Places to eat in Arlington/D.C. area

[Jonesloonybin]

My in-laws are flying out to visit us in Sept. and they would like to go to D.C. while they are here. We are staying in the Rosslyn area.

We will be doing the monuments, museums, zoo, etc. Can you recommend some good, but not too expensive places to eat. Even in Georgetown would work.

We like all kinds of foods, but I am not sure about the in-laws. I know they don't like to spend too much money.

Thanks for your help!

 

[dougsmom98]

I am not sure how close they are, but we hit The Golden Corral when we were down in Washington, DC. We don't have them up north. There is something for everyone on their buffet and my in laws love it because of the senior discount. We just put it in our GPS and found one.

 

[mikehn]

This is one of the best DC restaurant guides:

http://www.washingtonian.com/packages/food-drink/the-100-very-best-restaurants-2012/

 

[Ennazus8810]

My husband claims he had the best burger of life at the 600, located in the Watergate building.

 

[minnierocks]

We ate in Rosslyn at Ray's Hellburgers...and it was fantastic! This was a couple of years ago, so not sure it is still there. They had specialty burgers and the prices were reasonable. The place was packed, but the line moved quickly and there was seating available to eat. We thought it was funny that they did not allow you to "reserve" a table for your family while you waited. There were signs everywhere that stated that you couldn't reserve a table, but there would be one available when you were through the line...and it said, Trust us-it works. We were skeptical...but it worked! As soon as we paid, there was a table available. We would definitely eat there again...the burgers were huge!

 

[punkin712]

DH and I went to Alexandria, VA in February and went to a place called La Tasca. It's mainly Spanish food and tapas and it was AMAZING! Even better, they were running an unlimited tapas menu - $20 for lunch or $35 for dinner for all the tapas you could eat. The food was great, the sangria was delicious and the service was outstanding. We actually went to Spain earlier this month to celebrate our 15th wedding anniversary mainly because of the great food we had at La Tasca.

Anyway, they have locations in Arlington and DC. They seem to all have different promotions, but you might want to check it out. Could be worth the metro or car ride to Alexandria if the menu looks like something you would enjoy.

Oh, and if you sign up for their email club, you get a coupon for 20% off your next visit.

http://www.latascausa.com/site/

 

[shoney]

We went to DC in May. Our favorite meal was at ...

http://www.wearefoundingfarmers.com/


We also liked....

http://www.pi-dc.com/

 

[snowy76]

Five Guys was always a ritual for us in DC until they finally opened one in my town. YUM.

Kind of an odd place I also recommend is the cafeteria at the Ag Department - the federal office buildings have some of the better cheap food options in town. Same for the Congressional office building cafeteria - we ate there after our tour of the Capitol building.

 

[Zim]

irelandsfourfields dot com

Last time we were in DC for a trip to the zoo afterward we took a right out of the zoo and walked down a few blocks to this Irish restaurant. We all loved it - I ordered the Chicken Ballymahon, and it was absolutely delicious.

I don't do a lot of DC, I'll ask my brother and his wife - she's a real foodie so she knows good spots in the big cities nearby.

 

[Jonesloonybin]

Thank you all!!! I will check out the places listed! It is hard to choose places when all the feedback I am getting from the in-laws is "oh, where ever you want is fine"

 

[pintamino]

I am not sure how close they are, but we hit The Golden Corral when we were down in Washington, DC. We don't have them up north. There is something for everyone on their buffet and my in laws love it because of the senior discount. We just put it in our GPS and found one.

There are a ton of amazing places to eat in DC - please don't eat at a Golden Corral!

We ate in Rosslyn at Ray's Hellburgers...and it was fantastic! This was a couple of years ago, so not sure it is still there. They had specialty burgers and the prices were reasonable. The place was packed, but the line moved quickly and there was seating available to eat. We thought it was funny that they did not allow you to "reserve" a table for your family while you waited. There were signs everywhere that stated that you couldn't reserve a table, but there would be one available when you were through the line...and it said, Trust us-it works. We were skeptical...but it worked! As soon as we paid, there was a table available. We would definitely eat there again...the burgers were huge!

Ray's Hellburger is still here! There's a second one (I don't remember the name) that's across the street now that offers a more "sit-down" style. It's a bit of a walk from my office in this hot summer, but I still get down there occasionally. Rays the Steaks is expensive, but excellent as far as steak is concerned too.

I'm partial to Fire Works on Clarendon Blvd in Court House... it's a wood fired pizza place. There is an Irish pub down the street... Four Corners? Something like that. As far as chains go, over on the Arlington side (along the orange line -- Arlington also extends down towards Reagan, and there is a ton of food on Crystal Dr. in Crystal City as well on the blue/yellow lines) there is La Tasca (I've never been to this one, but have been to others and it's good enough), Cheesecake Factory, New Haven Pizza, an organic place called Rabbit, BGR which is a chain burger place that is really good, Indian... Lime Mexican Grill which is kind of like Chipotle, but dare I say, I think better... Do you have anything particular you like? We have something for everybody here as a foodie I enjoy it!

