Favorite Washington, DC restaurants
 

What are your favorite restaurants in DC? What is it you like about it~ambiance, location, affordability, great food, great service?

One we tried on our last trip was Georgia Brown's~the pot roast and the fried chicken were excellent!! www.gbrowns.com/

I also love Old Ebbitt's Grill for the history and the ambiance. www.ebbitt.com

What are you looking for?

I'm looking for people's favorite restaurants.......

On our last visit, we really enjoyed Indique and Central. I've heard from others that Georgia Brown's is great.

Oh, you asked why. At Central, we loved most of the food. All the dishes were good and some were great. We liked the bistro ambiance (didn't like having to wait for our reservation however, but we know the restaurant is not always in control).

At Indique, we just loved the food. Some unusual dishes.

Well, you know about our Ben's Chili Bowl experience :-)

Thanks, sf........and starrs~Ben's is on our list to try!

There was a thread from last year where several locals gave recommendations, but I couldn't find it, so I thought I'd start a new one exclusively about restaurants.

Here's a good source for info on DC restaurants:
http://www.opentable.com/washington-dc-restaurants

I love DC's restaurant scene. My current and ongoing batch of favorites:

Jaleo (moderate, Penn Qtr) - Spanish tapas, Jose Andres original restaurant, still wonderful after 20( (?) years. Boisterous and fun, some communal tables.

Zatinya (moderate, Penn Qtr) - Tapas again, only Greek & Mediterranean cuisine. Same chef, calmer atmosphere.

Birch and Barley (moderate, Logan Circle) - American-y comfort food. Hundreds of beers. I can't stop ordering the pork enchiladas. Our last visit we were seated at the bar facing the open kitchen. The host considered it "less than" seating but we thoroughly enjoyed watching the action.

Pearl Dive Oyster Palace (moderate, Logan Circle) - Not for the diet conscious. Oysters, fried chicken, fried catfish. Downside, no reservations. Worth the wait. Same for the other really good oyster place in DC, Hanks Oyster Bar (moderate, Dupont Circle).

West End Bistro (moderate, West End) - American bistro food originally prepared under a 3 Star Michelin chef, now under a chef formerly of the amazing Inn At LIttle Washington. Best fried oyster sandwich in the city. Pretty food.

Rasika (expensive, Penn Qtr & West End) - Indian cuisine, elegant and modern. The crispy spinach (Palat Chaak?) is one of the best things I've ever eaten.

Vidalia (expensive, Downtown) - Southern cuisine. If you enjoyed Georgia Brown's you will almost certainly Vidalia. It's companion restaurant is also excellent, Bistro Bis (moderate, Capitol Hill) but it's not a neighborhood I'm in as frequently.

Baked and Wired (cheap, Georgetown) - Indie bakery and coffee shop. Hands down, no lie, the best coffee (Stumptown) in the city. I love their goat cheese & caramelized onion biscuit. Deadly good cupcakes. I like the Unporked Elvis (no candied bacon for me).

Nando's (cheap, Dupont Circle, Penn Qtr) - Spicy peruvian chicken and fries. Originally a european chain.

Paul (cheap, Penn Qtr & elsewhere) - I think DC is the only US home of this french chain. Second best coffee in the city. Wonderful baguette sandwiches. Lovely pastries. Pleasant atmosphere inside but on a nice day, it's great people watching outside.

I was hoping you'd show up, obxgirl......... :)
Nice mix! Must be nice to live in an area with so many choices!

I haven't lived in DC for a long time, but I used to love people watching at Kramer Books and Afterwords.

obxgirl, when I lved there there were NO restaurants at Logan Circle. I'm so happy there are now.

I also think the Ethopian food in DC is so great. The one across from Ben's on U St. is excellent.

Central Michel Richard. Atmosphere too Californian, but the food is absolutely correct French.

Ackislander's, I wish I could get those French fries in California!

Zed's Ethiopian cuisine in Georgetown. You just don't find these kinds of ethnic eateries unless you're in a huge metropolis like this. very good food and fairly safe even if you don't like Indian food

Sf3707, I wish Swan Oyster Depot would open a branch on the East Coast. My sister just got back from a business tip o SF and has been torturing me!

Didn't the Buddha tell us that desire is at the root of unhappiness?

Rasika is probably my current favorite, if I could only name one. Both locations are just stellar.
I wrote this trip report last winter after a Thanksgiving week trip:
http://fodors.com/community/united-s...-not-short.cfm
We ate so much and so often, everything was great, and yet there were still so many places we regretfully had to save for next year...DC is quite the food town these days! Enjoy...

No need to limit yourself, NewbE..........thanks for the link!

I was a big fan of NewBe's trip report -- we share some favorites!

>>obxgirl, when I lved there there were NO restaurants at Logan Circle. I'm so happy there are now.<<

Lots of changes in LC, suewoo, a ton of renovation and new construction. It's probably in its post-hipster phase now (one too many wine shops and people like me frequenting the neighborhood) but well worth a trip for a a new visitor willing to go just slightly off the beaten path. Do you get back to DC?

I recall more than a couple of nights waiting in line at Ben's after the bars closed though these days I'm going to be the one on line at 2pm and not 2am. Agree that there's a great cluster of Ethiopian places in the area.

Sorry for the hijack, tenthumbs!

though these days I'm going to be the one on line at 2pm and not 2am.

:-)

This thread is doing nothing but making me hungry...