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Oldest Restaurants in the Washington, DC Area


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Does anyone know how long the Inn at Glen Echo (Irish Inn) has been standing?  It was Trav's for a long time (I only know because I grew up at Glen Echo Park) and I'm sure the space has a sprawling history.  Crazy bikers, chili, carving on the wooden tables...

Know what I'm talking about?

It used to be a morgue for Clara Barton, I think. 

Okay, I'm lying.

Before it was Trav's sometime in the 1970s, it was called Otto's. I think it's been a beer joint going back to at least the 50s, and probably before then.

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Hank Dietle's Tavern seems to have been ignored...last outpost of "old" Rockville....great hamburgers, interesting clientele. Gone but not forgotten.

From the AOL guide:

Just across the Pike from White Flint shopping, Dietle's little bar charges less for a beer than most people pay to tip the valets in Rockville's most upscale mall. Though it's "Cold Beer" sign and country house style look a little quirky among the fast food joints and neon lights on Rockville Pike, Hank Dietle's Tavern is Montgomery County's last true roadhouse. It's a welcome retreat -- a no-nonsense neighborhood bar with cheap beer and cheap eats.

The old wooden floors still creak when you walk across the room, but nobody inside seems to care about the history. The tavern is rumored to have once been a schoolhouse or maybe a country store that dates back to the early 1900s. There's no chance you'll be wowed, but 8 wooden booths (whittled with old names), a jukebox (country and classic) and a couple of pinball machines give the place character. It's a great place to catch a game or chat with a friend. -- Denise Iacangelo

and then there's this:

One Rockville restaurant, Dietle's Tavern, contends it has closed because Montgomery County's smoking ban caused them to lose substantial business.

There used to be a Kidz Zone or some such hellhole in White Flint whee my son's presence was required for the occasional birthday party. My wife and I would dump him off and head across the street to Hank's for a couple of hours of quiet time in the kind of place we weren't getting to very often. Once Mrs. B asked for glass of wine (knowing that it would be swill, but preferring it to long-necked Budweiser). Must have taken the guy 15 minutes ti find the corkscrew -- whe may have been the only one effete enough to order wine at Hank's that year.

It is missed.
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Searching for a thread about Bob & Edith's or just diners in general...

Growing up in Philadelphia, I have always loved the diner experience. There is something genuinely American about diners...

I loved the Melrose diner in South Philly (they had the best hot apple pie with warm vanilla sauce!), and now I live for Bob & Edith's in Arlington. It is literally two steps from my doorstep...it's where to eat in VA at all hours of the night. And it's also a great neighborhood hangout. Sometimes it's a little crazy, and most weekend late-night hours it's a free-for-all.

My standard order? Cheeseburger everything no pickle with french fries, side of mayo, and a hot tea with cream and honey. Whenever I'm jonesin (did I just make up a word?) for a bite to eat, Bob and Edith are always there for me.

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THe Leesburg Restaurant in Leesburg, according to their sign, opened in 1865. A few doors down, the Green Tree has been there at least since 1976 -- they have a Washingtonian Best Restaurants article from that year and Green Tree is the only survivor.

Leesburg Restaurant was a great place for breakfast when I lived there. The booths and the bar look to be at least 60 years old.

Also in Leesburg, Johnson's Charcoal Beef House opened the day that JFK was assassinated. Very little appears to have changed on the inside.

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My standard order used to be an order of corned beef hash, a couple of eggs over easy and an order of home fries. At 3 Am after the bars have closed down, it sure filled the bill.

Speaking of miscellaneous sides...Oh, yeah...did I mention they have SCRAPPLE? That's right, scrapple! Maybe it's a regional thing, but I love it!!! Yeah, very good with pancakes and syrup!! Yummy!

Could this be the only place near the district that serves such a delight?

PS edited to replace "in" the district with "near" the district. Clearly, as an arlingtonian I still think of DC as home turf, but my favorite diner is in VA. Still close enough to call DC my hometown, specially bein a city girl and all.

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1970 - Ristorante Portofino (Alexandria)

By the way, Portofino is in Arlington, not Alexandria. I didn't realize at the time how recently opened the restaurant was when the parents of one of my best friends in high school took a bunch of us there for a graduation celebration. I haven't eaten there since. Has anyone else ever eaten there? Is it any good? I remember it as a fairly solid Italo-American restaurant of the old school, but then, I was only 17 when I ate there.

