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Little Known DC-Area Restaurants


sbenardo

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Hi Everyone,

New to the website - read about it in the New Yorker. Will be visiting D.C. in April and I am looking for great restaurants that locals hide from the tourists. Not willing to dress up. Promise not to share with outsiders.

Shelly from NY

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Shelly,

1st, welcome to DR.

2nd, this board is much different than Chowhound. As a whole, the posters here don't "hide" favorite places from others. If we like a place we want everyone to know about it. I think that the amount of time and effort that people put in trying to keep track of Peter Chang as covered in the new Yorker piece is good evidence of that. All of those efforts were reported publicly on this board.

Start with Don's dining guide. Give us a better idea of where you will be in DC and what you like and the suggestions will come in from food trucks to fine dining.

Cheers.

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I'd also chime in that the "touristy" places tend to be the national chains, the airport/train places, and the Hard Rock/Planet Hollywood type places. Otherwise, we don't have unique places that are overrun by tourists, at least not as much as NYC. Maybe Ben's Chili Bowl, maybe a small handful of others. As suggested, take a look at the guide, or let us know your preferences and other parameters. The good news is that decent food is all over the place in this area, and few of the places are overrun by tourists.

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I'd also chime in that the "touristy" places tend to be the national chains, the airport/train places, and the Hard Rock/Planet Hollywood type places. Otherwise, we don't have unique places that are overrun by tourists, at least not as much as NYC. Maybe Ben's Chili Bowl, maybe a small handful of others. As suggested, take a look at the guide, or let us know your preferences and other parameters. The good news is that decent food is all over the place in this area, and few of the places are overrun by tourists.

I wish I had a nickel for every time a tourist asked me for directions to the local McDonalds. I could just slap them.

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Hi Everyone,

New to the website - read about it in the New Yorker. Will be visiting D.C. in April and I am looking for great restaurants that locals hide from the tourists. Not willing to dress up. Promise not to share with outsiders.

Shelly from NY

Welcome and we'd love to help you. But where will you be staying, what kind of food do you like and what price range are you looking at...?

If you're going into the northern Virginia suburbs, for example, there are fine Korean places in Annandale and fine Vietnamese places in Falls Church. But we have a few not-so-hidden gems as well, like Ray's the Steaks and Ray's Hell-Burger in Arlington, or El Pollo Rico in Arlington, or The Majestic in Old Town Alexandria, or Layalina in Ballston....the Dining Guide is your friend.

Downtown, I would trend towards the higher end. Jose Andres, Eric Ziebold, Koji Terano, Johnny Monis, R.J. Cooper and a handful of others rank with the best chefs in the country. Eat their food and be uplifted. But if you want a taste of DC, go to Ben's Chili Bowl and eat with the tourists. Or better yet, call your Senator and have him take you to the Senate Dining Room. Just stay away from the horrific places along the DC waterfront. You can also check the Washington Post Magazine or the Washingtonian for their "top" lists, but many on this board tend to disagree with a lot of their suggestions.

I don't think that the Maryland suburbs offer the same quality and variety that Virginia and DC do, but the Rockville area seems to have the best Chinese food in the area.

Good luck and happy eating.

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One place I forgot to add is Old Ebbitt Grill, a must for out-of-towners. It has a tremendous Washington DC history, and is now owned by Clyde's. It's across from the White House on 15th St., but I wouldn't go here for the sit-down food. Go to the bar in late afternoon, do the requisite Washington DC people-watching, and go for the half-priced raw bar, including drinks. DC's best oysters, at half price, as well as the orca platter, at half price, are the best deals in town, and you'll experience another true taste of Washington DC....

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How about some of the not secret, but maybe less publicized, lunch deals that give you a lot of culinary bang for your buck. In DC, you can sample the offerings at places like Vidalia (3 courses for ~$24 - may be a little lower at the bar) and J &G Steakhouse (3 courses for about $20). There are some deals that are only available when dining at the bar, like the "Lunch Crush" in the bar at Proof ($12 for one of six entrees + a glass of a wine/soda). If you want to venture to Alexandria, many around here will say that the $13.50 Lickity Split lunch in the bar at Restaurant Eve is one of the best bargains going. Go early in the week and early or later in the lunch hour to (try to) avoid the crowds.

For dinner, I don't know if anything beats the $50 ($75 with wine pairings), 3-course bar tasting menu at Cityzen. Same amazing food with a few less flourishes, but friendly attentive, service at the bar.

Happy hour deals at PS7s or Pig and Pinot Fridays at Vidalia are other options.

At most, if not all, of these places you can get away with nice jeans and a dressy top, especially in the bar areas.

If you really don't want to dress up, then Bar Pilar is IMHO a real gem - great small plates at great small prices. Be willing to deal with a crowd and slightly quirky (but efficient) service - weeknights are probably a bit more manageable than weekends. They also have a great (and cheap) weekend brunch.

And Teaism is great for breakfast, lunch, and dinner - locations in Dupont Circle, Penn Quarter, and near the White House.

Check out the dining guide for links to the threads and websites for everywhere I've mentioned.

Yes, I'm missing LOTS of great places, maybe others will chime in with their tips.

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If one of my relatives asked me this question I would make them reservations to Corduroy, Palena, Vidalia or Eve, and if I really liked them it would be Komi, CityZen, or Sushi Taro so that I could join them.

I feel like a pimp but I would add Eola to the list and I would join my relatives at any of those restaurants (that actually depends on the visitor). Eola is also the only one that's little known.

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I feel like a pimp but I would add Eola to the list and I would join my relatives at any of those restaurants (that actually depends on the visitor). Eola is also the only one that's little known.

Actually I would agree, but I am not sure how the kitchen changes have effected it - the same goes for New Heights.

Oh, and I feel a little sad for the world after listening to the first minute of that 'song'.

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