Lunch Near US Botanical Gardens

[Al the Pal]

A group of 10 is looking for a lunch place convenient to the US botanical gardens. (We have cousins visiting who want to go. I've never been!!) There will be 10 of us, of which there will be 3 vegetarians, 2 kids, and one baby. Any suggestions for places located nearby that are open for Saturday lunch would be much appreciated.

[Pat]

There's Mitisam Cafe at the National Museum of the American Indian, which is at 4th and Independence.

[durwoodx]

Another vote for the American Indian museum cafe/cafeteria. They have the service area divided into five sections, each representing a region of the US and featuring indigenous foods/ingredients from its respective region. It's a great experience.

[sheldman]

A vote against Indian Museum cafe, especially for your situation. I expect that vegetarians would be frustrated by limited choices, and that finding a table for a large group would be very difficult in that crowded place. I would look instead to National Gallery if you want to stay on the mall.

[DonRocks]

A vote against Indian Museum cafe, especially for your situation. I expect that vegetarians would be frustrated by limited choices, and that finding a table for a large group would be very difficult in that crowded place. I would look instead to National Gallery if you want to stay on the mall.

Vegetarians can actually do very well putting together side dishes at Mitsitam (click here for the Spring menu). I've done this myself, and while it's usually "not fair" to force a vegetarian to cobble together side dishes of mashed potatoes and boiled carrots, the small plates at Mitsitam are much more complex and interesting than the norm. There's also a vegetarian main course being offered right now in the Meso America section.

The ideal time to get there is right after 11 AM when the full lunch menu is offered.

Cheers,

Rocks

[Lola007]

Mitsitam may very well be your best bet given your requirements. But if you're willing to walk a little farther, you might also consider the National Gallery's Garden Café. It's absolutely lovely, and I've always enjoyed my meals there. Right now, they're offering a special French menu. A friend of mine (who's a vegetarian) went last weekend and raved about it. I believe you can either get the buffet or order a la carte. If you do decide to go there, I'd advise getting there early (11:00-11:30am ish) and calling ahead to see if you can reserve.

http://www.nga.gov/dining

http://www.nga.gov/pdf/dale-menu.pdf

[Kibbee Nayee]

Another vote for the American Indian Museum Mitsitam cafe. It's the best of the Smithsonian cafeterias, by far. You're in a tough area of town for eating, but if you're up for the walk, the other side of the Mall crosses Constitution and Pennsylvania Aves., opening up all the Penn Quarter restaurants to you.

[Al the Pal]

thanks everyone for the suggestions. We ended up at the Mitisam (sp?) Cafe which was great. It was convenient and the food was interesting (except for the pudding/cool whip dessert that my little niece selected.) Now I hope to go to the Garden Cafe at the National Gallery of Art next week so thanks for that suggestion too!!!

[ol_ironstomach]

... and while it's usually "not fair" to force a vegetarian to cobble together side dishes ...

I really don't see the unfairness here. Even assembling a non-vegetarian meal by hopping from station to station at Mitsitam is fun, and is normally considerably more interesting than sticking with someone else's idea of a complete meal.

Related tale: the most disappointing vegetarian meal I've ever witnessed was the one David Kinch contrived to parallel the rest of my party's complete tasting menu at Manresa a couple of years ago; his creativity in mid-summer apparently did not extend beyond numerous variations on the same fucking tomato salad. (Everybody else's meal was very good, but not quite as exalted as I'd been led to expect, despite the meticulous care shown through the kitchen window in reproducing his creations.)

[sheldman]

I have only been to Mitsitam a few times. But based on that experience I would say that if I have been really bad in this life, then for eternity I will have to eat lunch there every day, standing in multiple slow station lines trying to figure out what non-meat items look ok, then standing in a slower line to pay, then trying desperately to find my friends at a cramped table in the chaos, and then picking at my now-cold, not-as-interesting-as-promised, food.

I should make an appointment with a therapist to figure out why I feel compelled to post this opinion on the internet.

[Edited to add: it has been pointed out to me that this last sentence might read as a commentary on other posters' posting habits, or on the whole enterprise of internet discussion. It's not - it's really truly just my own expression of wondering why this particular place, and its generally very good reputation on the internet, bug me so very much.]