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By the way, Portofino is in Arlington, not Alexandria. I didn't realize at the time how recently opened the restaurant was when the parents of one of my best friends in high school took a bunch of us there for a graduation celebration. I haven't eaten there since. Has anyone else ever eaten there? Is it any good? I remember it as a fairly solid Italo-American restaurant of the old school, but then, I was only 17 when I ate there.
We ate there a while ago. Okay, but not memorable. The most memorable thing about the room was the gold flocked wallpaper. The worst was the (lack of) parking.
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Iron Gtae Inn. I believe we might be the oldest restaurant (NOT RESTAURANT NAME) in continuos operation in DC. Parts of the kitchen structure show it :unsure: .

Opened in 1923. I have heard that there may be an older place in NE, a fish shack.

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Going, going, gone... I'm waiting for confirmation but rumor has it that Walgreen's has bought the building.
Great. That's just what Cleveland Park needs. Say what you will about the place, but Yenching Palace has some interesting history and (being right across the park from my house) was always a reliable delivery option. :)

Color me disappointed. :)

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Great. That's just what Cleveland Park needs. Say what you will about the place, but Yenching Palace has some interesting history and (being right across the park from my house) was always a reliable delivery option. :wub:

Color me disappointed. :)

That is a tragedy. :) Not because the food was all that great (it wasn't) but because I always loved the funky look of the place. Of course, I haven't eaten there in years, since I don't live near it anymore. I'm getting really tired of the cool local "one-offs" being replaced with chain stores. MacArthur CVS, anyone? And don't get me started on Times Square. Yes - I actually in some ways preferred the peep shows! Thus ends my rant for the day.

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Chef Ruta should talk to the owners and open up Yenching Cafe-an old school hamburger joint using only the finest ground meat, homemade brioche and truffle cheese. It'll stay open 24 hours a day so they will be available at 2am, when you really need your Palena burger fix.

Stupid Walgreens

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I remember getting a bizarre flyer from Yenching Palace, some time around 1994 or 1995. I wish I'd saved it. I guess it was a menu too, but it had all these blurbs from the press about how wonderful a place it was. I have to give it to them for being honest, because every one of the quotes was dated, and I believe the date range was from the Johnson administration all the way to the Nixon administration. It was quite odd. I never ate at Yenching Palace, but have always loved their façade, which I will hate to see go if it goes.

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I can't honestly admit that I'll miss Yenching Palace for second. The one time I ever ate there the food was alarmingly bad for any Chinese restaurant that didn't take your order from behind bulletproof glass. And if we had to save every restaurant where some political hack was a regular, there's be a lot of bad restaurants still hanging around town.

I'm always up for stealing narcotics, though.

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At a friend's request, I had dinner at Yenching Palace tonight. So it's still open, though I didn't ask if/when they're closing. This was my second time; I had been there once a long time ago. I had the twice cooked pork, which was decent. I've had much worse elsewhere. They had quite a few takeout customers while I was there.

I remember getting a bizarre flyer from Yenching Palace, some time around 1994 or 1995. I wish I'd saved it. I guess it was a menu too, but it had all these blurbs from the press about how wonderful a place it was. I have to give it to them for being honest, because every one of the quotes was dated, and I believe the date range was from the Johnson administration all the way to the Nixon administration. It was quite odd. I never ate at Yenching Palace, but have always loved their faí§ade, which I will hate to see go if it goes.

I took a copy of their takeout menu, and inside the front page, it still has the quotes you mentioned. All the quotes are from the 60's and 70's and nothing more recent. The quotes are also here on their website.
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I took a copy of their takeout menu, and inside the front page, it still has the quotes you mentioned. All the quotes are from the 60's and 70's and nothing more recent. The quotes are also here on their website.
I can see that the food they were/are turning out might have received those kinds of accolades in that time period. I can remember going to a Chinese restaurant (I don't remember which one) with a group of non-Chinese people in the early 1970's and listening to a comment that "Chinese food in America is getting blander and blander." After all, "Peter" Chang probably wasn't even a gleam in his Daddy's eye when those reviews were written. Plus, there was ZERO contact with the "real" Chinese back in those days. Still . . .
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There used to be a Kidz Zone or some such hellhole in White Flint whee my son's presence was required for the occasional birthday party. My wife and I would dump him off and head across the street to Hank's for a couple of hours of quiet time in the kind of place we weren't getting to very often. Once Mrs. B asked for glass of wine (knowing that it would be swill, but preferring it to long-necked Budweiser). Must have taken the guy 15 minutes ti find the corkscrew -- whe may have been the only one effete enough to order wine at Hank's that year.

It is missed.

