Washington, DC recommendations

[dangerboy]

Going the first week of March.  Staying in the Shaw neighborhood just south of Howard University. I haven't been to DC in years.  This time I'm looking to go more native and less touristy. I'll be on foot, bike, and metro. What do you recommend?

[chrizow]

haven't been to dc personally, but i am hearing good things about the burgeoning H Street area.  should be an interesting mix of working class black folks and snooty yuppies.

[dangerboy]

haven't been to dc personally, but i am hearing good things about the burgeoning H Street area.  should be an interesting mix of working class black folks and snooty yuppies.

Sounds similar to T Street NW, where I'm staying in Shaw.

[schugg]

D.C. is monumental.   

[kcmetro]

Definitely take a stroll through Georgetown and check out the campus. In the business district of G-town there's lot of restaurants/bars...although a little more expensive than other parts it seems. You might want to check out Dupont Circle too. That's where I stayed last summer. Walking around DC isn't too bad either. I walked from Dupont to G-town to damn near Chinatown in one afternoon when it was sweltering...so in early March it should be even easier. By doing that you're able to stumble upon lots of out-of-the-way places. The metro is extremely efficient as well.

[DaveKCMO]

Going the first week of March.  Staying in the Shaw neighborhood just south of Howard University. I haven't been to DC in years.  This time I'm looking to go more native and less touristy. I'll be on foot, bike, and metro. What do you recommend?

i personally enjoyed side trips i made to silver spring, baltimore, harpers ferry, and frederick. as for the native scene, i didn't find anything about DC proper very interesting other than the tourist attractions. some decent restaurants and renovated streetscapes, but nothing earth-shattering. georgetown was cool.

[4everNorthlander]

We went this summer and really enjoyed the tour bus (sorry can't think of the name) that takes you through Arlington national cemetary, and down the mall to varous stops such as the capitol, union staion, etc.  One of our guides was even from KC.  If you plan on going up the Washington Monument, make sure you get there on time for your ticket.  We didn't and were SOL.

[NOLA]

Vidalia on, I think, M street is a great place to eat.  Pricy, but very good.

[dangerboy]

Vidalia on, I think, M street is a great place to eat.  Pricy, but very good.

Thanks!  That's what I'm looking for.  Cool places to eat, drink, and hang out.

[ignatius]

I haven't been for several years but Adams Morgan and of course Dupont Circle are two hip areas of town - don't miss these two areas.  Adams Morgan has a wide diversity of ethnic restaurants like W39th, with a bunch of Ethiopian places (at least last time I was there).  Also try taking the subway down to Alexandria, which is nice for a stroll and a bite.  Methinks DC has the best food on the E coast.

Georgetown is great to see once but it's meticulously cultivated to the point of annoying cutesiness and tight anal attitudes.  But great architecture and urban infrastructure.

Curiously, DC has nothing like our Xroads or true loft districts as all of the warehouse and blue collar edginess is in Baltimore.  They literally build new 'lofts'.

I've walked all over DC.  It's great to explore on foot.  Ne of downtown used to be bad but I think it's getting gentrified quite a bit.  BTW, I was at the Pentagon two days before it got hit on 9/11.

[ignatius]

DC restaurant reviews by area..

http://www.dcfoodies.com/areas.html

[kuslamb]

Old Ebbitt's Grill is a must.  Big time politico hangout down from the whitehouse.  Great drinks and the raw bar happy hour is unbelievable.  There is not website that I could find, but trust me, or just google it and look at all the dialogue.

We also had a meal at the Dupont Grill (http://www.dupontgrille.com/).  Right on Dupont Circle, with a cool bar and great food.  Also, great to eat here and then go to bars in the area. 

Get ready to walk your ass off.  DC is great for that.  They have done a great job of having flowers everywhere in the Spring, hopefully you are there then

[bbqboy]

Going the first week of March.  Staying in the Shaw neighborhood just south of Howard University. I haven't been to DC in years.  This time I'm looking to go more native and less touristy. I'll be on foot, bike, and metro. What do you recommend?

Dangerboy- from my buddies who live there:

  In Shaw, he will be right near the Florida Ave. Grill. Certainly more native and less touristy, as he is looking for.

Ben's Chili Bowl is getting more touristy, but it certainly is native. Easy biking from Shaw.

Early March will be too soon for cherry blossoms.

The one poster's recommendation of Old Ebbitt is OK...but VERY touristy. If he wants "native" in the sense of rubbing elbows with Sens and Reps, I would recommend Cafe Milano, The Caucus Room, The Capital Grille, The Occidental, The Oval Room, The Palm, or Kinkead's.

And I don't know if he is interested in fine dining or spending a chunk of change, but Palena and Komi have THE best food in the city and some of the best food  anywhere. Both would be easy biking from Shaw but are also easy to get to via Metro.

[NOLA]

Old Ebbitts is fun, but I would probably stick to drinks and oysters vs. a full-meal.  If you are down by the white house and looking for a quick lunch, try Bread Line, which is just past the Corcoran.  It isn't open on the weekend, but is a great spot for a sandwich and soup M-F.  I'd kill for one of these in dtn KC.

[bbqboy]

More from the DC crowd:





"....Have him look into DC's newest Belgian restaurant Brasserie Beck (where I'm going for Valentine's Day and which could surely fall under today's "Best Fries" thread for their renowned frites), Zaytinya (reviewed on this site), the new Marvin restaurant on DC's U Street corridor, Local 16 (in that same corridor), Hook in Georgetown, Proof (near the Verizon Center and across from the National Portrait Gallery and where I recently had a fabulous seafood lunch) and the always reliable (and arguably still trendy) TenPenh in DC's Penn Quarter section."

"Good call on Brasserie Beck. He could also try Central (Michel Richard's joint) or even Citronelle's lounge -- less pricey, accepts only walk ins and is basically gourmet bar food and a wine list of the gods. Palena and Komi are amazing, but maybe not 'hip' in the sense of rubbing elbows with congressional types or lobbyists, but the food at either is amazing. We've sometimes bumped in to Senators and other folks at Mendocino Grill & Wine Bar. Their sister restaurant, Sonoma, is on Capitol Hill and it is supposed to be good and probably 'hip'. If he wants super-hip food (despite what jpschust might say otherwise!) then Minibar within Cafe Atlantico (in the Penn Quarter) is great for a weird food experience.

And the dude should hit up some sushi places like Kaz Sushi Bistro or Sushi Ko.

There's lots to try. Hell for local color and a greasy spoon breakfast, head over to the Florida Avenue Grill. "

[DaveKCMO]

BudgetTravel: New late-night spots in D.C.