Brad Pitt Has Your Secret Shit: Rolling DC

Okay so I think we are going to try Dukem. Any brunch/breakfast suggestions for the next day? Also anything happening this Tuesday night? Is the Washington City Paper the best place to find events?

Z S--you maybe could find a basement apt satisfying those criteria in the neighborhoods of Shaw (i'm thinking around 7th St NW, fairly close to U Street, which is a popular nightlife/restaurants/retail neighborhood), or Bloomingdale (farther east+south, less developed, maybe too far from Metro). your commute would be easy. dunno how you feel about basement apartments.

the seventh street garden is around there (actually on 3rd st now)
http://the7thstreetgarden.squarespace.com/

just a warning: community garden space hard to come by these days. the one I'm in has a multi-year wait list!

Oh and what is your crime tolerance? Important question, actually.

dunno how you feel about basement apartments.

I lived in one in Chicago for about a year. The only thing that bugged me was the lack of sunshine. I'd be willing to consider living in one again, though, if the price was right and the location was nice.

community garden space hard to come by these days

Yeah, so I've heard. That's why it would be really nice to have a place with even a tiny yard.

Oh and what is your crime tolerance?

I have a decent tolerance, but my gf would probably prefer somewhere on the safe side. Not a gated community suburb or anything, but being able to walk outside at night to a corner store without fearing a beat down would be nice.

Okay so I think we are going to try Dukem. Any brunch/breakfast suggestions for the next day? Also anything happening this Tuesday night? Is the Washington City Paper the best place to find events?

― Alex in SF, Wednesday, May 27, 2009 5:00 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

Dukem and some of the other Ethiopian restaurants sometimes have live Ethiopian bands on late. White Rabbits, a Brooklyn rock band who Spoon's singer produced, are gonna be at the RnR Hotel that night, thought that place is over in NE. In addition to the City Paper, the Brightest Young Things website lists dc events, as does the Onion's decider column, and on Tuesdays dcist.com and the Washington Post website's Going Out Gurus list recommendations.

Hmmmm, I wonder if there's any reggae happening (dj-wise or band-wise) on U st that night?

"I Died" could probably help with DC breakfast/brunch ideas.

Lunch places around the Capitol/Museum area would be fine too actually.

Live Ethiopian would be great.

I think Dukem has live Ethiopian acts pretty much every night, they also serve late so you can catch dinner & music usually around 11pm.

slim pickings for lunch around Capitol/museums - bunch of hot dog carts, mostly. Mitsitam, the cafeteria in the National Museum of the American Indian is quite good.

Teaism, at 8th & D NW, is pretty kick ass generally.
http://www.teaism.com/Restaurant/PennQuarter7.html

There are a bunch of options heading north on 7th St, Jaleo is probably the best of them fairly close to the Mall.

Oh noes- just noticed Dukem site lists entertainment every night but Tuesday

http://www.dukemrestaurant.com/events.htm

I bet there must be one Ethiopian restaurant open tonight late with music.

Alex, you can go see Chaka Khan Wednesday afternoon for free if you'd like at Wilson plaza near the Reagan bldg from noon to 1:30

So much rain. When did this place become Seattle.

argh, there was an awesome place on U Street that TOMBOT took my brother and me to but I can't remember the name, super awesome brunch spot tho

ULAH BISTRO

I may still be coming to town for baseball con at end of July if UI and family charity keeps me afloat!

All right, asking for advice. Do I have more drinks - I guess I am near the breadsoda - or do I go home and watch this C Breillat film (la derniere maitresse - d'Aurevilly, Asia Argento, Roxane Mesquida FTW)

drinks at Bourbon or Breadsoda!

Lequel? All right, going to the breadsoda since I haven't been. I guess there is this basketball game so there's some justification for having another glass or two.

who needs justification anyway

I might. It's not football season yet.

I'd like to thank all professional sports for making it ok to hang out in a bar. I rarely do fwiw, and I MISS FOOTBALL

^ i agree with all parts of this post

twin peaks tuesdays at velvet lounge starting tomorrow. always meant to watch the entire series and this will finally give lazy fond-of-drinking me the proper means to do so

There is a restaurant called Confit opening a couple blocks from my place oh shiiiii...

i like the sound of that

any lunch recs near dupont circle? on the 18th my band might do some busking over there before the chick hall's gig.

Jordan, you should also consider busking at the Wilson Plaze, near the reagon building after the lunchtime gig ends at 1:30; or maybe before it starts at 12; then metro up to Dupont Circle.

