Bostonians down for a quick visit
My wife and I are spending 3 days down in DC for a little vacation. Can anyone give us some suggestions for the best local spots? We like any type of food, but especially local places!!! shacks, bars, pubs, holes in the wall, nice places. Any suggestions will help. I have been told that Old Ebbots Grill is a nice place. Any others? Can be in DC or outskirts, we will have a car. Thanks!!!
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Oohs and Aahs, a true hole-in-the-wall for great soul food. Go for the grilled shrimp, the lemon pepper wings, and the broiled crabcake. Rice with gravy and greens on the side. There is seating hidden away upstairs.
Right across from the U St/Cardozo Metro Stop at 10th and U Sts., NW
No reason to ask about Old Ebbitt's on Chowhound. Every tourist in the city seems to have found it on their own.
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re: Steve
mwbachta
Aug 5, 2009 09:55 AM
thanks for all the suggestions. as it turns out we ate a lot of on the fly "junk". We did get to try a nice lebanese restaurant in Adams Morgan (forget the name, maybe Lebanon Cafe?) and it was great. I am lebanese so it was nice to have a homestyle meal like that. Also ate at Jpauls in Georgetown which was below average in my opinion. Good piece of steak, but small and decent crabcake. My wife got "pulled pork" which was just cubed pork tenderloin in bbq sauce. Not sure how they pass that off as pulled pork. Surprisingly, the food at the American History smithonian museum was very good. They have a BBQ stall there and the food was pleasantly very good! We ate at "pot belly's" sandwhich factory a couple times because my wife likes it- but I was not impressed in the slightest. Wish I had more time to get into the really good neighborhood places, but our itinerary did not allow.
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ktmoomau
Jul 24, 2009 10:18 AM
Instead of going to Old Ebbitts (old school wood feel) if you want to experience that feel I would go to the round robin bar for mint juleps instead.
I think some other places not mentioned:
Palena in Cleaveland Park with an ex-white house chef. The front serves the bistro menu and back menu, but doens't take reservations. The back takes reservations and is a bit more formal. The food there is excellent especially the gnocchi and pasta. I also really enjoy the desserts here.
Ray's the Steaks and Ray's Hellburger are like nice holes in the wall. Chef Landrum has great attitude in that he is a bit of a rebel and doesn't really hold true to normal dining traditions, but there are great steaks and burgers (it's in Arlington not to far from the cemetary if you are out that way).
Crabcakes at Market Lunch are good if you are over at the Eastern Market although it has been crowded lately because of the reopen of the old building.
The Eden Center- a huge complex of Vietnamese restaurants, shops and bakeries is fun if you have time, it is out a few miles from DC in Virginia but very cool.
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Old Ebbitt is nice to see because of its location, its history, its DC-centric decor, but it's not a great meal. It's absolutely huge and it caters a lot to tourists. It's also part of the Clyde's chain, which is a sizable local chain. I'm not sure if it's what you're looking for. If I were you, if you wanted to see the place, I would stop in for drinks and their excellent raw bar before dinner.
I'll second some of Chicken Kabob's recommendations, but I would hold off on Hank's Oyster Bar, since you probably don't need something New England-style. I'd add Zaytinya for mezza in a gorgeous setting, Brasserie Beck for wonderful Belgian (get the mussels and the skate) and beer, and Etete if you've never had Ethiopian.
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Steamed, spiced blue crabs are a Washington/Eastern Shore specialty, and you can "pick" them at a couple of places that are shacks and holes in the wall, all in one. The best places are on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, but that is quite a hike. Close in to DC is the Quarterdeck in Arlington (Rosslyn) VA, you might want to take a look there.
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Dennis S
Jul 23, 2009 04:35 PM
For the pub/hole in the wall - check out Tune Inn on Cap Hill for a few drinks.
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re: chicken kabob
hill food
Jul 24, 2009 09:45 PM
it just depends what one fries the okra in...I always use corn oil, but may have to try ghee someday.
I love their scrapple sandwich, it's just that the onion rings are in a flour batter and they're really more strings than rings (gotta be thick cut and cornmeal batter for me).
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re: Dennis S
Hi fellow Bostonians! (Go SOX!)
You might like Dan's Cafe in Adams Morgan. That place is a super dive. They hand you a small bottle of whatever alcohol you want and then the mixers on the side. It's a great dive bar! As my brother has often said "I've been to Dan's many times but I never remember it." :)
In terms of restaurants you might want to check out some Ethiopian cuisine. Etete is really good, as well as other places around U St. That is also a very cool area to hang out and bar hop. They also have other good restaurants like Cork (small plates, wine bar) and Marvin (Southern and Belgium).
You might also want to grab some Southern style cuisine while you are in town since you can't find that too much in Boston. I like Creme and Acadiana (more cajun). For something on the lower price range there is Oohs and Aahs.
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1)Granville Moore's for awesome moules & frites (need a car.) Very cool place!!!
2)Coco Sala for Americanized tapas- they specialize in chocolate and have an extensive dessert menu. I went for the first time this week and it is my new favorite place.
3)Proof for excellent pasta, seafood, meat- they have an extensive cheese & wine list.
4)Komi for high-end innovative Mediterranean/American cuisine. Considered the best restaurant in DC.
5)Matchbox for casual. Excellent mini burgers.
6)Hank's Oyster bar for New England type seafood.
7)Teasim for a lunch/snack
8)Mourayo's for great Greek food.
9) Market Lunch for bluebuck pancakes (Only open on Sat-stops serving at noon-be prepared to wait on a line-but fast moving, IMO.)
10)Central for bistro type food.
11)2 Amy's or Pizza Paridisio for gourmet pizza.
12)Founding Farmers for comfort food (although people either love/hate it.)
13)Dino's- ItalianEnjoy!