 

[Jonesloonybin]

There are a ton of amazing places to eat in DC - please don't eat at a Golden Corral!



Ray's Hellburger is still here! There's a second one (I don't remember the name) that's across the street now that offers a more "sit-down" style. It's a bit of a walk from my office in this hot summer, but I still get down there occasionally. Rays the Steaks is expensive, but excellent as far as steak is concerned too.

I'm partial to Fire Works on Clarendon Blvd in Court House... it's a wood fired pizza place. There is an Irish pub down the street... Four Corners? Something like that. As far as chains go, over on the Arlington side (along the orange line -- Arlington also extends down towards Reagan, and there is a ton of food on Crystal Dr. in Crystal City as well on the blue/yellow lines) there is La Tasca (I've never been to this one, but have been to others and it's good enough), Cheesecake Factory, New Haven Pizza, an organic place called Rabbit, BGR which is a chain burger place that is really good, Indian... Lime Mexican Grill which is kind of like Chipotle, but dare I say, I think better... Do you have anything particular you like? We have something for everybody here as a foodie I enjoy it!

We LOVE wood-fired pizza! I will check that one out. As far as what we like....well, we eat very differently from the in-laws. We try to eat as much whole food as possible. Vacations, of course we are more open to bending the "rules". We do not do fried food hardly at all. We don't eat at fast food places (mc D's, burgerking, etc). We love asian food, italian, and are willing to try new things (just don't want to spend too much $$$$)

The in-laws live on Fake food (Fake butter, fake mayo, etc.) And top it off with them being from a SMALL town in Oregon and they don't like to spend much on food and I don't think they are very adventurous eaters.

Thank you for your recommendations!! We are staying at the Holiday Inn (Rosslyn @ Key Bridge) And will be doing the typical sightseeing.

 

[Green Tea]

When you are on the National Mall, I will suggest eating lunch in the Museum of The American Indian's cafe. All of the Smithsonian museums have places to eat, but the American Indian cafe has foods native to the areas the Native Americans lived. Here is the description:

Mitsitam Cafe
“Mitsitam” means “Let’s eat!” in the Native language of the Delaware and Piscataway peoples. The museum’s Mitsitam Native Foods Cafe enhances the museum experience by providing visitors the opportunity to enjoy the indigenous cuisines of the Americas and to explore the history of Native foods. The Cafe features Native foods found throughout the Western Hemisphere, including the Northern Woodlands, South America, the Northwest Coast, Meso America and the Great Plains. Each of the five food stations depict regional lifeways related to cooking techniques, ingredients, and flavors found in both traditional and contemporary dishes. Selections include authentic Native foods such as traditional fry bread and corn totopos as well as contemporary items with a Native American twist—think buffalo burgers!

For the latest seasonal menu, please visit Chef Richard Hetzler's website, mitsitamcafe.com.


I also like the cafe in the National Gallery of Art. It is between the 2 buildings, underground, and it is just an architecturally interesting venue.

 

[clutter]

We LOVE wood-fired pizza! I will check that one out. As far as what we like....well, we eat very differently from the in-laws. We try to eat as much whole food as possible. Vacations, of course we are more open to bending the "rules". We do not do fried food hardly at all. We don't eat at fast food places (mc D's, burgerking, etc). We love asian food, italian, and are willing to try new things (just don't want to spend too much $$$$)

The in-laws live on Fake food (Fake butter, fake mayo, etc.) And top it off with them being from a SMALL town in Oregon and they don't like to spend much on food and I don't think they are very adventurous eaters.

Thank you for your recommendations!! We are staying at the Holiday Inn (Rosslyn @ Key Bridge) And will be doing the typical sightseeing.

You will find some excellent places in Rosslyn. Chinese, Thai, other ethnicities. You all might enjoy Moby Dick's House of Kabobs. They have one in Clarendon and one in Georgetown (among others). The kabobs are excellent (we prefer the meat and rice to the sandwiches), as are the salads and the hummus. And not to exhorbitant in price. You also might enjoy Red Hot and Blue. They are a decent BBQ place and the original one is right in Rosslyn. You might see if you are near a Hard Times Cafe, they do chili and burgers and such.

 

[Green Tea]

If you go into Crystal City in Arlington which will just be a quick Metro trip, there are many restaurants all around that station. Ted's was good for burgers. They have a huge variety of local and chain places all within a few blocks of the Metro stop.