Hi-
I'm spending a long weekend with mom and sister in DC, staying at the Westin Grand (near Dupont Circle, on M street NW). I'm looking for recommendations for places nearby to eat - nice places, med $$, willing to try something a little different, good desserts are a plus - and places to shop, preferably some non-mall type places. I've read that there's good shopping in the Georgetown/Dupont Circle, just not sure where to head! It will be just the girls, and we're looking for something other than the typical mall stuff. We'll have a car, but would prefer to use it as little as possible.

If anyone can recommend a good place to get a pedicure in the area, that would be fabulous!!

Sorry to ramble, thanks for the help!!
kriskate

I've stayed at the Westin several times and love the location... Anyways, Georgetown and Dupont Circle are both great places to shop. Georgetown has all chain stores (Coach, Banana Republic etc) and Dupont Circle has local stores/bookstores. If you have time, I would also go to Old Town Alexandria for its boutique shops and local art at the Torpedo factory.

As for restaurants, there aren't many in the immediate vicinity. In Georgetown, I like Nathan's and the Mendocino Grill. I also recommend Kinkead's (on Penn Ave) - $$$ but worth every penny - fantastic desserts as well. DC Coast (on K St) is great as well. For Mexican, I love Lauriol Plaza on 18th St. And, for truly unique, I would try Marrakesh (on New York Ave). They serve a 7 course meal complete with belly dancing and no silverware.

Check out the Washingtonian's restaurant guide for some dining suggestions.

http://www.washingtonian.com/dining/default.asp

In Dupont, I like Pizzeria Paradiso and Raku for cheap(er) dining and Firefly (love it -- both food and decor), Etrusco, or Vidalia for more moderately priced dining. If you like Indian food, Heritage India is excellent. And you can't beat Brickskeller for beer! In Georgetown, I love Cafe Milano. Mie N Yu is also supposed to be pretty hip/good, but I have not yet tried it. Lots of folks like the atmosphere at Sequoia's by the waterfront, and it's hard to argue that the setting is nice.

I like the Elizabeth Arden Red Door Spa in Friendship Heights. It's a very easy metro ride (on the red line) from Dupont. Here's another link that may help you decide:

http://www.washingtonian.com/health/spas_chart.html

What kind of shops are you looking for? It is true that most shops in Georgetown anymore are chain stores, though some of the chains there aren't available all over the country so whether they seem different depends upon where you're coming from (I'm thinking of Zara and Mexx, in particular). Also, there's a very expensive store with mostly Italian clothing just down M street from your hotel called ELSE (it's surprisingly friendly for a place so expensive). Across M Street (or possibly on Pennsylvania before it ends at M) are one or two other high end ring-before-you-enter type places. There are also fairly expensive youngish clothing shops up Wisconsin Ave. on the north end of Georgetown. One is called Urban Chic. The others are across the street from there. As for Dupont, a block south of the circle on Connecticut is a nice women's boutique (less young and trendy, but stylish) called Betsy Fisher. It might not be open on Sundays.

I'm not sure if this is the kind of shopping you're thinking of. Let me know and I can suggest other possibilities.

Johnny Half Shell's at Dupont circle has great seafood and desserts.

Kinkaids for dinner. It is to die for.

Sorry it's not much of a timely trip report, but wanted to report back a few things from our trip - Westin Grand was a great hotel, very nice, terrific location for exploring Georgetown, or for the Kennedy Center. Only bummer was the early construction going on across the street, a little annoying but not horrible. But the Westin beds were fabulous!! We ate at Georgia Browns on 15th on Friday night - I highly recommend the fried green tomatoes. It's a neat atmosphere, had very good food (updated southern cuisine) and quick service, but not a real big place. It has a small bar area next to the dining room, I'd recommend reservations. I booked them on opentable.com the day before and we got right in. We also dined at Seqouia on the Patomac. It had a great view of the river and the Kennedy Center. It's a very big place, and was packed - it seemed well suited to host larger parties. Our service started out wonderful, but flopped after the main courses arrived. The food was good, but not exceptional, I probably wouldn't go again. Once we finished dinner, we enjoyed walking along the boardwalk at the waterfront, there are a couple of outdoor bars that were busy on a Saturday night. Did some great shopping on M street, and at Tysons Corner (only about 15-20 minutes away) and enjoyed ourselves immensely.

Thanks for the recommendations! I apprecaite the help!
-Kris