Where to take Mom & Dad when they come to the city

[Swankalicious]

They'll have my fussy teenage brother with them. I'm thinking of Zaytinya one night and Sette Osteria another night. Any other suggestions for moderately priced, quintessentially "DC" places?

[morda]

DC is one of the best cities in the US for Ethiopian food, so if your fam is adventerous, I would try one of the many excellent Ethiopian restaurants in Adams Morgan. If you've never had Ethiopian food, Meskerem is a good and popular choice. My personal favorite is Dukem, which is at the corner of 11th and U NW. But the waitresses often don't speak much English there, so if you're not familiar with the cuisine, it's probably not the best place to get your toes wet.

In terms of quintessential DC, how about Old Ebbitt Grill? It's right near the White House so that adds some pizzaz.

And there's always Ben's Chili Bowl. But that would be more for the people-watching than the food (although the chili dogs and chili cheese fries are good in a greasy kind of way). Prime-time would be about 2 am on a Friday or Saturday night.

morda

[txaggie]

My mom's visiting next weekend and I'm taking her to Palena for the bar menu. The food is delicious and there are probably dishes on the menu that your teenage brother would like (roast chicken, hamburger, hot dog).

[morela]

DC is one of the best cities in the US for Ethiopian food, so if your fam is adventerous, I would try one of the many excellent Ethiopian restaurants in Adams Morgan. If you've never had Ethiopian food, Meskerem is a good and popular choice. And there's always Ben's Chili Bowl. But that would be more for the people-watching than the food (although the chili dogs and chili cheese fries are good in a greasy kind of way). Prime-time would be about 2 am on a Friday or Saturday night.

morda

This has to be a joke! Okay, now that this is established I feel better.

[FunJohnny]

Zola's -- Do the Spy Museum for the kid and then the restaurant for your M & D. Make reservations if you decide to go!

[mnebergall]

Cocktails at the upstairs bar/veranda at the Hotel Washington is an absolute must. Overlooks Treasury, White House, and Washington and Lincoln memorials. The best viewage in town.

[Busboy]

DC is one of the best cities in the US for Ethiopian food, so if your fam is adventerous, I would try one of the many excellent Ethiopian restaurants in Adams Morgan. If you've never had Ethiopian food, Meskerem is a good and popular choice. And there's always Ben's Chili Bowl. But that would be more for the people-watching than the food (although the chili dogs and chili cheese fries are good in a greasy kind of way). Prime-time would be about 2 am on a Friday or Saturday night.

morda

This has to be a joke! Okay, now that this is established I feel better.

Hey -- those are great ideas! Though I prefer Dukem to Meskerem. Ben's at 2AM is a complete freak show and the kid would love it.

[JennyUptown]

Zola's -- Do the Spy Museum for the kid and then the restaurant for your M & D. Make reservations if you decide to go!

Zola

You may want to read the thread before eating there.

Looks like we have a lot of newcomers. Welcome to the DC board.

[JennyUptown]

DC is one of the best cities in the US for Ethiopian food, so if your fam is adventerous, I would try one of the many excellent Ethiopian restaurants in Adams Morgan. If you've never had Ethiopian food, Meskerem is a good and popular choice. And there's always Ben's Chili Bowl. But that would be more for the people-watching than the food (although the chili dogs and chili cheese fries are good in a greasy kind of way). Prime-time would be about 2 am on a Friday or Saturday night.

morda

This has to be a joke! Okay, now that this is established I feel better.

Hey -- those are great ideas! Though I prefer Dukem to Meskerem. Ben's at 2AM is a complete freak show and the kid would love it.

I wouldn't take my parents for Ethiopian OR to Ben's although I personally like both.

That's just me.

[JennyUptown]

On a more positive note, my parents like:

BeDuCi (it doesn't get much pub, but I think the food is good and moderately priced)

Cafe Milano (I know, I know)

Indique

Caucus Room

Ruth's Chris

i Ricchi (but they thought it was overpriced)

[morda]

DC is one of the best cities in the US for Ethiopian food, so if your fam is adventerous, I would try one of the many excellent Ethiopian restaurants in Adams Morgan. If you've never had Ethiopian food, Meskerem is a good and popular choice. And there's always Ben's Chili Bowl. But that would be more for the people-watching than the food (although the chili dogs and chili cheese fries are good in a greasy kind of way). Prime-time would be about 2 am on a Friday or Saturday night.

morda

This has to be a joke! Okay, now that this is established I feel better.

Well, I guess you could call my suggestion of Ben's at 2 am a joke. But in all seriousness, going to Ben's is an experience unique to DC. In fact, Ben's has been written up in both Gourmet magazine and in John T. Edge's book, Southern Belly. So it's a pretty famous place.

As for the suggestion of Ethiopian food, well, maybe some people's parents are more adventurous than others. To be fair, I probably wouldn't take my parents out for Ethiopian either. But I think they would love the scene at Ben's. And you can't argue that both places definitely fall in the "moderately-priced" (or less) category

Surprisingly, no one contested my suggestion of Old Ebbitt Grill.

morda