I just realized this is the place that used to be owned by one of my students' families. They really miss it! I get to hear some great stories from her.

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Feeling somehow nostalgic for a place we'd never been (!), two friends and I had dinner at Yenching last night. Although it would have been sad to come out of there saying "damn! That was so good, I regret not going there for the five years I have lived nearby. And now it's closing!"

Well, it's sadder to have had dinner there and walk out saying "bleah, that food was truly awful." From tough spare ribs to dumplings with skins as thick as...well, I don't know what to inedibly sweet orange beef which had been noted as a spicy dish. The sauce was so gluey and sticky that the spoon would stick to the sauce rather than resting on the side of the plate. We also had the triple delight (meh) and chesnut chicken which had OK flavor, but featured chicken of dubious quality. All of us left a minimum of half of each dish on the plate; I managed just three bites of the two-sweet, gristly beef dish.

All in all, pretty gross, which made us sad. We actually didn't acknowledge it to each other until we were in the car driving away.

Dinner pre-tip was $81. This included three drinks and the aforementioned food.

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Does that mean Yenching Palace is now closed?

I guess the deal fell through.

I walk by Yenching Palace countless times a week and always wonder who goes there. Recently, I saw an SUV pull up and a bunch of young girls pile out with a few moms or Girl Scout leader. However, I haven't been there since the Reagan administration which postdates the reviews on the restaurant's Web site as several DR-members observe.

Clearly its heyday was in an era when Chinese restaurants represented the only kind of Asian cuisine familiar to many Americans and catered largely to those who did not speak Chinese. I imagine there were neither standards nor competition.

It's easy to use the place--or restaurants like this--for cheap shots. However, I am wondering just how Yenching Palace manages to stay in business, especially since it is located north of the metro stop that savvy tourists use when visiting the National Zoo.

I was actually planning to start a thread just on this one place and the issue of survival but noticed how many comments have been made about it in this thread.

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Majestic in Old Town Alexandria has some lovely evocative old pictures opposite its bar in the front of the restaurant showing the restaurant and staff over the years with captions -- nice images from the 20s and 30s. I think the captions said it was originally further down King Street and opened as the "New Majestic" after it moved to the current location around 1930(?). Maybe the new owners have more information. The pictures are worth a look.

I vaguely recall some clipping or article I read at Reeves that said Helen Hayes visited when she was young around 1912 or 1916(?) They had to move from the original location around 1988 when the building was torn down.

Wasn't Yenching Palace the place where there were secret meetings with the Russians during the Cuban missile crisis?

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The Alpine started in DC on (I think) 19th St. in the late 70's/early 80's. They moved to VA a few years after that.

I know it is an old post but this information is so not true. The Alpine started in 1965 in its current location, with the original owner/chef. Before this restaurant, it was the Evans Farm Inn which was opened in 1927. I verified this with Mr. Evans himself.

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Feel free to add and/or correct and I"ll update the list as we go.

Cheers,

Rocks.

1856 - Old Ebbitt Grill (present location since 1983)

1860 - Old Angler's Inn

1904 - Royal Restaurant (present location since 1964)

1906 - Occidental Grill (closed 1972-1986)

1930 - Mrs. K's Toll House (Mrs. K is Mrs. Kreuzburg)

1931 - Normandie Farm

1933 - Billy Martin's Tavern (Opened the day after prohibition was repealed)

1937 - Quarry House Tavern

1937 - Red Fox Inn

1941 - O'Donnell's Seafood (present location since 2001)

1943 - Famous Luigi's

1945 - Crisfield Seafood

1946 - Tastee Diner (Silver Spring)

1947 - 29 Diner

1947 - Tune Inn

1947 - Woodside Deli

1948 - Old Europe

1949 - AV Ristorante Italiano (AV is Augusto Vasaio)

1949 - Blackie's

1950 - Trio

1952 - Hershey's Restaurant (Gaithersburg)

1954 - L'Auberge Chez Francois (present location since 1976)

1954 - Jerry's Subs and Pizza (Wheaton)

1955 - Ledo Restaurant (Adelphi)

1955 - Yenching Palace

1957 - The Brickskeller

1958 - Ben's Chili Bowl

1958 - Coach Stop (Middleburg)

1958 - Mike's Crab House (Annapolis)

1959 - Market Inn

1960 - Vienna Inn

1961 - Loeb's Perfect New York Deli (present location since 1979)

1962 - 1789

1963 - Clyde's (Georgetown)

1964 - Tom Sarris' Orleans House

1965 - Bay 'n Surf (Laurel)

