we have tours at the capitol at 9:30 am and library of congress at 3:30 pm on sept. 11th.

please suggest places to go between these hours and a place for lunch.

thanks.

The American Indian museum is nearby (for both seeing and lunch) Or you can go to the Supreme Court, see Eastern Market, where you could also eat.

For a cheap lunch, you can eat at the dining rooms in the COngressional office buildings. I like Dirksen Senate (which has a big cafeteria) or Rayburn House.

If you are going to spend the between-time on the mall, slso consider the National Gallery of Art-East Building. Its cafeteria and that of the Museum of the American Indian are probably the best of all the museums on the mall.

I have to agree with MikeT and kmbp on their suggestions, although you will probably finish your Capitol tour too early to have lunch in the Congressional office buildings. As a local, we visit the museums on a regular basis and almost always plan our lunch stop at the Cascades Cafe, which is located on the underground concourse between the National Gallery of Art East Building and West Building. This cafe is actually a type of food court where you have a choice of several kinds of foods and we have found their choices to be better prepared than those in other museum cafes. Unfortunately, I have not had the opportunity to eat at the Mitsitam Cafe at the Museum of the American Indian as it has always been too crowded when we visited, but as kmbp said, it is well-regarded.

I really like the National Gallery of Art idea as well. There is enough there in the East and West wings to enjoy from anywhere from 1 hour to all day. The Nat'l Gallery of Art also has some excellent spots for lunch, including the cafe/food court, the restaurant and the outdoor cafe (in the garden west of the gallery).

Alternately, you could walk through the Capitol Hill area and have lunch on Barrack's Row or Eastern Market. Some good lunch spots over in that part of Capitol Hill include:
Market Lunch (inside Eastern Market) http://www.easternmarketdc.com/
Montmartre (327 7th St SE) http://www.yelp.com/biz/montmartre-washington
Le Pain Quotidien (666 Pennsylvania Ave) http://www.lepainquotidien.com/
Belga Cafe (514 8th St SE) http://www.belgacafe.com/
Matchbox (521 8th Street SE) http://www.matchbox369.com/
Starfish Cafe (539 8th St SE) http://www.starfishcafedc.com/

thanks so much for your helpful replies. you've given us all the info we need. we appreciate you taking the time to help us!