Three-day weekend in D.C.

[steve h.]

The District is very pretty this time of year. I'm hoping to drive down from Connecticut sometime in May. My wife and I have enjoyed our supper meals at Central, Tosca, Obelisk. Sunday brunch at Cafe Atlantico was a hoot. Do you have any thoughts where we should eat this trip? I may try to squeeze in a Nats game but that depends on their/my schedule.

Thanks for your consideration.

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Cafe Atlantico
405 8th Street, NW, Washington, DC 20004

[ktmoomau]

For Italian I would actually recommend the new Fiola which has gotten absolutely excellent reviews from lots of people I really trust. I am hoping to get their very soon. I have been to the new Galileo, it was good and we had no service issues, but that was a few months ago now. I would choose Fiola though just based on the recent reviews. Bibiana would be another good choice. Dino is good for more rustic Tuscan style food.

I would also look into Palena for another evening, or New Heights. If you like seafood then put Corduroy and Blacksalt on the short list.

The Source is doing a dim sum brunch, but that is on Saturday. Palena is also now serving brunch so that might be an option if you don't get there for dinner, I am trying that this Sunday. But I have never had a bad meal at Palena.

If you want to do a Nats game and want to do brunch more in the Captiol Hill area you might try Bistro Bis. Although eating at baseball games is part of the occasion.

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Bistro Bis
15 E Street, NW, Washington, DC 20001

Palena
3529 Connecticut Ave NW, Washington, DC 20008

New Heights Restaurant
2317 Calvert St. NW, Washington, DC 20008

Bibiana
1100 New York Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20005

[steve h.]

Thanks, kt.
As an aside, do residents prefer D.C., The District, Washington, The Capitol or something else? It's important to get the name(s) right.

[VaPaula]

Not to get too OT, but I have been wondering that myself, steve. When I lived in Brooklyn, we would go "into The City," which meant Manhattan, even though Brooklyn is a pretty darned big city!

Now I live in NoVA and when someone asks what I did over the weekend, I have been leaning towards saying that we went "Downtown" or sometimes "The District" based on what I hear other people saying, but I have no idea what's most-used.

[flavrmeistr]

To me, it's always been "downtown". DC can mean anywhere inside the beltway. The District usually refers to DC proper.

[Raids]

I have absolutely no preference, but locals tend to say "the District."

[hill food]

yes, when I moved to DC from SF (where the urban center is called The City) it took me a year or so to refer to it as The District. which also underscores the local frustration with its non-state status. but that's for another rant/board.

[ktmoomau]

I think the Dirstrict too. There is also the DMV (DC, MD, VA including DC suburbs) and the inside the beltway/outside the beltway descriptions and then there is the DC metro area which is the area in which is metro accessible, but may include VA and MD.

[DMNGOODTIME]

I would highly recommend The Source (New American/Asian), Fiola (Italian), Rasika (Indian), Blue Duck Tavern (New American), Estadio (Spanish), Zaytinya (Greek/Med), Palena (New American) and Bibiana (Italian).

If you go to a Nats game check out Cava (Greek/Med) on Barracks Row.

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Palena
3529 Connecticut Ave NW, Washington, DC 20008

Rasika Restaurant
633 D Street, NW, Washington, DC 20004

Zaytinya
701 9th St NW, Washington, DC 20001

Blue Duck Tavern
1201 24th Street NW, Washington, DC 20037

Bibiana
1100 New York Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20005

[steve h.]

Thanks, DMNGOODTIME (great handle!).

[c oliver]

Rasika was one of the best meals we had in DC.

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Rasika Restaurant
633 D Street, NW, Washington, DC 20004

[c oliver]

Here's some more info on Rasika:

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/735612

I also wouldnt miss Etete in the U St. corridor for Ethiopian. Plenty of info here on that also.

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Etete
1942 9th St NW, Washington, DC 20001

Rasika Restaurant
633 D Street, NW, Washington, DC 20004

[steve h.]

Hi c,
Recommendations noted. Thought you were kickin' back in Rio?

Edited to add: A month in Italy makes great sense to me. Keep us posted as things develop.

[c oliver]

We adored everything we ate and did in DC. And the public transpo makes so much of it a total breeze. Tho' 'low brow' I wouldn't miss a half-smoke at the Eastern Market.

It appears that the Rio apt. may have tripled or more in value since we bought it three plus years ago so now we're thinking seriously about selling it. That would fund ALOT of travel and great meals.

[steve h.]

Travel broadens.

[Raids]

If the Italian theme isn't accidental, check out Bibiana. Otherwise, there are so many options that you'd probably need to narrow down what you're looking for somewhat.

[steve h.]

We are big fans of Italian food (all regions) as well as French and Spanish. Organ meats, shellfish, seafood of all types are always appreciated. A good wine list is a must.

[Raids]

The owners of Proof recently opened up a tapas restaurant - Estadio - on the 14th St corridor that is, IMHO, absolutely amazing. I would definitely highly recommend it. Or Proof itself, also, if you're looking for an excellent wine list. For French, there is always Citronelle, if you're looking to take things up a notch from Central, or Marcel's, Robert Wiedmaier's flagship restaurant for French/Belgian (a lot of people here like his other restaurant, Brasserie Beck, quite a bit, but I would personally go with other options unless you are crazy into belgian beer).

For Italian, I should mention that Roberto Donna opened Gallileo III recently also, but reviews have been mixed. There is a recent Post review, but as the reviewer mentions, he did not manage to be anonymous: http://www.washingtonpost.com/gog/res...

I'd eat shellfish, seafood, organ meats, etc. without reservation at all of these places, and Bibiana, which was recently opened by Ahok Bajaj, one of the most successful restauranteurs (some would say THE most successful) in the DC metro area. There was a thread around here recently from someone who called and found that they were more than willing to put together a chef's tasting menu for their party, also, and it looked like that was worth looking into.

[steve h.]

Howdy Raids,
Thanks for asking a few questions and then composing a thorough response.

[repete]

I'm eager to get to Galileo III and hope Donna revisits his "Grill Days." When he's on, he produces great stuff.

[Raids]

Yeah, I've just heard a few places that dinner can take upwards of three hours with long, long breaks between courses (for a regular off-the-meu dinner, not a tasting menu) and I'm not very good about that kind of thing. But if you're the kind of person who can ignore front-of-the-house problems for great food, it might be better for you. I tend to get kind of cranky about it and it bleeds over to my perception of the food.

[hill food]

Nats? there's an easy Connector bus ride from 8 St. SE to the stadium and back and on some nights there's a sort-of mini-cab shuttle (think stretch golf carts for 6 or 8) that only asks tips for the fare between the two areas. and god knows 8th (Barracks Row) has seen a lot of additions in the last coupla years.

[steve h.]

Excellent bit of intelligence. Thanks for the information.