When my former employers at Ball Publishing owned Roadside back in 2000, someone pitched an idea to interview then-candidate George W. Bush on what he liked to eat while on the road. When I finished with my yawn, I instead suggested that we do a quick tour of D.C. and recommend some great "Roadside-Approved" places that maybe the next president might want to check out when he moved into his new digs on Pennsylvania Avenue. After eight years of Bill Clinton's fetish for Big Macs, we hoped that the new president might throw some business at the little guy in town.
I never got the chance to do that more thorough exploration, but last weekend, I did manage a whirlwind tour of a few places that definitely deserve the Roadside-Approved appelation. At the moment, the city does have one operating diner, the now-venerable American City Diner, a 1989 Kullman that's more or less turned into something of a joke of a diner thanks to a dining area cluttered with vending machines and dust-grabbing ephemera.
Hopefully soon, we'll see the opening of the former Avoca Diner now called the Capital City Diner, although its location in what what's been described to us as a "very, very bad neighbhorhood" doesn't bode well for its future. The recurring news reports of its pre-opening troubles don't inspire much confidence either. We'll just keep our fingers crossed.
A weekend in our nation's capital hardly allows time to visit too much, but thanks to a few excellent recommendations by our friend Michael Stewart and a few happenstance encounters, we did very well.
Gentrification has mostly stripped downtown Washington of most of its old-school mom-and-pop businesses, but one that's managed to hang on despite an eviction from its former (and much cooler looking) location is the Waffle House. Now called Lincoln's Waffle House, you'll find it a mere four doors down from its original streamline-styled location, which despite the eviction that happened well over a year ago, still stands. The new location blends into the streetscape a little too much, but inside you'll find an atmosphere suitable for any diner fanatic. Downscale, bustling, and strewn with specials all over the wall, the Waffle House serves a great deal more than its eponymous meal.
I sampled the banana pancakes, coffee, and bacon. The menu advertises a "half-pound of corned beef hash," and though a major hash hound, it passed on it because I rightfully suspected it came from a can. No matter. I loved my pancakes and enjoyed the ample portions of bacon. My buddies had a rather broad selection of breakfast items, including the waffle, and we all left the Waffle house content. Nothing fancy here, but a great place for big food on the cheap.
After an eye opening visit to the new National Air and Space Museum located near Dulles International Airport, we headed back to town for a meal at the Brickskellar, a funky beer bar featuring more than 900 beers in the basement of the Brickskellar Inn. Apparently, a long-time fixture near Dupont Circle, the tavern serves a fairly limited menu that will make burger lovers happy, but I ordered and highly recommend the baked half chicken, which came with two sides. I ordered the fresh green beans and onion rings. And don't ask me how many beers I sampled, but between six of us, our check came to almost $200.
Well known as a place to hob knob with DC movers and shakers, the Old Ebbitt Grill would otherwise make an easy choice for an after work drink or a business lunch, but it turns out they make one hell of a breakfast as well. My friends all went for the breakfast club while I chose the breakfast burrito bowl, a spicy and filling dish with sausage, eggs, tortilla chips, salsa, and sour cream that did little for my arteries but plenty for my general disposition for that day.
Besides the food, the Old Ebbit also enchants with its richly decorated atmosphere that reminds me of a robber baron's hunting lodge. Heavy applications of wood, tile, and marble make this a rarified old-style tavern and restaurant, but keep in mind that the prices in general reflect this as well. My breakfast dish came to about twelve dollars, but for me it earned every penny out of my pocket.
We also enjoyed a fine meal at Billy Martin's tavern in Georgetown. The corner bar claims that John Kennedy and Nixon both frequented the place when they served in the Senate, and that JFK proposed to Jackie in booth #2. Along with all that history and richly appointed interior, Billy Martin's serves a tasty crab cake as well. I suspect that the bar draws in more tourists than locals these days -- just a hunch, mind you -- but we stumbled upon it ourselves, and I'm happy to recommend it.
Honorable mention should go to Ollie's Trolley, though not necessarily for the food as we didn't eat there. However, such a classic roadside-and-diner-like landmark that advertises great burgers and shakes only a couple blocks from the White House can't be all that bad.
Finally, a word about Union Station: I had only visited this temple to transportation once before and not as a train passenger. During my last visit, we took in the station on another whirlwind tour of the city not long after its restoration. This time, I can say I received the full effect of the station's mesmerizing charms. First of all, it was so far the busiest train station I've ever visited, easily comparing itself to any major airport in the degree of hustle and bustle that pound its terrazo floors -- at least at the hour when I stepped off the platform.
To me, Union Station represents everything possible that comes with a proper restoration. After suffering the ill-effects of tragically misguided transportation policies, the value of this palace to our culture was fortuitously recognized by Congress in 1981 when it established the authority which would spearhead the station's $160 million restoration. The station reopened in 1988 and has since become a not just a train depot, but a real destination for locals and tourists alike. Not to be missed.
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