# Washington DC questions **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 25, 2002, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/washington-dc-questions/105471 "2002-04-25T00:57:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![ruadh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d2c977/32.png) [@ruadh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ruadh)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2002, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/washington-dc-questions/105471/41 "2002-04-28T14:44:21Z")
Can someone tell me if Los Chorros in Wheaton is still around? (It was almost exactly the same as El Tamarindo, but just slightly better.) If not, El Tamarindo better still be around… ---
**Author:** ![Caffeine.addict](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f475e1/32.png) [@Caffeine.addict](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caffeine.addict)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2002, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/washington-dc-questions/105471/42 "2002-04-28T23:22:58Z")
> [@](#): > > Domino’s is the best pizza, IMHO (though my working there ATM may sway things slightly), and there are cheap movies at UMall, along with cheap groceries at Giant. There’s also a really nice restaurant, “Brion’s Grille”, at UMall. Solid food, decent-but-not-cheap prices. Since the places you are mentioning are off Braddock, I’ll tell you where the best pizza in the area is. Try Angie’s Pizza, its a little restaurant in the Twinbrook shopping center off of Braddock Road. Its fairly cheap and in addition to the area’s best pizza, also has some really good gyros, and it has very generous portions. I’ll prefer it over Generous Georges pizza any day. ---
**Author:** ![Mojo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Mojo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mojo)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2002, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/washington-dc-questions/105471/43 "2002-05-14T01:27:32Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Sofa King \* > \*\*My favorite pizza joint is way out in Herndon, VA. Sylvana’s. Way good. \*\* I finally got around to trying it today and have to say I was surprised by how good it was, considering that Sylvana’s appears to be a greek diner run by brits. Decent crust & cheese and real sausage. Not NYC good, but really good for DC. ---
**Author:** ![GingerOfTheNorth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/cdc98d/32.png) [@GingerOfTheNorth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GingerOfTheNorth)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2002, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/washington-dc-questions/105471/44 "2002-05-14T03:18:07Z")
I understand the DC/MD/NoVa (MAD) Dopers are the coolest about. Welcome to the club, and please drop by. I’ll make Dave cook. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2002, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/washington-dc-questions/105471/45 "2002-05-19T17:19:49Z")
I wrote: \> Excuse me, did you bother to read what I wrote? in response to trishdish’s post. On rereading, I now think this was unnecessarily snide. Yes, she did misread me, but I can see that the grammar in my post was convoluted and could be misread. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2002, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/washington-dc-questions/105471/46 "2002-05-19T17:48:45Z")
I left in 93, and lived on Columbia Rd in Adams Morgan. So what’s still there I’m not sure, though I visited briefly last year. Food: Millie & Al’s for pizza still there? Kind of a dive on 18th St., but cheap beer, pizza, loud and fun. Also, Wings & Tings across the street. Places: 9:30 Club was where former (then current) Mayor Barry used to shut himself and a friend or two in the jon, and have his bodyguard keep people out. Rumor at the time was he was doing coke – most likely that was true. Used to be at 930 F St., I see by somebody else’s post that it seems to have moved. Not surprising, the building was a dump. Hangout areas were somewhat segratated by various things besides age: income, race, education and even sexual orientation. Be prepared to spend serious bucks in Georgetown, Adams Morgan is THE place to restaurant shop, I remember you could fund something like forty different ethnic cuisines in about a square mile area. It USED to also be the place for cheap eats, AND the place for cheap rent (which is why I was there), I don’t know if that’s true anymore. Don’t bother with a car in DC unless you absolutely need it. Cabs: If you know the zones well enough, you can get into the cab and TELL the driver what the fare is going to be. That’s what I did after getting into a dispute with a driver who threatened to kill me when I started writing down his hack license number. Just say something like, “That’s going to be $4.50, right?” You get them to agree ahead of time or you find another cab. And there’s zillions of them, that won’t be a problem. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2002, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/washington-dc-questions/105471/47 "2002-05-19T18:01:39Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Soup\_du\_jour \* > \*\*Shoot, I’m gonna start going to George Washington University in the fall! > > Thanks for opening the thread. Maybe I’ll see you in Foggy Bottom… > > Speaking of which, what good is there to eat/do/see in Foggy Bottom? \*\* I see no one else has replied to this, with good reason. Unfortunately, Foggy Bottom is (or was when I left in 93) a cultural wasteland with nothing really to commend it except whatever might be going on currently at the GW campus. A few scattered restaurants (none of which were outstanding enough to remember), a really excellent sci-fi bookstore around the circle from GW Hospital which was always on the verge of closing down, and may have even before I left. It is relatively quiet and safe, and it is near Georgetown. My condolences, get a bike. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2002, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/washington-dc-questions/105471/48 "2002-05-19T18:24:22Z")
Foggy Bottom is, increasingly, nothing but George Washington University and some apartment houses with GW students. This has not made the long-time residents of the area happy. You can walk north into West End, Dupont Circle, and Downtown for good restaurants, et al. You can walk east to Georgetown for the same. Expensive, perhaps, but good. ---
