Family Dinner on a Budget?
 

I am taking my family of four to Washington D.C. for a vacation during the first week of August. I have made reservations at a budget friendly hotel near the metro. I am most nervous about how to budget for food in D.C. Where are the cheapest places to eat near the attractions? How much per meal should I budget? We will probably eat breakfast and some dinners in the hotel room but lunch will have to be out.

You will see Potbelly Sandwiches, Jersey Mikes or Subway everywhere....sandwich & drink for about $8. They also have soups, salads.

At Pie5 or &Pizza you can tell them what you want on your pizza and they'll bake it up in a few minutes, about $10-$12 and if you've had breakfast, you could stretch 2 or 3 pizzas to feed 4 people.

At Five Guys, Hamburgers are $5 and $7, Large French Fry $5 and drinks about $2

Look for a budget hotel that includes breakfast, that's a good savings for 4 persons.

Chinatown has inexpensive food. Washington has many Thai and Vietnamese restaurants. There may be bad ones, but I've never been to a bad one in the DuPont Circle area. Thai is lighter than Chinese and Vietnamese is lighter than Thai. Lots of other ethnic restaurants all over. I remember with pleasure a Brazilian cafe near the Woodley Park Metro. If you want something more exotic, I am pretty sure I have seen Ethiopian and know I have eaten Caribbean food in Adams-Morgan.

There are lots of food trucks in the Mall area. You don't say where you are staying, but there is both a Trader Joe's and a Whole Foods in Foggy Bottom (and no doubt elsewhere) where you can buy picnic food and even eat on a patio.

In my experience, Washington is a good place to eat a variety of things cheaply.

There's also Roti, Amsterdam Falafel Shop and other not too pricey Middle Eastern options. I guess it depends on what your budget is. You can definitely feed 4 people tasty food for under $50 (and probably less).

Where is your hotel?

When you say "attractions", I'm sure you mean the National Mall, and in that area food trucks are the cheapest way to go, not to mention that they provide variety as well.

Stopping at Whole Foods or Trader Joe's would be a great idea. You can get snacks and drinks for your room, breakfast stuff, etc.

We find Pizza, Thai, and Chinese are good low-cost options because items can be shared.

In addition, I always research restaurants near hotels by using maps.google.com. I locate the hotel and zoom in until the names of restaurants appear, and go to the website to read menus of those restaurants that show promise of being budget friendly.

Every city and town has budget diners and budget restaurants. Sometimes they require ordering at a counter. You will find places suitable for your family.

HTtY

PS Years ago we stayed in a very small town in South Dakota and discovered that they best food in town was not at the "country club" but at the convenience store associated with a filling station.

You got me to thinking about favorite low-cost options.

On a recent trip to Arizona, our hotel was near a Whole Foods where we bought hefty pizza slices for $3.50 each. We were surprised to find a bargain there. Each slice was a satisfying meal.

Also while traveling we often go to a Safeway type grocery store for a roast chicken and side dishes in the deli.

When we stay at a hotel that doesn't serve breakfast, we often buy sandwiches, fruit and yogurt at a Safeway type store. Those with smaller appetites share a sandwich.

We carry light-weight plastic dishes, plastic flatware, one sharp knife, and a small cutting board to facilitate meals in hotel rooms.

HTtY

Good general advice, but the large chain grocery stores like Giant and Safeway are not near the touristy areas in DC. (Of course, maybe the OP isn't staying in the city center.) The Trader Joe's that Ackislander mentions is well located; re: the Whole Foods, is there only the one near Logan Circle or is there another??

There are also not many diners and counter service places in DC--I can't think of any other than Market Lunch in Eastern Market, which is great (it's on Capitol Hill). Maybe Ben's Chili Bowl counts, too.

There is a Whole Foods in Columbia Heights (also not near tourist central).

NewbE, but there are loads of counter-service places in DC -- as previously mentioned, Roti and Amsterdam Falafel Shop, Nando's, Taylor Gourmet, Chop't, Cosi, so many....

Budgeting for lunch. I think $10-15/person would cover it for a lot of the places mentioned here, food trucks, and the cafes/cafeterias in museums.

You can spend less at McD's (Air&Space) and a couple of the chain sandwich shops already mentioned like Subway or Potbelly. Or if a street hot dog, a slice of pizza, a yogurt, or a bagel suffices for lunch. Lots of those opportunities are around the city -- but not so much on the National Mall where many of the museums & monuments are located.

