Reasonable food in Downtown DC
 

We will be traveling to Washington in August and will be visiting the usual tourist spots. We are a family of 6 with 3 teenagers that love to eat! Don't particularly like fast food, enjoy ethnic food and unusual restaurants. Because of our numbers need to keep the cost down-any ideas? I would greatly appreciate them.

CHECK OUT WWW.WASHINGTONIAN.COM <BR>THIS IS THE SITE FOR THE WASHINGTONIAN <BR>MAGAZINE, THEY RATE ALOT OF THE <BR>RESTAURANTS IN THE DC AREA, IM SURE YOU <BR>WILL FIND SOMETHING THAT YOU WILL LIKE. <BR> <BR>SOME NEAT PLACES FOR THE TEENS: <BR>HARD ROCK CAFE, PLANET HOLLYWOOD.

In addition to Karyn's suggestions, I've mentioned that the ESPN Zone was a nice place to play games, watch games and eat/drink and be merry for adults and teenagers.

At the risk of repeating myself, you need a Zagats for DC. It's organized in a way that addresses your points. But it's hard to determine what you meant about asian and unusual ... your kids like or dislike. What aboout the Mexican places, like Don Pablo ... decent food and lots of it. And hey, DC has got a chinatown too ... try Toney Cheng's for an all-you-can-eat experience. Welcome to DC. Ciao

Leone, <BR>And any place that serves a lot of Calif. wines, yah?

You didn't say where you're staying, but here are some of my favorites: <BR> <BR>Lauriol Plaza, on 18th St. NW near T (not far from Dupont Circle). Fantastic homemade chips & salsa, great seafood enchiladas and margaritas, good fajitas & other Latin American food. Very good value for money (most entrees around $10). Caveat: this place is insanely popular and doesn't take reservations, and sometimes the wait can be ridiculously long, so get there early (before 7pm) or late (after 10pm) unless you don't mind waiting over an hour. <BR> <BR>Pizzeria Paradiso, on P St. NW, a few blocks west of Dupont Circle. A very authentic, but casual pizzeria (the best pizza in DC), with excellent toppings like prosciutto, portobello mushrooms, buffalo mozzarella, fresh tomatoes, etc. This is NOT fast food. A tiny place, and the wait can be long, so go early or late if you don't want to wait. <BR> <BR>Lebanese Taverna, directly across the street from the Woodley Park metro stop. GREAT Lebanese food. I highly recommend the hummus special with Arabic bread, stuffed grape leaves, and sharhat ghanam (thinly-sliced lamb and potatoes drizzled with olive oil, lemon, garlic, and fresh herbs). No reservations here either, and again, it's popular. This is probably a little pricier than the other two, but still not expensive, and very worth it. You can order several appetizers and entrees and share them, because entree portions are large. <BR> <BR>Raku is an Asian diner on the corner of Q & 19th Sts. NW just a block from the Dupont Circle Q St metro stop. Lots of noodle dishes, dumplings, etc., very reasonably priced. This place wasn't so good when it opened but I've been there a couple of times recently and really enjoyed it. I think teenagers would like it too. It has funky decor and they sometimes show Japanese anime on their TV screens. The food is not in the same league with the other 3 places I mentioned but it's still worth a visit. <BR> <BR>