Krammerbooks and Afterwords, Washington D.C.

Krammerbooks and Afterwords
1517-21 Conn. Ave. NW,
(just above DuPont Circle)

Another great place in downtown DC is Krammerbooks and Afterwords, a combination café and bookstore. It is easily reached using the Dupont Circle subway exit. My college house mate, Kiyoto Yamaguchi from Yokohama Japan had a gem of a remark the first time I took him up the Dupont Circle escalator. We came out of the darkenend tunel onto this enormous escalator. With A most memorable expression on his face he said, “Oh! What dynamic entrance!!”. Maybe you had to be there to fully appreciate his remark, but I often recall that day what and an exciting time it was to be touring my friend through Washington, DC.

Krammerbooks is best spent on a Saturday morning with the DC uptown crowd browsing magazines, buying your next book, chatting up the locals and reading your novel at the upstairs, backroom or outdoor café tables. The original Krammerbooks is across town on Capital Hill near Eastern Market, but it doesn’t have the charm as this one on Dupont Circle.

It’s a nice little place to eat and has an impressive book collection.

This has been my favorite bookstore and cafe since I first moved to Washington years ago. I have been to no other bookstore anywhere that I like as much. The Afterwards part is a nice place to have lunch before or after checking out the books.

Whenever I am in Washington I try to make a trip to this place either to just browse books or to have something to eat.

I still like coming to Kramer's after all these years. It's a fun place to browse the books while waiting for your table (it gets busy on the weekends) and if you get a table outside, it's great for people watching, as the restaurant is 1/2 block off Dupont Circle. My advice: Go to another place around the circle for dinner and then come here for dessert. The "dysfunctional family sundae" is excellent.

Favorite Dish: The dysfunctional family sundae, of course!