New authentic D.C. institutions? (Read on.)

[Pigeage]

Hi D.C. 'Hounds - I'm coming to town after too many years away and looking for restaurants serving something more than food. I'm talking about real politico/journalist hangs - real D.C. working atmosphere restaurants - stiff drinks, decent eats, that guy in the corner with the poison-tipped umbrella (who might!) - that kinda thing. It can't all be Clyde's Restaurant Group nowadays, can it? And where's Au Pied du Cochon? Thanks y'all.

[Pigeage]

Hey, cool nice choices here - this is gonna be a fun trip! May post a few other q's to this D.C. Board - it rocks! I travel to a lot and I love reading the different Chowhound boards - they all have distinct personalities. Yours posts are insightful, intelligent, succinct, and generally well written (many boards are a bit low wattage or have these overactive "personalities" that seem to gum up the place. . . my own Los Angeles Area one sadly falls in that category . . . whaddayagonnado). Aloha and mahalo nui loa!

[hill food]

the Reliable Source column in the WaPo regularly reports sightings (daily in the style section) and seems to cite Cafe Milano a lot.

never been, but I understand food is secondary.

[ktmoomau]

I agree on Central I always see lots of those types of people there. Used to see secret service and the Clintons there a lot (I bet Bill loved the french fries) and all sorts of other people.

I second the Tune Inn...

[SheriS]

How about Nathan's in Georgetown? Check out their Q&A Cafe. You have to make reservations, but they have some interesting guests sometimes. Bourbon Steak in the Four Seasons - lots people when they are filming movies in DC hang out there. Seen a few since it has opened. Also local politicians

[joann.hill12]

Not sure this is who you had in mind but I sat near Al Sharpton a few weeks ago at
Art & Soul. Also, years ago I worked at Martin's Tavern in Georgetown and there were a decent amount of sightings...I served Chris Matthews on a few occasions.

[MrsWheatie]

I've had sightings of ex. Congressmen behaving badly at the bar in Sonoma. Additionally there is always a couple of private events up stairs.

[littlew1ng]

i've spotted some significant media types at off the record, the bar in the hay adams, and used to see alot of politicos at oval room in the last administration, but not so much this one.

[monkeyrotica]

Hill residents/staffers go to the Tune Inn.

Senators/Reps go to The Monocle.

I can recommend the food/drinks at the former, but not the latter.

Capital Grill serves a mix of lobbyists and Congresscritters. The dry aged porterhouse is one of the better ones in DC.

A few Posties hang out at Stan's Restaurant and Lounge, as well as the Post Pub, but the food at both is middling/terrible. But Stans makes up for it by serving the stiffest drinks in town. If there's a more generous pour, I haven't found it.

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Stans Restaurant & Lounge
1029 Vermont Ave NW, Washington, DC 20005

Post Pub
1422 L St NW, Washington, DC

Tune Inn Restaurant & Bar
331 Pennsylvania Ave SE, Washington, DC 20003

Monocle
107 D Street, NE, Washington, DC 20002

The Capital Grille Washington, DC
601 Pennsylvania Ave, NW Washington, DC

[flavrmeistr]

There's also The Exchange at 17th and G, the closest bar to the White House. Lots of White House staff and media types, CIA spooks, etc. Occasionally, history is made there, such as on the occasion I observed White House attorneys trying to button-hole Bob Novak on the Valerie Plame-Scooter Libby thing. That was interesting. The food is not great, but usually not that bad, either. It's mostly where the Executive branch goes when it needs a drink.

[littlew1ng]

good call. had totally forgotten about this place but yes a pretty reliable source ;-)

[Pigeage]

LOL! - Wow! I can't believe it's still there - we used to call it "The Sex Change" just because that was so obvious - it had nothing to do with the clientele at all. Thanks - staying at the Park Hyatt so this is an easy one!

[comestibles]

Check out the Palm at 19th Street.

[Dennis S]

And CF Folks next door, actually. I've seen notables there a couple of times.

[Lori D]

Au Pied du Cochon is closed. There is a Five Guys located in its former location.

I believe that it reopened (on M Street, still in Georgetown) and then closed again.

[Morganna]

Heh, there's an Au Pied du Cochon in Montreal, but that's a whole other board. :)

[johnb]

But then, we all know there have been certain notables spotted at 5 Guys lately.

[RisaG]

Definitley Five Guys. I just saw NBC's thing with Brian Williams where he spent a day with Obama and he made a run to Five Guys for burgers for his whole staff! He went in, freaked everyone out and came back with bags of burgers and fries. So, go to Five Guys! You might see Obama!

[Elyssa]

I've seen quite a few "notables" at Central. The last big one I saw was Timothy Geithner...he walked in like he owned the place not even having to check in with the hostess besides a slight nod. Pretty impressive considering it's a tough reservation :)

You might be able to get some sightings at Charlie Palmers, Art and Soul and Bistro Bis up on the Hill. And if you are mearly interested in staffers (as oppossed to the actual Reps) Hawk and Dove, Capitol Lounge, and Good Stuff Eatery are all hang outs on the Hill for staffers---the first 2 being long time Hill bars/hangouts.