1965 - Chick and Ruth's Delly (Annapolis)

1965 - The Virginian

1966 - Alpine

1966 - The Guards

1966 - Japan Inn (present location since 1971)

1967 - Chadwick's

1967 - Childe Harold

1967 - Pizza Bazzano (Springfield)

1968 - Roy Rogers (Falls Church)

1969 - Bob & Edith's Diner

1970 - Ristorante Portofino

1970 - Roy's Place

1971 - The Wharf

1973 - Anita's (Vienna)

1973 - Stained Glass Pub

1973 - Taverna Cretekou

1973 - Vietnam Georgetown

1974 - Cafe La Ruche

1974 - Cantler's (Annapolis)

1974 - La Bergerie

1975 - Armand's Chicago Pizzeria (Tenley Circle)

1975 - Bistro Francais

1975 - Celebrity Delly (Falls Church(?))

1975 - The Cracked Claw at Peter Pan (present location since 1989)

1975 - Duck Chang's

1976 - La Chaumiere

1976 - Gadsby's Tavern

1976 - The Prime Rib

1976 - Sushi-Ko

1976 - Table Talk

1977 - Generous George's Positive Pizza Place (Alexandria)

1977 - Geranio (Alexandria)

1978 - Peking Gourmet Inn

1978 - Pistone's Italian Inn

1979 - 219

1979 - Nora

I'm still looking for confirmation about Reeve's, JR's Stockyard Inn (their website says "over 25 years"), Iron Gate Inn, The Broiler, Pizza Pantry, Blue and White, Hovermales, Churreria Madrid, Hodges, Leesburg Restaurant, Green Tree, Red Fox Inn, Pho 75, United House of Prayer for All People, Middleton's, The Alamo, The Railroad Inn, Calvert House, Golden Bull, Johnson's Charcoal Beef House, Iron Gate Inn (when did it change names?), Quarterdeck, Marlo's, Majestic Cafe.

A lot of new members have never seen this thread - would anyone like to research the establishments listed in the previous paragraph, or maybe chime in with some new ones?

Cheers,

Rocks.

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I'm still looking for confirmation about Reeve's, JR's Stockyard Inn (their website says "over 25 years"), Iron Gate Inn, The Broiler, Pizza Pantry, Blue and White, Hovermales, Churreria Madrid, Hodges, Leesburg Restaurant, Green Tree, Red Fox Inn, Pho 75, United House of Prayer for All People, Middleton's, The Alamo, The Railroad Inn, Calvert House, Golden Bull, Johnson's Charcoal Beef House, Iron Gate Inn (when did it change names?), Quarterdeck, Marlo's, Majestic Cafe.

A lot of new members have never seen this thread - would anyone like to research the establishments listed in the previous paragraph, or maybe chime in with some new ones?

Cheers,

Rocks.

It was I who posted about Hodges in this thread (Nov 2005???). I believe they have (had?) some clippings on the wall stating the 1893 opening date. If true they would be the third oldest on the list. Are they still open? Real estate in that area would seem to make it somewhat unlikely. Unfortunately it's a bit difficult for me to check things out these days from my perch in NC.

One suggested tweek to the list--the restaurant in United House of Prayer for All People is called "Saints' Paradise Cafeteria."

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I'm still looking for confirmation about Reeve's, JR's Stockyard Inn (their website says "over 25 years"), Iron Gate Inn, The Broiler, Pizza Pantry, Blue and White, Hovermales, Churreria Madrid, Hodges, Leesburg Restaurant, Green Tree, Red Fox Inn, Pho 75, United House of Prayer for All People, Middleton's, The Alamo, The Railroad Inn, Calvert House, Golden Bull, Johnson's Charcoal Beef House, Iron Gate Inn (when did it change names?), Quarterdeck, Marlo's, Majestic Cafe.

A lot of new members have never seen this thread - would anyone like to research the establishments listed in the previous paragraph, or maybe chime in with some new ones?

Cheers,

Rocks.

Johnson's Charcoal Beef House closed May 15th, soon to be replaced by yet another cookie-cutter Chevy Chase Bank. Feh.

Red Fox Inn's current building has been in use as a tavern since 1830, but there's been a tavern on that site since 1728 or so. National Register of Historic Places confirms the dates.

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...Golden Bull...

Gaithersburg website also says "over 25 years" but I'm pretty sure that the last time I attended a Boy Sprout father/son dinner was 30 years ago now. Wasn't there another location at Riggs and Adelphi?

ETA: the WaPo archives contain an 1971 obit for "Thomas J. (Dutch) Connors, 70, co-owner of the Golden Bull Restaurant here", under the title "...co-owner since 1967".

