As well as turtle stew and buffalo chili.
By the way, for those of you who (unlike statsman1982, unfortunately) find yourselves in D.C. on a weekday, I urge you to check out the three-course lunch tasting menu at Vidalia. Any appetizer, any entree (other than the burger), and any dessert for $19.90. And who doesn’t love bacon-chocolate chip cookies with caramelized-onion-and-bacon ice cream?
Went to The Columbia Firehouse a few weekends ago. Everything was excellent. Owned by the same people who own Eat Bar, I think. Also had El Pollo Rico the next day and that was mind blowing.
Thanks everyone for your excellent suggestions. This will be my first trip to D. C., so my only regret is that I won’t get to sample all of the restaurants you’ve mentioned.
I’ve never been a big fan of Ethiopian food but there is a place on the corner of 14th and P that always seems to be crowded and smells good when I walk past. It’s only a block from my place and yet I’ve never eaten there. I can’t remember the name at the moment.
Tasty Thai: Thai Tanic on 14th & N (Logan Circle neighborhood). Thai Chili at 7th and G (inside the Verizon Center complex). And a new Thai place on the corner of 6th and G that I have been to twice and like muchly. The last two are in Chinatown.
Please bump the thread when you get back to let us know where you ate. DC is one of my favorite vacation spots and I’m always looking for more dining recs (pro or anti either one).
I loved Eat First Restaurant in Chinatown. I was there with a few friends, and as we were all on a limited budget, we decided to find the restaurant where we could get the most dumplings for the smallest amount of money. We ended up at Eat First, where the dumplings were not only cheap but also delicious as was the rest of the food, which seemed a little less ‘Americanized’ than the takeout place near where I live. The staff was very kind and attentive almost to the point of being annoying (but not quite).
If you want a Doper Connection, try Restaurant Nora. My sister is on the staff! They bill themselves as the first certified organic restaurant in the nation and my sister has been to one of the farms where they raise the food they serve.
It’s a little bit out of your price range (there is a menu on the web site; looks like most entrees are $20 to $30) but go there for me! I haven’t had a chance to visit her in DC yet. 
No idea if you’re a Lincoln buff or history buff at all, but if you are you’ll have to get an eggroll at the absolutely completely unremarkable in any way Chinese place “WOK N ROLL” at 604 H St. NW just so that you can say you’ve been through the front door of Mary Surratt’s boarding house. (I almost want to cry whenever I see it- that place needs to be house museum so badly, yet it’s a budget Chinese place.)
