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Washington DC

Well I found out today that I will have to go to Washington DC for business in about 2 weeks. Since the good people on B&B haven't steered me wrong yet I thought I would ask the best place to stop while in our nations capital. Thanks as always.
 
RFD, Brickskeller, The Saloon, Brasserie Beck, Birreria Paradiso for beer.

Bourbon for bourbon and Beer.

Adams Morgan is the bar district. China Town and Dupont also have pretty good nightlifes, as well as U Street, although that's a little bit shadier of an area.

You could catch a concert at the 9:30 club, Black Cat, or DC9.

There's so many restaurants to choose from. I highly recommend Breadline for lunch one day (It's packed and soup-nazi-ish, be prepared) down at 18th and Penn. Jaleo is awesome and not overly expensive. Any of Chef Andres other restaurants should be money too. Ben's Chili Bowl on U Street is a local landmark. Oh, don't actually eat at Chinatown. All the restaurants suck.

DC United game if they are playing in town. Try to get tickets from the Screaming Eagles so you can experience the Barra Brava up close without being in the midst of the madness.

You can check the Washington Post's city guide or Washingtonian magazines to narrow stuff down to specific locales/cuisine/prices, etc.
 
steer clear of Chinatown. It's mainly become a disneyland for unwashed masses who wander too far from the monuments.

Penn Quarter has nice restaurants, but they are a little pricey. Dupont is nice spend some time there. Most restaurants in Dupont, U street are good to execellent. Adams Morgan can be hit or miss, it's better to go with a local and it can get rather honky tonk late at night (think droves of college students and assorted drunken folks spilling on to the streets screaming at each other).

Georgetown has two sides authentic and disney. It's hard to tell which is which without a trained eye.

Restaurants:

G'town:
Patisserie Poupon
Cafe Bounaparte
Miss Saigon

Dupont:
Levante
Palm $$$$$$$$$$$$$
Mai Thai

Adams Morgan:
Pasta Mia (LOOOOOOOONG Lines)
Falafel Shop
Lauriol Plaza
Rosemary's Thyme
L'Enfant Cafe

Penn1/4 :
Jaleo
Fogo do Chao (Brazilian steakhouse $$$$)
 
If you're going to spend your weekend drunk, go to Adams Morgan, but don't go in the daytime. Chinatown's awesome to catch a game, but nothing's doing right now. $20 martinis just aren't my thing, so I might be wrong.

I would give U street/14 th St a try if you want casual nightlife, or Ethiopian food, Dupont/ Downtown for a more hipster crowd, and Georgetown for some good eats (forget the shopping in DC. If you haven't seen it already, there's a reason.)
 
The question is: What are you looking for? Do you like dining ethnic, or all-American? Do you want to go swanky, or do you like cheap eats? Are you ready for some urban adventure, or are you more comfortable in developed, "safer" neighborhoods? Like any city, DC has attractions for many tastes and comfort zones.

A few appendices to the above suggestions:

Zaytinya--If you like Middle Eastern, and are up for a trendy, spendy meal.
Pizzeria Paradiso, Two Amys--If you don't mind $20+ for a high-end pie.
Heritage India Dupont--A hipper take on Indian food. Also trendy, loud.
Lebanese Taverna--If you like Middle Eastern, but don't want to fight the hipsters.

DC has a large Ethiopian population, and many good eating spots, typically open very late (for the cabbies who get off at 2 AM.) Eteté is a small, elegant favorite. The chef (Eteté, or 'Mama',) usually checks to see how you like your meal. If she offers seconds, accept.

These are all safe, low-impact spots. If you're into slumming...you're talking my language, and I'll be happy to share. My favorite meals usually come from obscure, storefront joints.

(Speaking of which, chickpea, if you're into felafel, check out El Khartoum at 18th & Florida. Atmosphere is limited to Al Jazeera on the TV, but the food is outstanding. I've spotted staff from the Lebanese Taverna taking their lunch there.)

Finally, don't overlook the many museums. If you're not into art, there are many worthwhile branches of the Smithsonian, including American History, and Air and Space--a tourist favorite, and for good reason. Most museums are free, unlike those in other big cities.
 
Well we will be pretty busy so for the most part we always look for good places to eat, anywhere really as long as the food is excellent. Work will be picking up this tab so it has to be reasonably priced. We usually look for something fun to do as long as we have some time to do things, at this point I'm not sure how much extra time we will have. I appreciate everyones input, you guys have never steered me wrong before.
 
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