Teaism at 2009 R. St is one idea...
What do you folks think of Malaysia Kopitiam, 1827 M St. NW
or the Greek Deli, 1120 19th or more expensive fare such as...

http://food.theatlantic.com/abroad/why-dc-should-be-a-food-destination.php

xp - i don't live in dc anymore but malaysia kopitiam was one of my favorite restaurants there. curry gluten, laksa noodle soup, satay tofu... yea it's a really good restaurant.

Maybe sticking with vegetarian options is the secret to good meals at Malaysia Kopitam - I've eaten there several times and always walked away disappointed, usually due to the low quality meat in the dishes.

Greek Deli is awesome - there's always a line around lunch, but it moves fast. Teaism is a great suggestion, too.

You can also try C.F. Folks, just a basic old lunch place with very good basic food, or Pizzeria Paradiso, or Zorba's for delicious eat in/carryout greek.

what do you think of the Atlantic blogger's assertion?

I think DC is a serious food city, but I also agree that it's not a destination food city the way even Seattle is. That need not necessarily be a requirement - LA might not be a destination food city either (perhaps only because non-food elements, like sunshine, are that much more attractive there?) (and maybe it is now with all the trucks and such). But I think that size/layout have a lot to do with it. DC is just not very big. Ok, neither's SF, but come on, SF packs a lot more into a small space. And OK, DC metro is pretty big, but if you're not a native, you're probably not going to be predisposed to hound out all the suburban stuff the way you would in even bigger LA, where you're already going to be roaming around and where there is a lot more density and out-builtness in the various corners and spaces between.

In comparison to most similar size cities (Boston, Houston, Philly, Dallas), DC food scene is pretty damn great right now. There's an argument to be made for Philly as a great food city, but it's really a destination as an Italian-American food culture niche in a way that even NY isn't at this point.

I don't think DC's a destination food city because no particular area springs to mind as far as specialties, or at least the ones that do (Ethiopian, Salvadoran, Vietnamese) tend not to be destination cuisines. What DC's food scene does have at this point (and I wouldn't have said this ten or even five years ago) is exceptional depth and breadth. There's amazing dining to be done in and around the city in nearly every cuisine at every price point, especially now that there are finally a slew of good options in the $12-20 entree range (including Central, the only James Beard Best New Restaurant winner outside Manhattan in the last 5 years [there's a whole rant I've been meaning to get to on the Beard awards, btw]).

I think DC is a better restaurant city than it is a food city - we're still woefully short on markets, specialty shops, and an overall food culture the way it exists in SF or Philly, but I also think it's one of the most exciting places in the country to eat and drink right now.

just to sum up my point - DC's non-food-city-ness may have more to do with how DC is laid out and experienced by outsiders than with the actual food

In DC last weekend, I went to Old Glory and ate 1 x Creole Fried Catfish Wrap w/ Lettuce, Tomato, Cheddar Cheese, Frickles & Spicy Tartar Sauce wrapped in a grilled Jalapeno Tortilla, plus a side of BBQ beans

I'd kill you all for another.

you ate at Old Glory?????

this thread!!!!

Are those exclamation marks meaning "yes" or something else.

Is Old Glory supposed to suck? I've never been to DC before, so I wouldn't know, but that wrap was seriously delicious.

oh whew gabbneb is gone. that was the impetus for "this thread!!!!"

Also: Old Glory.

Not awful, just not a place I'd choose given other options.

In G'town my dining option of choice would be Pizza Paradiso.

come back, we will help u

actually, after searching for ilx dc food recommendations, it was a gabbneb post that sent me there.

food aside, i did find my way to Joe's Record Paradise in Rockville courtesy of am0n's expert instructions. that place beats just about any London record store hands down.

Joe Lee should use that quote in an ad. But I don't think he knows of this site, and his website looks to be fairly bare-bones.

So Jordan, good luck with busking today and Surf Club tonight

http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/food/dining-guide-2009/

City Paper's Tim Carman has a new top 50 restaurants list out. He's going with a Silver Spring place near the AFI Silver as his fave Ethiopian choice.

Jordan's brass band may be busking at 4ish in Dupont Circle for those in that area..

after like five trips down this hallway I finally remembered MY PHONE HAZ CAMERA
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3329/3638414625_3ff370710e.jpg

is anybody else thinking of going to the beer+bourbon+bbq fest this saturday at national harbor? $35 for four hours of "tasting"

omg Tom that photo is an instant classic

loooool