Places to eat in Washington D.C.

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Since there was to be a lengthy interval between getting our timed-tickets to the Holocaust Museum and the time we could actually be admitted, we decided to stop closeby to have a bite to eat. Very closeby was the Museum's own cafe located next door in the Ross Adminstration Building.

Entering on the ground level, diners or visitors must have belongings scanned and you must walk through a scanner. Upstairs the cafe is really a small cafeteria where the offerings include a decent selection of bagels, muffins, yogurt, doughnuts, cereal and fresh fruit for breakfast. Lunch items include soups, salads, sandwiches, knishes, pizza, panines, desserts and beverages: hot varieties of coffee & tea, fruit juices, milk, smoothies, bottled water, etc.

Preferring a light meal, we chose the soup and salad combo for $8 each. The salad was small but OK, but I didn't really like the flavor of the vegetable soup too much. We each also bought a bottled water and for this very modest lunch, the bill came to just over $23--not what I'd call a modest amount for what we got!! Other than street vendors, it's probably a fact that you can expect to pay higher food prices in tourist areas.

We saw people trying to refill their personal or purchased water bottles from the soft drink fountain's water outlet, so I also tried this but the water tasted terrible!!

The cafe interior is modern and light but far from being cozy as the term cafe might imply. Still it's a decent place to take a break.

Cafe hours are: 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. every day including weekends. From March 25 through June 7, 2013, the Cafe will remain open until 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.
Rules state that only food and beverages purchased from the Museum Cafe may be consumed in the Cafe but I didn't really see anyone watching for this.
Closed only on Yom Kippur (September 14, 2013) and Christmas Day (December 25, 2013).

With still a good amount of time to wait before our assigned, timed-ticket entrance to the Holocaust Museum and not wanting to waste that, we visited the World War II Memorial since my husband and I both had family members who had fought in that war.

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Due to being fully booked for dinner we only got to enjoy Blue Duck Tavern for breakfast on this trip. This of course was no problem because they really shine for breakfast. Currently this is my favorite breakfast I’ve ever had in the continental US.

Indoor seating was the only thing offered on this cool late winter morning. We were lucky enough to have one of the seats right in front of the kitchen. The kitchen here is open to the restaurant and you can watch the staff as they work. This was a nice change from the usual restaurants with everything hidden behind closed walls.

For my breakfast I chose the Short Rib Hash. This was an amazing dish. It came in a metal warming dish instead of on a plate. This meant the two eggs that were sunny side up sat on top of a small pile of the short rib hash. This did make it a touch greasy, but worked rather well actually. Mixed into the hash on one side was the horseradish sauce. Next time I’ll order extra of that as it worked well with everything I ate that morning. Simply put, even with minor tweaks I’d like to see for my personal taste, this dish was amazing. I also ordered a side of bacon for us to share and an order of rye toast that I used to make sure my dish was clean before I surrendered. To drink I had a hot chocolate which was very rich and I had to cut with some milk. It was very good, but a little too rich to use as my main drink without it.

My wife ordered herself the Belgian Waffle with Glazed Pecans. She has raved about this ever since. It comes with a specialty syrup called Blis that was one of the best syrups I’ve ever had. She also ordered the fingerling potatoes to share. Sliced in half and lightly spiced, they were delicious. She had a lemon grass tea for breakfast as well that reminded us both of being in the Seychelles.

This wonderful breakfast was included in the stay at the hotel but I would gladly pay the $60 plus dollars it would cost plus tip to have it again if not staying at the hotel. Do be aware though that we witnessed guests being turned away for not staying at the hotel for breakfast so be sure to confirm you can get in or get a reservation if you’re not staying.

Also note that if you are a Hyatt Gold Passport member you can earn points on food here whether or not you're staying at the hotel.

My better half tells me this is a 5 or 6 year restaurant that did brisk business and was very popular for its delectable Asian cuisine, but had to close down for a year or so because of a fire. Thankfully, for me its now open after renovation and I am just glad they are back in business because the food I ate here last week was just awesome.

My theory about restaurants is that if they are good at any particular dish, then they pretty well know their stuff and they must surely excel with other dishes as well. Also with their history of a fire and commendable effort to get back in business, its like the proverbial underdog that needs to be supported. So I would definitely recommend it, not just because they suffered a fire but because they make amazing food, my wife loves it, and its very reasonably priced!

