Anything else that the park is famous for that we should try? We always like to try local things that an area is known for like Del's in Newport, pastrami in NYC, etc.

DC area is known for crabcakes and there is a crabcake place at the Stadium. And if Ben 's food interests you, there is one at the Stadium.

Central- I will not argue with obxgirl about the casualness of Central. It is a very nice restaurant. We were there the night of their big Mardi Gras party which probably added to the casualness of it. The celebration was postponed until the Thursday after Mardi Gras because of the snowstorm on Monday. The place was packed with people listening to the jazz band. It was a fun and lively atmosphere but the food was delicious. If the Old Ebbitt Grill qualifies an casual, they get my vote as my favorite casual hangout.

Which of these restaurants are near area of Dupont Circle...we have 8 people and don't want to take cabs around town

Crabcakes for me and hot dog for him - sounds pretty good.

I appreciate the heads up on which places are not casual too since we'll be out doing touristy things and probably not dressed appropriately for something more upscale.

We once went into Rasika in the shorts and t-shirts we were wearing (being out and about "touristing" all day). Although I'd say we were underdressed, and it isn't what I would have worn given the choice, it wasn't a problem and dinner was delicious!

report back - schedule got a little nuts, prevenitng some culinary exploration, but we ate at Chaumiere. My venison was excellent, as were the lamb chops, and magret de canard was exquisite. Service first rate. Too full for dessert but cheese plate was good. Only shortcoming was that the bar did not have rye. Has Western civilization devolved so far that everyone now thinks a Manhattan is made with bourbon?

On another night hit Georgia Brown's and must say the Devil Shrimp were tasty - served with spinach and macaroni and cheese. And the Manhattan was first rate.

The DC Taco Truck at Farragut serves up a nice lunch - mix and match three tacos, chips & salsa and a soft drink for $10. Had two fish (grilled talapia) and one grilled shrimp taco, all were good.

The Heritage India restaurant ay 19th & Pennsylvania appears to have closed - the gate to the stairs leading to the lower level entrance was chained. No sign. To satisfy the taste for Indian we ate at the nearby Aroma on Eye street. My kadai lamb was good, companions chicken tikka was even better, daal was nice and the onion kulcha was delicious.

Glad you had some good eating in DC! Have to check out the Taco Truck.

Great to hear your feedback, Seamus! Sounds like you all had a great trip and you certainly ate well

I haven't yet made it up to Crane & Turtle yet but I did have brunch with friends this weekend at Bearnaise--and it's worthy of the praise it gets. We had a table in the bar area overlooking the kitchen -- it was fun to watch Spike wander around and interact with the customers as well as the staff who was, I'm guessing, preparing for Saturday night's service.

I think Heritage India never really recovered from the shooting that happened after hours at their Connecticut Ave place a few years ago. Their liquor license was yanked and all of their locations except the one up Wisconsin closed.

OMG I did not know that about Heritage India! I only learned about it a year or two ago when a colleague took me there for lunch and I thought it was quite decent Indian food. Too bad...

Bearnaise is on the list for next visit, maybe Crane & Turtle, too.

I am posting about Brasserie Beck, which I mentioned on your Old Town thread as my favorite go-to in D.C. Belgian/French bistro food, lovely interior (based on a Parisian train station, check out the big round train clocks hanging from the ceiling. Creative, awesome food, always good service, drinks and wines are also a 10. When asked where I wanted to have a private birthday party for my 60th (which was held last Sat. night), it took me 2 seconds to yell "BECK!" And Beck did a miracle, serving 25 people in almost perfection manner.

Also like FADO in Chinatown/Verizon Center/Penn Quarter area. The biiiigggg bar was disassembled from an old pub in Ireland and imported and reassembled, and you feel like you are dining inside the Hobbitt while there (think tree trunks). Great place to meet people at the bar. Very good food. A lot of people don't know how good Irish food can be when it is done right.

BTW, If you can't get to La Tasca in Old Town, there is one down the street from FADO. The one in Old Town is better IMO, but you can also enjoy the multiple housemade sangrias at the DC location.

Cashions Eat Place in DC is still and always very good. On nice evenings hey open up the front sliding doors and you can dine right by the sidewalk, good for people watching. We never tire of the food there, and good service.

Our last visit to Central two months ago was very very bad. Service was bizarrely terrible. Asked for bread, never got it. Had to send cocktail back- so much bitters in it is was undrinkable. Food underwhelming, low on flavor. Table of 6 of us, and 8 things went wrong. Server turned up his nose at every request, and told me no one had ever sent back the cocktail I had due to the amt. of bitters. Does that matter? I had a reality check-- Three people at our table tried it and said to send it back. Called manager over, he also made comments pretty much reflecting how no one ever complains about anything there. Bizarre. Never again for us. Forget Central and run run run to Beck, IMO.

Do not confuse La Tasca (tapas and sangrias in Penn Quarter/Chinatown) with Tasca, the more formal Italian restaurant btwn 11th and 12th St. which was mentioned upthread as a splurge place. Tasca is much more formal.

I worked at a law firm inside the same bldg. as Tasca for many years and had many lunches and even more dinners at Tasca, most recently 3 months ago, table of 8. I still go back only because people at that firm are my clients now, and it is convenient in the same bldg.-- and I am not paying for it or I would go elsewhere. Consistently oversalted food in almost every meal I have had there, and I like salt. on the most recent visit five of the 8 people at our table talked about their dishes being oversalted.

Sorry, that last one is spelled Tosca, not Tasca...

Thanks for all the great details, emd, and thanks to everyone else too. I appreciate all the help. I wish my trip were longer now!

Yes, Tosca is the very special Italian restaurant:
http://www.toscadc.com

Not to be confused with La Tasca
http://www.latascausa.com/site/locations/washington-dc/

"Vidalia (Downtown nr West End) American Southern, very expensive"

I'm glad to see this continues to appear on your list, obxgirl. It's always been a favorite of ours but we haven't been in a few years. We did go to Le Chaumiere last year at your suggestion and, like Seamus, enjoyed the food very much. I think I would have enjoyed it more in colder weather since the atmosphere is so cozy and warm.

I think La Chaumiere and Vidlaia are grown up restaurants -- not trendy or cutting edge but always reliably excellent food. Like 1789 in Georgetown. Or, for me, Al Tiramisu by Dupont Circle. I agree that Chaumiere's interior is quite, almost too, cozy.

Brasserie Beck is a great recommendation too. Adding it to my list.

Mmm, I was just looking at the menu for Oyamel. I wish I had one of those margaritas right now and the fresh guacamole.

Oyamel does have excellent margartias and guac.
Not sure if Spike Mendelsohn's pizza place, We the Pizza, is mentioned above, but we just ate there and it was really mediocre pizza -- I said, kids fare.

Thanks, yestravel - we have his burger place on our list of spots, and the reviews for that seem good, so we'll probably do burgers and skip the pizza.