**Author:** ![pizzabrat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e9c0ed/32.png) [@pizzabrat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pizzabrat)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2002, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/washington-dc-questions/105471/49 "2002-05-19T20:17:56Z")
> [@](#): > > The Cineplex Odeon just up the street from Dupont has the _best_ films, but it is unquestionably the _worst_ theater I’ve ever been in. There’s a damned pillar right in the middle of the audience for crying out loud! Still, it’s worth it for those indie flicks the proles are going to be raving about when it goes to video a year from now. \*\* Not since the new Bethesda Row Cinemas in Bethesda. They play the same type of movies but they’re equiped like blockbuster multiplexes with stadium seating and big, clear screens. ---
**Author:** ![pizzabrat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e9c0ed/32.png) [@pizzabrat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pizzabrat)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2002, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/washington-dc-questions/105471/50 "2002-05-19T20:33:23Z")
> [@](#): > > Not since the new Bethesda Row Cinemas in Bethesda. They play the same type of movies but they’re equiped like blockbuster multiplexes with stadium seating and big, clear screens. I’m sorry, this post in no way conveys my excitement that this proof of God’s grace now exists. I HATED Dupont Circle’s theater for the longest time. HATED, HATED, HATED. It’s the worst theater ever, with tiny screens,a cramped layout, and seating that seems to DEscend as the rows go back, and has the nerve to charge the same prices as the blockbuster megaplex. Unfortunately, it was usually the only theater in the area that played the big independents (that’s, of course, the only way they can get money). Bethesda Row is, thus, a godsent. ---
**Author:** ![Neidhart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Neidhart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neidhart)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2002, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/washington-dc-questions/105471/51 "2002-05-19T21:06:24Z")
originally posted by **yojimboguy** > [@](#): > > a really excellent sci-fi bookstore around the circle from GW Hospital which was always on the verge of closing down, and may have even before I left. Moonstone Books. Alas, they’re LONG gone, and even the building they were in has been torn down. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2002, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/washington-dc-questions/105471/52 "2002-05-20T02:25:29Z")
Incidentally, that’s the Cineplex Odeon Janus that pizzabrat is speaking of. (There’s also the Cineplex Odeon Dupont Circle and Visions in the Dupont Circle neighborhood.) I agree, the Janus is the worst designed theater I’ve ever been in. ---
**Author:** ![pizzabrat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e9c0ed/32.png) [@pizzabrat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pizzabrat)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2002, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/washington-dc-questions/105471/53 "2002-05-20T02:33:47Z")
> [@](#): > > Incidentally, that’s the Cineplex Odeon Janus that pizzabrat is speaking of. (There’s also the Cineplex Odeon Dupont Circle and Visions in the Dupont Circle neighborhood.) I agree, the Janus is the worst designed theater I’ve ever been in. Actually, I was talking about Cineplex Odeon Dupont Circle. I have no problem with Janus, it’s theaters are wider than Dupont and you can usually find their movies playing at better theaters anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2002, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/washington-dc-questions/105471/54 "2002-05-20T03:06:34Z")
> [@](#): > > Janus is the worst designed theater I’ve ever been in. Ever since I wasted money watching a movie in there, I have been hoping to walk by some day with a camera and see the “J” burnt out in the sign. For eats: [www.alacart.com](http://www.alacart.com) Except they don’t list one of my favorite Italian places, the Dupont Italian Kitchen (DIK) at the corner of 17th & R. Incidentally, that’s where the first ever DC dopefest was held. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2002, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/washington-dc-questions/105471/55 "2002-05-20T03:20:58Z")
Excuse me, pizzabrat. You quoted Sofa King in your post (except that you didn’t indicate who the quote was from). He was the one who mentioned the column in the middle of the theater, so it’s clear that he meant the Janus. Personally, I find the Dupont Circle to be a better place than the Janus to see films, although admittedly neither is very good. ---
**Author:** ![pizzabrat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e9c0ed/32.png) [@pizzabrat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pizzabrat)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2002, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/washington-dc-questions/105471/56 "2002-05-20T13:52:00Z")
> [@](#): > > Excuse me, pizzabrat. You quoted Sofa King in your post (except that you didn’t indicate who the quote was from). He was the one who mentioned the column in the middle of the theater, so it’s clear that he meant the Janus. I know. Once I was reminded of the Janus I remembered the column. ---
**Author:** ![pizzabrat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e9c0ed/32.png) [@pizzabrat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pizzabrat)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2002, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/washington-dc-questions/105471/57 "2002-05-20T14:20:01Z")
But I thought he was talking about the Dupont at first. My own memory added the column where it didn’t belong since I haven’t been to either in a while. ---
**Author:** ![booklover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/85f322/32.png) [@booklover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/booklover)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2002, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/washington-dc-questions/105471/58 "2002-05-20T17:25:37Z")
Re the pizza thing: Pizza Boli’s for takeout, IMO. Trio’s (near Dupont on 17th St) does decent pasta, so I’d guess their pizza’s good too. Meridian Hill/Malcolm X park is definitely an interesting place–lots of statues (I’m always running across one I’ve never seen before). You don’t need a car, just catch one of the “S” buses running down 16th. The zone system is definitely funky. One thing that can really screw you is catching a cab on a street where two zones meet–the cabbie can charge you for two zones, which could be avoided by walking a couple blocks past the zone line and then hailing a cab. Adams Morgan rocks!! Meskerem, Madam’s Organ, Tryst, you name it. Further down towards U Street, Chi-Cha Lounge is a realtively new but popular place. And you can’t truly say you’ve been to DC until you’ve eaten at Ben’s Chili Bowl (13th & U Streets). Don’t miss the Seventh Street gallery crawl either (free wine & cheese art gallery self-guided tour); happens the third Thursday of every month. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/washington-dc-questions/105471.md?page=2)