Best affordable food in D.C.?
I'm going to D.C. this weekend and am looking for places to eat well on a budget. We are adventurous eaters and are looking for something ethnic or unique to the D.C. area. Any suggestions? We will be staying near George Washington U, but are willing to travel anywhere in the District, especially if it's convenient to the Metro!
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Any suggestions for good local stuff between Thomas Circle and Whitehouse? in town for a class and will be walking that route for a few days. Closest metro was McPherson Square, Ethiopean would be excellent, also love chewy seafood. Cheap is good, might splurge at least one night.
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eclaire
Apr 3, 2012 12:56 PM
Thanks for the suggestions, everyone! We ended up switching to a hotel near the Capitol Building, which made site-seeing easier, but put us a little farther away from some of the places we had been considering.
Here's what we ended up trying:
Chinatown Express - We had the leek+pork steamed dumplings, duck noodle soup, and combination lo mein. Surprisingly, the lo mein was our favorite. The homemade noodles were really good and the sauce was tasty. I thought the dumplings had a decent flavor but were a little too doughy. The duck noodle soup was a good deal at $6.95.
Bagels & Baguettes - The sesame bagel with smoked salmon cream cheese, and steak, egg, cheese on a garlic bagel were both delicious, as was the apple turnover that we shared. My latte was good, although the milk wasn't very frothy.
Jimmy's Grill - We sat by the water and enjoyed a fried seafood feast at the Maine Ave Fish Market. As a native Baltimorean, I thought the crabcakes were good and loved how fresh the seafood tasted. We got a combination platter so that we could try a little of everything. The big oysters and scallops were great and not too greasy. The half tea half lemonade and strawberry lemonade were a good deal, though a bit too sweet for my taste.
NY Pizza - We got back to the hotel after 10:00 on Sunday night, broke down and ordered delivery pizza rather than venturing back out into the rain. The front desk suggested NY Pizza, so we got a large - half Jamaica, half Manhattan. It was alright. The Jamaica side was definitely missing some ingredients, but the shrimp were decent. I like my pizza with lots of toppings, and the Manhattan had plenty of spinach, garlic and artichokes. Not terrible, but certainly not the best pizza I've ever had.
Teaism - The tea cured salmon and cilantro scrambled eggs with naan were great as was the handroll bento, as usual. And I think the chocolate salty oat cookies might be a new obsession of mine.
We can't wait to go back and try some more of your suggestions. Thanks again!
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re: eclaire
monkeyrotica
Apr 4, 2012 06:56 AM
The sweet tea is definitely a southern thing and an acquired taste. When eating soul food, I always get unsweetened tea if I don't feel like having an insulin attack.
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If you're willing to go to the suburbs, Mandalay in Silver Spring has good Burmese food. It's sort of a cross between Indian and Thai. It's a table service restaurant, but not fancy. Main courses run $10-15. I recommend getting something with the coconut cream sauce, "Ohnno Hin" style.
Mandalay is a 10 min walk from the Silver Spring Metro stop.
http://mandalayrestaurantcafe.com/ -
It's getting very hard to eat in DC for that little money, and there is very little worth going out of your way for. Fast Gourmet is a sandwich shop in a gas station at 14th and W run by a couple of Uruguayan brothers that makes a fantastic chivito - on of the best eats in the city. Their corn empanadas are also killer. You could split the sandiech (it's big) and get a couple of empanadas for an entire meal. Another great sandwich is their cubano. This is really top notch food.
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re: eclaire
You'll have to call them to be sure, but I think so:
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re: Steve
woodleyparkhound
Mar 27, 2012 02:51 PM
I second the rec for Fast Gourmet - love the place. The chivito and cubano are both excellent - the cubano is several dollars cheaper. It's an easy walk from the U St. Metro.
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re: mdpilam
eclaire
Mar 27, 2012 06:44 AM
Thanks for all of the suggestions! I will report back on where we end up going - Amsterdam Falafel is calling my name, and we will definitely be trying to go for Ethiopian.
I guess by "affordable," I mean less than $15 for dinner or $10 for breakfast/lunch. The cheaper, the better, though, as long as it's good eatin'.
Does anyone know of any good places to grab breakfast/lunch that are within a short walking distance of the Mall?
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re: bluedukie03
woodleyparkhound
Mar 27, 2012 11:30 AM
Breadline and G St. Foods are great places but are only open M-F. If you will be around for Fri. lunch, Breadline has a pulled pork sandwich with slaw as their Fri. special. Ordered on ciabatta, it's the best sandwich in town, IMHO.
Teaism is just north of the National Gallery/Archives Metro station and is good for breakfast or lunch and open on weekends. Don't miss their salty oat cookie.
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re: eclaire
monkeyrotica
Mar 28, 2012 03:26 AM
If the weather's nice and you don't mind eating al fresco, Maine Avenue Fish Market has some nice deals on oysters on the half shell and fried seafood. I can recommend Jimmy's Grill. Good fried croaker & whiting. They also have suprisingly tasty cakes (they do big business on Mother's Day and Valentines Day). A short walk from the Smithsonian Castle down L'Enfant Promenade. You can also take in what's left of the cherry blossoms around the Tidal Basin. They're open every day of the year except Xmas.
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monkeyrotica
Mar 26, 2012 08:40 AM
With tax and tip, you'll end up spending $8 for that "cheap" halfsmoke at Ben's. Eastern Market is a much better deal. If the weather's nice, Greek Deli or Breadline for sandwiches. Get yourself a coffee at Swing's near the White House. They've been roasting their own beans since 1916.
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woodleyparkhound
Mar 26, 2012 08:12 AM
Don't miss one of our excellent Ethiopian places. I like Etete best, but lots of people also like Ethiopic.
Ben's Chili Bowl is a local landmark. The food is mediocre, but God knows it's cheap - it's a piece of DC history. Etete and Ben's are both near the U St. Metro Station.
For a better DC half smoke than Ben's, go to the Eastern Market and check out the hot half smoke in natural casing, at the meat store about half way down the center of the market. You put condiments on yourself and eat standing up. Delicious - and $2.
Also dirt cheap and good is Amsterdam Falafel - about 15 mins. walk from the Woodley Park Metro.
A couple of blocks from the Wheaton Metro station are two of my favorite places: Ruan Thai and Ren's Ramen. Both are excellent and reasonable.