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Gaithersburg website also says "over 25 years" but I'm pretty sure that the last time I attended a Boy Sprout father/son dinner was 30 years ago now. Wasn't there another location at Riggs and Adelphi?

I recall the original location at 16th and L in DC. It was my favorite place at the time.

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Johnson's Charcoal Beef House closed May 15th, soon to be replaced by yet another cookie-cutter Chevy Chase Bank. Feh.

Red Fox Inn's current building has been in use as a tavern since 1830, but there's been a tavern on that site since 1728 or so. National Register of Historic Places confirms the dates.

Their web site has this for it's history:

In 1728, Joseph Chinn built a tavern out of the local fieldstone at the half-way point between Alexandria and the frontier town of Winchester, Virginia, along what is today known as the John Mosby Highway. The territory around Mr. Chinn's Ordinary, as it came to be called, was part of the vast estate of Thomas, sixth Lord Fairfax and Baron Cameron, an eccentric bachelor who preferred his log cabin on the Shenandoah to the celebrated social responsibilities of his London palace on the Thames. Chinn's Ordinary soon became a popular stopping-point for traveling colonists, and around 1748 was visited by an enthusiastic young surveyor named George Washington.

In 1787, Chinn's Crossroads and fifty acres were sold to the newly chartered town of Middleburg for $2.50 an acre. Middleburg was so named because it lay a day's ride by coach or on horseback from Alexandria and another day's ride from Winchester in the Shenandoah Valley. Thus being in the "middle," the village provided the overnight resting stop for travelers making the 70-mile overland journey. While Middleburg prospered and grew in reputation as the nation's foremost area for fox hunting, thoroughbred breeding, and horse racing, Chinn's Ordinary remained the focal point for the area's social and economic activities. In 1812, Chinn's Ordinary was christened the Beveridge House. It was enlarged to 35 rooms and an extensive new wine cellar was added.

During the Civil War, the Beveridge House was often used by the Confederates. Most notably, it was where General Jeb Stuart met with Colonel John Mosby and his famous Mounted Rangers. And at the beginning of the Gettysburg campaign, as fierce cavalry battles raged around Middleburg, the inn served as both headquarters and as a hospital for the Confederates. While strategy was planned upstairs in what today is the Jeb Stuart Room, wounded soldiers were cared for in the tavern rooms below. The pine service bar, which is in use today in the Tap Room, was made from the field operating table used by an Army surgeon who served with General Stuart's cavalry.

In 1887, the Beveridge House was renamed the Middleburg Inn, and continued to offer fine food and accommodations in the best Virginia tradition.

In 1937, a local citizen saved the venerable building from the wrecking ball and renamed it the Red Fox Inn, as it is known today. The historic structure was remodeled with the help of a then young local architect, William Dew, who still lives and works in the village.

Throughout the years, the Inn has been used for many notable events and by many well-known people and has remained a popular destination for anyone who seeks a romantic hideaway in the heart of the hunt country. The Jeb Stuart Room, for example, served as the stage for a rare press conference by President Kennedy and as a meeting room for hopeful Democrats hosted by Ambassador Pamela Harriman, a local fox-hunting resident; Elizabeth Taylor often graced the Tap Room both during the courtship and after her marriage to a local gentleman, Senator John Warner; and the lovely and kind Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis frequently stayed at the Inn during fox-hunting holidays each fall. Today, film and music celebrities are often seen in the hotel and dining rooms.

The Red Fox Inn is on the National Register of Historic Places and the Virginia Landmarks Register.

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Roy's Place has been in Gaithersburg since 1970, but has been in business since 1955. It moved from Rockville when they knocked down the central business district and built that ill-fated mall that resembled a rodent maze.

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Gaithersburg website also says "over 25 years" but I'm pretty sure that the last time I attended a Boy Sprout father/son dinner was 30 years ago now. Wasn't there another location at Riggs and Adelphi?

The two Golden Bull locations have different ownership now; they've been separate for at least 10-15 years, but clearly that wasn't always the case.

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I'm still looking for confirmation about Blue and White....
From this 2006 Post article it looks like the Blue and White (corner of Wythe and Henry in Alexandria) has been there since at least 1972. Apparently, that's debatable :lol:
As one regular said, "The Blue and White has been there and been there and been there."

Like a comfortable, worn shoe or an old friend, the Blue and White has occupied this corner of north Old Town for as long as anyone can remember, and no one, including the owner, is exactly sure when it opened.

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