On a Tuesday in May I’m meeting an old friend for dinner. We see each other about once a year when I’m in DC on business, and our custom is to meet at Kramerbooks and then strike out on foot in search of dinner. Sometimes we find something good, sometimes we’re disappointed, and always we forget where we’ve eaten in previous years…
This year I’d like to have a good place in mind before we start. I’m open to all suggestions but here are some details:
[ul]
[li]Walking distance from Kramerbooks would be nice, but now that I think about it there’s nothing wrong with getting on Metro, so other neighborhoods are OK too.[/li]
[li]I’m a strict vegetarian (eggs & dairy OK) and my friend is an avid carnivore. He’s a teetotaler, so this is one day of the year I don’t bother about a wine list. In previous years, though I don’t remember specific places, we have had Indian, Ethiopian, Mexican, Thai, and another Asian cuisine I can’t quite remember – Mongolian? I love Italian. My friend loves spicy food. Good ol’ American (whatever that is) would be fine too, of course.[/li]
[li]I usually go for what the guidebooks call $$ but could go for $$$ if necessary.[/li]
[li]It would help if the service staff doesn’t mind our lingering at table and having a long conversation. We’re generous tippers.[/li][/ul]
Suggestions? Good experiences you’ve had?
Thanks in advance,
E.
You might try www.washingtonpost.com (free registration) you can search by neighborhood, cuisine, and price. In these threads I always plug a friend’s restaurant at http://www.dino-dc.com/ but it is not at Dupont (it is at a metro stop, though).
I’ve had a really good experience at Firefly, but it’s tiny. Beacon Bar & Grill is good and will let you linger. Mercury Grill is a little quirky but good food and quiet unhurried setting. Bistrot du Coin is really loud and lively, but it might be hard to talk a lot.
For a unique experience, I would seriously recommend the food court at the National Museum of the American Indian on the Mall. Where else can you get fry bread East of the Mississippi?
ETA: I just looked it up, and it closes around 5:15, but I still recommend it in general.
I’ll add another vote for the Brickskeller. Your friend obviously won’t be interested in their extensive beer list, but you might be. The food is basic American pub grub, but as a vegetarian you do have some choices if you are OK with cheese - there’s spinach and artichoke dip, potato and cheese pierogis, a garden burger, salads and veggie pizza on the menu.
I’m fond of the Grill from Ipanema in Adams Morgan but I can’t recall a single vegetarian entree on the menu.
Dukem might be a fun place to go. They have vegetarian options, and the food is pretty good. It is pretty busy, but they are used to people lingering. If you are going out on a Tuesday, it won’t be as rushed as a Friday or Saturday night would be. It is on U Street which is somewhat walkable from Dupont, but it is very close to the Metro. There are plenty of places in the neighborhood to go out for a drink afterwords.
Brickskellar might not be good for a vegetarian. It’s mostly burgers and such. You could try Teaism on Connecticut and R, which has good vaguely Asian food, is not expensive, and has plenty of veggie dishes. No alcohol though. Right around the corner is a thai restaurant who’s name escapes me but which serves the best Thai food in the area IMO. Or you could go up the street to Bistro du Coin. If you take the 42 bus or walk up to 18th and Columbia, you can just walk down 18th street and see a ton of restaurants, including half the ethiopian places in the city.
It’s not neccesarily too high end, more of a diner type of place, but there’s the Luna Grill and Diner at 1301 Connecticut Ave. It’s good food, they have some decent specials, and they have a large vegetarian selection. Try their sweet potato fries or their chili cheese fries, because they’re both pretty good.
I’ve been to the Brickskeller! Great beer selection there. I’ll have to go back one of these days, with another DC-based friend who is a devoted beer drinker.
For the record, I am more than OK with cheese. In fact, I should probably cut down.
Thanks for all the great suggestions so far. Please keep 'em coming – I plan to show my friend this thread and ask his opinion.
The Brickskellar is my favorite bar in the world, especially for catching up with someone you don’t see often, because it’s very conducive to sitting around for five or six hours. But I don’t know how much fun it might be for someone who doesn’t drink, and the food isn’t anything to write home about.
For dinner, I really like Levante’s. There are many vegetarian options. And while it’s not huge, so if busy you might not get the opportunity to linger, you can always head to the Brickskellar afterwards.
Just to emphasize, the Brickskeller is more like a bar, not really a restaurant. Near Dupont Circle is the Adams Morgan area (18th and Columbia) and there are several good Ethiopian and African restaurants there as well as the Diner (that’s the name), which is absolutely fantastic.
The Brickskeller has good beer (and bad beer, and every other kind of beer) and the food is decent, but from what I remember, it tends to be really crowded and loud. I’ve found another place near the Verizon Center that has almost as large a selection as the Brickskeller, but I don’t remember the name. Does anyone else know where I’m talking about?
Umm, Childe Harold closed at least 6 months ago.
Someplace that’s relatively new: Mourayohttp://www.mourayous.com/. Although they don’t list it on their dinner menu, they will gladly serve you poikilia lahanikon from their lunch menu (the only vegetarian entree). As a recently lapsed vegetarian, I can also tell you that an assortment of their appetizers makes a fine meal (as long as you’re not one of those vegetarians who gets huffy and says that you shouldn’t have to order off the appetizer menu).