Favorite Dish: We had hot and sour soup and Vietnamese shrimp roll for appetizers, which was spicy (as desired). But the piece de resistance was undoubtedly the Veg Mee Goreng with extra tofu! What an amazing dish, I almost walked up to the chef to ask about the ingredients that went into making this delicacy!

On one of my recent trips here again, I had Combination Vegetables with Tofu with generous sprinkling of garlic sauce. Now before you go ewww...because of the garlic sauce, i suggest you go ahead and order this dish. It has crispy tofu with fried vegetables (broccoli, carrots, tomatoes, edemame). Healthy, safe, and affordable at $10!

This restaurant is absolutely amazing. It's an all American cuisine served halal...how awesome is that! making food unlike any diner you've ever experienced.

They also serve eclectic European and dishes from NZ/Aus...such as grilled New Zealand lamb chop in Tandoori seasoning and yogurt cilantro chutney!

Im adding on to my tip as I come here often (Feb 2013). This time I tried the Reuben sandwich, another amazing lunch!

Favorite Dish: All american steak and chicken wings!

This is a very practical Indian fast food joint for people working in the city and on the move. There isn't much seating and whatever there is, is very basic. It means business, just pay, eat and get out, don't linger around socializing..oh well but you can do that in the evenings when its less crazy!

They have street parking and paid in a garage next door.

This is a good place for tourists, walking around looking for a quick bite.

Favorite Dish: I had chicken tikka roll, potato chips, and mango lassi (its an Indian fruit juice version). The chicken was rolled into the naan with green salad, perfectly spiced, and I since I have the Indianness inside kicking me all the time, I also added a little sauce/chutney they have in one corner of the restaurant.

The only disappointment was the mango lassi, it was just watery, not much mango to taste.

This is a nice place and they give good quantity of food in their dishes. The meat is halal and since I try something new every time I go to a place I've been before, I will eat some biryani and curry next time around!

Highly recommended!

Good restaurant in the Foggy Bottom area near GWU. I took a couple of my managers here while we were in town for a conference. Ambience is high end and modern. Nice for a business quality, yet non-stuffy, gathering.

Favorite Dish: I had the pork chops (with raspberry ketchup... interesting), mussels, and margarita scallops. The mussels and pork chops were very good. The scallops so-so (I guess I prefer to drink my margarita instead of eat it).

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We dined at the Mitsitam café recently on our trip to down town DC to meet Travbuddy Andy. The café is located on ground level of the National Museum of the American Indian. It features Native American foods with 5 stations to choose different meals from. I must warn that it is a rather expensive dinning place, but the food is nothing short of delectable. It is cafeteria styled, so on arrival, you get a tray on which you can put your plate, drink and desert. It was particularly busy while we were there because it was the beginning of the Smithsonian Folklife Festival.

The first station right at the entrance is the South American cuisine; I started and stopped here. The food looked good so I ordered it. It tasted delicious. Other stations included the Mesoamerican, the Woodlands, Northwest coast from which my daughter ordered, and finally the Great plains. My husband sampled the South American as well; a bowl of chili soup and fried bread, both highly recommended.

Desert options by the pay counters feature different sweets; pastries including freshly baked cookies, cakes, fruits, and nuts. Drinks included coffees, bottled water and a variety of soft drinks including coke products. What makes it a dear place to eat at, is the fact that each portion of the meal is priced separately. For example, mt chile con carne was $15.95, the corn bread $3.95, the potatoes $3.95, desert cookies $5.00, water $3.50 and my coffee was $2.95. After our meal, we toured the museum, which is quite big, four different levels.

Needless to say, we worked off the food that we had eaten and ended up with coffee on our way out. Great place to dine, good ambiance, but I did not like the large crowd.

We were thirsty and in need of coffee/ tea/ drink before we could start the tour of the museum. We headed to the ground floor where the Atrium Café is located. The lines looked like those at a camp or high school cafeteria. People lining up for pizza looked like high school kids at lunch time waiting to be served. We did not join the line however; we proceeded to the left side where the rest of everyone not ordering pizza was going. We ended up ordering full meals and drinks while we were at it.

Mark and I ordered macaroni salad with green beans and shredded pork. Coffee for Mark, and tea for me. Desire ordered a burger with coke. Nothing special, but the food was filling. The price was high, but nothing compared to the Misitam Cafe at the Museum of the American Indian. We laughed at how much we spend at the cafes; Mark indicated that while the tour is 'free', the technically are making more selling us food and drink at any one time.

Not the place I would choose to eat at, but it beats going back out in the heat in search for somewhere else to eat. The place was packed, so I figured many like the food, or have no choice like me.