Food trucks are everywhere in DC M-F. You won't struggle to find one or a cluster of them between 11-2. They will be all over the National Mall during the week and for extended hours on weekends.

I'd add a few other fast casual places to sf7303's list: Sweetgreen (a local salad chain), Beefsteak (veggie combos), District Taco and Corner Bakery. All in the $10-$15 range for food and a drink.

<i>Good general advice, but the large chain grocery stores like Giant and Safeway are not near the touristy areas in DC. (Of course, maybe the OP isn't staying in the city center.) The Trader Joe's that Ackislander mentions is well located; re: the Whole Foods, is there only the one near Logan Circle or is there another??</i>

It is actually good advice if you're visiting and/or staying in these neighborhoods and need groceries. There are plenty of corner stores and sandwich shops as well.

Logan Circle has a Whole Foods (P and 15th) and a Trader Joes (14th and T).

Foggy Bottom/West End has a Whole Foods (22nd and I) and a TJ's (25th and M)

Dupont Circle has a Safeway (17th and Corcoran)

All the major drug store chains throughout the city (CVS, Walgreens, Rite Aid) have basic grocery provisions. Not ideal for lunch but a family of 4 could find decent stuff for lunch for under $25.

Most of these suggestions are not anywhere near the Mall (ie, Woodley Park, Adams Morgan, Logal Circle, etc.) so won't work for lunch. I don't think the OP realizes the attractions in DC are not like NYC, you don't have museums in the middle of a business area, the Mall and monuments are on federal property and there isn't much around them, no restaurants of any kinds except those in the museums themself. So to get to any, you have to walk off the Mall, several blocks at a minimum and then you don't get anything that cheap IMO (say just a few blocks north). Union Station food court might be one of the cheapest areas with various choices, but it's not really near the attractions either (except the Capitol building). There aren't hardly any restaurants south of the Mall as that is mainly govt office buildings, although there is a McDonalds down there inside the Air and Space Museum, believe it or not, and a McDonalds and Quiznos around C st and 4th St SW. And a few chains like Subway to the east going into Capitol Hill, but that isn't really that close.

So for right around the Mall, I think looking for food trucks is best. There are some cheaper places like Amsterdam Falafel shop, etc., in the mall under l'Enfant Plaza, but those aren't open at night nor the weekends. I don't really think of Cosi or Au Bon Pain as being cheap, myself, but there are some of those not too far away in Penn Qtr. There are some cheaper food shops where office workers go for lunch around Franklin Sq (McPherson metro), also, then Chinatown and that area is another idea not too far away. Around McPherson metro you have a Five Guys, a Pret a Manger, &pizza, and some of those chains. Washington actually has several of Paul's the bakery/sandwich chain from Paris, also. There is one of those at Pennsylvania Ave and 8th and also to the NE corner of Franklin Square, and near Metro Center.

I think for dinner at the hotel, no one can advise very well without knowing where this hotel is, it could be anywhere in DC, VA or MD on the metro line.

<NewbE, but there are loads of counter-service places in DC -- as previously mentioned, Roti and Amsterdam Falafel Shop, Nando's, Taylor Gourmet, Chop't, Cosi, so many....>

OK, fair enough, but that is not what I thought was meant by counter service. To me, counter service is diner-style: you sit at a counter and are served. My misunderstanding, perhaps.

I agree with Christina about location, but again, without knowing where the OP is staying...

I second the food trucks by the Mall.

But the budgeting question is vexing - OP: how much do you normally spend on lunches or dinners? Everyone who posts about being "on a budget" and seeking "budget-friendly" options fails to state what the budget is. If you're trying to feed all four for $25, then you're going to a fast food chain. If you live in the US, you know various chains and their pricing.

DC is a sizable city with all manner of chains from McD's to Ruth's Chris. That's your easiest way to gauge the price options.

There used to be a food court in the Old Post Office Building, which is near the Mall, but the building is now a Trump hotel that charges $421 to $4,884 plus tax for a room on August 1, 2017. In the Benjamin Bar and Grill the hamburger is $24 plus tax and tip. I know this isn't in your budget, I just thought you might like to know a little of the area's history. The food court might have closed long ago. Somebody here probably knows.

HTtY