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Constitution Hall Preshow Dining


DanielK

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Logistics on this one kinda suck. Do I dine near the house, and then drive or Metro down to the show? Or drive/metro downtown (during rush hour), and eat somewhere near DAR? Is there anything actually down that way?
Old Ebbitt Grill and Cafe du Parc are a relatively short walk across the Ellipse, but maybe not what you have in mind for family dining. Too bad the Teaism in that area closes at 5:30...
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Logistics on this one kinda suck. Do I dine near the house, and then drive or Metro down to the show? Or drive/metro downtown (during rush hour), and eat somewhere near DAR? Is there anything actually down that way?
Old Ebbitt and Kinkead's are the two places I think of around there.
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Logistics on this one kinda suck. Do I dine near the house, and then drive or Metro down to the show? Or drive/metro downtown (during rush hour), and eat somewhere near DAR? Is there anything actually down that way?

Nothing beyond what's already been mentioned above. My friend and I will probably end up grabbing a burger at Ray's and taking the Metro to Foggy Bottom/Farragut West before the Flight of the Conchords show next month.

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Boy, this is the first time in a long time I've been nostalgic for the old Blackie's Junior that used to be on 17th, a block from the White House. Or the old Maison Blanche....

But, if bar food will do you -- and I assume it will be relatively kid-friendly at an early hour -- your closest bet is probably the venerable Exchange, which is just around the corner.

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Have not been but how about Tonic at Quigley's on GW Campus?

Tonic was my first thought, too, but that sort of forces my hand on taking Metro, and I was leaning towards wanting to have my car downtown. By the time I buy 4 RT metro tickets, and pay $5 for parking at the Metro, I could drive for a bunch less. That I think is my biggest dilemma - a lot of these places don't have garages nearby or valet parking.

I think there's a garage on the block where the Exchange is, and Old Ebbitt has valet parking. Cafe du Parc and Kinkeads are I think a bit more than I wanted to pay, though not an ambience or food problem - the kids are very well behaved and very food-savvy.

I think Old Ebbitt may be the winner. Too bad I'm not going for the oyster happy hour!

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I'm tellin' ya, The Exchange is the way to go. (How old are the kids, btw? that makes a lot of difference).

Also, not sure what time the show is but showing up downtown ar 6:25 pretty much guarantees a parking spot when rush hour restrictions are lifted at 6:30.

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It probably isn't a bad choice in this situation, but Tonic isn't a particularly good restaurant. Pity, 'cause the space is nifty.

(On the other hand I haven't eaten there in over a year, so take this for what it's worth. Which isn't much.)

I've been to Tonic a bunch of times; your review is spot on. It's passable American food, but nothing special. But there's NO public parking anywhere near Tonic.

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Ack. They still offered it free last time we were there, but I guess that was November.

What have you decided to do?

My wife overruled me on the car, so it's Metro, and then either the Exchange or Tonic. Probably Tonic, since I can book a table. Either one will be chock full of drunk GW students at 6:30p on a Friday. :rolleyes:

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What a clusterf*ck that was.

Arriving at Grosvenor at 5:30, we discover that the Red line is CLOSED due to a derailment at Friendship Heights. Back to the car, and start driving downtown.

Nearly TWO HOURS later, after dealing with massive traffic on the first route, then the backup route, and then the backup backup route, we finally find parking on the GW campus around 7:20. Since it is now only 40 minutes until curtain, it was all we could do to grab takeout burgers from Lindy's* and walk to Constitution Hall. Of course, that was when it started to rain.

Luckily, Kodo was great!

*Note: this is actually not a bad choice when you need a quick meal in that area. It's not in competition with Ray's, Palena, Central, etc., but I would have given them a victory or two in the Burger Brackets, especially considering that McDonald's makes a better burger than some of Washingtonian's semifinalists.

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Is there anything new that can be added to this thread? Does it matter if the evening we'll be there is Saturday night and we'll be driving? Does it matter if we're not looking for family dining nor fine dining?

We had a nice meal at The Oval Room when we went to see Sarah McLachlan in January. They have a pre-theatre option and it is a short walk over to DAR. I did notice other diners with the same idea so if the event is soon reservations may be difficult to come by.

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We ate at Kinkeads last Saturday night before Sting. Plenty of open tables but that could have been because of the snow. Dinner was great, I had the crispy snapper and loved it. Wife had pepito crusted snapper which she would not share. We shared an apple Tartin and that was great. A bit pricey but free street parking offset it a little.

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On Saturday Night we parked around the corner on 21st street. I believe the meters are only enforced M-F 7-7.

I think you lucked out. Meters are now enforced Monday through Saturday, till 10 pm, at $2 per hour, in the "premium demand zones", which Foggy Bottom definitely is.
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