Jacey]

Take into consideration that tourists are out all day and want a filling meal. And if they did save "half for later," nobody is going to want to run back to the hotel or carry a half sandwich around (and splitting doesn't always work based on tastes and appetite).

Breadline is good but still don't think it's always worth the price. If anything, buy a loaf to nosh on.

[ktmoomau]

Weekday or Weekend, that area has a lot of places open for weekday lunch but not nights or weekends?

[conley17]

Thanks, I am looking for lunch during the week. There will be 6 of us so I am hoping for something less then $10 a person.

[littlew1ng]

don't know what you mean by cheap but breadline, old ebbitt, teaism are all near there and all in low to mid price range.

[conley17]

Thanks, I am looking for lunch during the week hopefully below $10 a person.

[conley17]

I will check them out. Thanks for the response!