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[SOLVED]Things to do and places to eat in Washington DC
Antithesis
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
I'm in Washington DC for three more days. My hotel is near Dupont Circle, but I can get pretty much anywhere via metro. I plan on visiting most of the places in and around the Mall (the history museums, the white house, the WWII, lincoln, and jefferson memorials, and the washington monument) and Arlington Cemetery. I know that I'll probably have my hands full with that as is, but I figured I'd ask here if anyone knew any other places of significance.
Are the national zoo/aquarium worth my time? If so, are they free like the museums? Are there any places of note in northwest DC that I'd otherwise be missing out on? Can I actually go and see things in the Capitol building, or is it all business save for (and I wouldn't want to do one of these) tours?
More importantly, what are some good places to have lunch or dinner? If anyone has had a great experience somewhere.... tell me. I demand it. [tiny]And also thank you.[/tiny]
Are the national zoo/aquarium worth my time? If so, are they free like the museums? Are there any places of note in northwest DC that I'd otherwise be missing out on? Can I actually go and see things in the Capitol building, or is it all business save for (and I wouldn't want to do one of these) tours?
More importantly, what are some good places to have lunch or dinner? If anyone has had a great experience somewhere.... tell me. I demand it. [tiny]And also thank you.[/tiny]
Antithesis on
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historical!
Also, 'Things to do' includes live music or any other nightlife anyone can recommend.
You CAN however walk through the various House and Senate office buildings, where your elected officials work out of! (mostly). Kinda neat I thought. I went and visited the House Armed Services Committee Room recently, very impressive. If nothing is going on you can ask to be let in and see some of the places where folks sit and answer questions to Congress. Cool!
You can throw a stone and hit a thousand restaurants. There's more cheap stuff up by 18th st (Adams Morgan area). Dupont Circle is a good area for it too. The Front Page and Citron are good places to hang out and dance, respectively. Connecticut ave has a ton of food/shops/etc.
The Museum of American History is probably the most "fun" outside the Air and Space for your average Joe. It's got a lot of more recent cultural history (they had Indy's Hat for quite some time, not sure if it's still there).
Anything "Smithsonian" is free. The spy museum is NOT a Smithsonian sadly, I think its $20 for entry.
If you like Pizza, Three Ami's is a good place in that area. It gets rave reviews and has a (fairly) famous chef/kitchen staff.
I went to a place called "Tom Tom" last weekend which turned out pretty cool. It got a bit crowded past around 12:45 or so, but other than that it was a good place to chill for a bit and rock out once the music got better/faster/louder etc (turned from a relaxing music to a more club style).
More as I think of it...
The Aquarium is really lame, skip it. The zoo is OK, same as any other but they have PANDAS! It's free.
Places I like in Dupont:
Zorba's Cafe has gyros and stuff and is right near the circle at 20th & Connecticut ave & Q st.
I've had some good brunch and dinner stuff at Rosemary's Thyme Bistro (lame name) at 18th & S St.
Hmm that's what I can think of off the top of my head. Anything that has good ratings on Yelp will probably be good though.
Ahh if you're looking for a bar, Big Hunt (south of Dupont on CT Ave) is pretty decent. Madam's Organ (towards the top of the 18th St strip in Adams Morgan) has live music every night I think.
I keep meaning t go myself (I work in Dupont), but I've heard great things about the place.
The Zoo is pretty great, and it's free so you can't lose.
Or, if you do go, make sure you bring 18 bottles of water.
Prices take a dive fridays after five!
And if you want to go to Old Ebbitt Grill, get a reservation in advance. It gets crowded quick. Clyde's has a similar menu and is pretty good if you can't get in to OEG, though that's also a (local) chain. They own OEG, similar levels of quality.
Bring comfortable shoes. You may look at a map of the mall and think, "hey, it's awesome that all these museums and historical sites are really close to each other," but it's definitely a lot bigger/more spaced out once you get there.
If a museum charges admission in DC, chances are there are significantly better uses of your time/money. The Spy Museum is not that great, and I haven't heard good things about the Crime and Punishment one.
I enjoyed the Spy Museum, its much more fun when its not packed though. Haven't yet made it to the Crime and Punishment museum but I've heard good things about it. The Newseum was awesome, haven't been since it moved.
I recommend this. We didn't get a chance to and instead visited the air and space museum. In retrospect, I wish I hadn't.
I'm talking five cask ales always on tap and 20+ others that change weekly because they have a beer director who travels the country sending shit back. The food is also really awesome.
Edit:
This week's draft list. BEAT THAT. I DARE YOU.
http://www.churchkeydc.com/documents/CKDRAFT7-12-10.pdf
- Raku is pretty good Asian fusion
- La Tomate is a fancier dining option
- The aforementioned Zorba's is good cheap Greek but I prefer Astor's on Columbia Ave (further north, at the top of Adams Morgan)
- Dolcezza's gelato on Connecticut Ave is delicious desert
- Firehook bakery for breakfast pastries
- Pizzeria Paradisio, west of the circle, also good
Adams Morgan / 18th Street is mostly bars but The Reef has a great deck with really good food for a bar; Amsterdam Falafel is good cheap eats; Regent Thai south of Florida is pretty tasty (get the papaya salad); Jolt 'n Bolt is a nice coffee / lunch cafe; Locolat or L'Enfant are French / Belgian cafes; Tryst is good light fare but usually crowded (and I'm not a huge fan of their newest menu).
Plenty of other options can also be found within a few short blocks of these metro stops: Eastern Market, Woodley Park, Columbia Heights.
If you are getting frozen yogurt, Mr. Yogato on 17th Street definitely has the most character of any of the city's many offerings.
If you're on the Mall, the food court in the Smithsonian Museum of the American Indian is surprisingly good.
The Newseum pre-move was the only one I ever felt was worth the money. Haven't gone since the move, though.
The Spy Museum has too many exhibits about James Bond/Get Smart stuff, honestly, and it's really small for $17 when the Smithsonians are free.
Rain's eliminated some choices and the rest of today'll be going for chinese and another place (haven't decided where for dinner). Or maybe I'll just keep getting small stuff as I go along. I didn't think of the holocaust museum and probably will skip the spy museum.
My price range was fairly flexible, so every suggestion was good. Thanks for helping me good time!