Restaurant advice for Washington DC

[unfreshdiva1]

Going on vacation next week to Washington DC. Staying very close to White house. Planning on doing lots of sightseeing and spending vast amount of time going through the Smithosian Institute. Anyone have suggestions for good restaurants in the area? On a budget, but can splurge from time to time!

 

[NCRedding]

Not sure if you like Mexican, but there is a place called Rosamexicano across from the Verizon Center which was really good. The pomegranate margaritas are awesome. They also make guacamole fresh at the table--I hate the squishy kind most places serve, but love this one! There is a website which shows prices, etc. It's kind of trendy so expect a wait, but the pomegranate margaritas make that easy to handle.

 

[Floridagal23]

Rosa Mexicana is kind of like an upscale mexican chain. The margaritas are good! If you guys like Mexican food and strong drinks, you can also check out lauriol plaza, which is a 3 store mexican restaurant near the Adams Morgan neighborhood (if you walk straight up 18th street, you will hit it a little past R street).

DC prices are kind of like New York prices as far as food goes - not quite as bad, but getting there. Since you're staying near the White House, I would definitely check out Old Ebbit Grill, which has a huge menu ranging from burgers to upscale foods. It has a very "DC" feel to it.

You can also check out Georgetown. The waterfront is lovely this time of year (Georgetown harbor) and you can grab either the circulator bus or the georgetown shuttle or walk right in along Pennsylvania Avenue. These restaurants tend to be a little bit more upscale but again, each will also serve sandwiches, burgers, etc. I would check out the menu for Sequoia online. It is one of my favorites. Georgetown is also nice for walking around and upscale shopping.

If you are in the dupont circle area (around 20th and P to 14th and P), there are tons of restaurants. I live here and it's an easy walk to the White House. There are a couple of well known, inexpensive restaurants here - I love, love Meiwah for chinese food. Huge portions and very reasonable prices. It is right by my apartment and always packed. You can also check out City Lights of China, which is up a bit on the actual Dupont Circle, which continuously also wins cheap eats awards but I think Meiwah is far superior.

If you guys are in the mood for Italian, I would probably recommend Famous Luigi's at 19th and L for reasonably priced Italian, and..don't hate me for saying it, but I love Bertucci's (it's a chain, like olive garden but nicer) and they have a location inside the mall at 2000 Pennsylvania (white house is 16th and Penn) and also a location on Connecticut Ave a little bit more towards Dupont Circle.

You might also want to google because one of the top chef contestants opened up a burger place by Capitol Hill that is supposed to be reasonably priced and very good. If you'd like any more specific recs, PM or update the thread.

 

[pigletliz]

I liked both Old Ebbit Grill and Teaism for lunch.

 

[MoniqueU]

No real suggestions as we were underwhelmed by the dining choices when we went Our favorite meal was at a cafeteria style buffet with tons of choices and I think it was pay by the pound type of think like the Variety Deli in NYC across from the today show. And I shudder everytime I hear someone outside of California mention Mexican food, I might go for drinks and guacamole but you couldn't pay me to eat it. I have only found one mexican place outside of California that was any good and that is in phoenix. I am still traumetized by eating mexican in St. Louis. I used to travel ALOT and the east coasts idea of mexican is just not right. Same with tex mex. But I guess if you like Chevy's it might be ok then, they shut ours down everywhere around here as far as I know because the food was that bad compared to what is available.
My son leaves for DC next sunday having been there once before and he is not expecting to have great lunches, his breakfasts and dinners are paid for so I hope those are things he likes. He is not particular and will eat most things so I think he will be fine.

 

[Aristomommy]

We went last May and found a hidden gem: The museum of the American Indian cafeteria. This place has food made from ingredients grown in the own gardens. Unique offerings according to various traditional cuisine. Some dishes have a distinct Mexican flavor while others have ingredients from the northwest. It is pricey, but so is the Mc Donalds at the Air and Space Museum, LOL! We saw many locals there for lunch, which I took as a good sign.

Their website with a menu

http://www.nmai.si.edu/subpage.cfm?subpage=visitor&second=dc&third=mitsitam

 

[The Princess]

What hotel are you staying at? We are going in August and have no idea where to stay.

 

[Aimeedyan]

It's moreless a chain now but when we went, we found a 5 Guys so we could have a relatively inexpensive meal - tasty, too!