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Quick/inexpensive in Woodley Park


MJP

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If any eGulleteers want to see a real sight, come around the Omni Shoreham Hotel in DC this weekend for Katsucon, a Japanese culture convention. Focusing in anime and video games, there's going to be tons of crazy people in elaborate costumes walking around and acting silly. :-D

The other side of this is that my friends and I will need quick eats that aren't Burger King or otherwise. So does anyone know what's good and fast around 2500 Calvert Street NW? We're not looking for proper restaurants; we're looking for fast and inexpensive, hopefully nutritious.

Anyone have any pointers?

"Part of the secret of success in life is to eat what you like and let the food fight it out inside" -Mark Twain

"Video games are bad for you? That's what they said about rock 'n roll." -Shigeru Miyamoto, creator of The Legend of Zelda, circa 1990

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LOVE that hotel. :) My husband and I stay there when we visit friends in DC, and have eaten at several decent places within walking distance. There's an Irish pub that was fun.. Murphy's, I think? There is also a Lebanese restaurant close by... I can't recall the name but it shouldn't be hard to find... that my sister recommended and we really enjoyed. A few blocks further, if you're walking toward the zoo, there's another neat little place that's rather like a sports bar that has really good sandwiches... wish I could remember the name, but it's across and about a block or so from the zoo entrance (between the hotel & zoo.)

Locals may have a clearer picture for you... and might even know where the sushi place is located that delivers to the Omni... best "room service" we ever had! Have fun!

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Jandara Restaurant, about 1.5-2 blocks from the Omni Shoreham, has pretty good Thai food. It's not the best I've ever had, but it is pretty solid.

LOVE that hotel. :)  My husband and I stay there when we visit friends in DC, and have eaten at several decent places within walking distance. There's an Irish pub that was fun.. Murphy's, I think?  There is also a Lebanese restaurant close by... I can't recall the name but it shouldn't be hard to find... that my sister recommended and we really enjoyed.  A few blocks further, if you're walking toward the zoo, there's another neat little place that's rather like a sports bar that has really good sandwiches... wish I could remember the name, but it's across and about a block or so from the zoo entrance (between the hotel & zoo.)

Locals may have a clearer picture for you... and might even know where the sushi place is located that delivers to the Omni... best "room service" we ever had!  Have fun!

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If any eGulleteers want to see a real sight, come around the Omni Shoreham Hotel in DC this weekend for Katsucon, a Japanese culture convention.  Focusing in anime and video games, there's going to be tons of crazy people in elaborate costumes walking around and acting silly.  :-D

The other side of this is that my friends and I will need quick eats that aren't Burger King or otherwise.  So does anyone know what's good and fast around 2500 Calvert Street NW?  We're not looking for proper restaurants; we're looking for fast and inexpensive, hopefully nutritious.

Anyone have any pointers?

Quick? There are two(?) Indian joints right around the corner on

Connecticut Ave, that aren't bad. The Woodley Park Grill has cheap booze/beer, but I wouldn't rec for food (unless, having consumed said cheap booze...)-never eaten at Murphy's or Open City, but they are right there. If you want to cross the bridge (if it's not too cold), go to Mama Ayesha's on Calvert for Middle Eastern food. (I think they're open for lunch,but not 100% sure.) There's also a Chipotle on the corner of Calvert and Connecticut, if you like. There's also a sushi place in that strip. How long does Katsucon last?

Also, if you are walking into Adams Morgan, try Amsterdam Falafel for a late night quick treat on 18th St.

Edited by Miami Danny (log)
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Miami Danny: Katsucon starts on Friday at around 10 AM and lasts until Sunday afternoon. I don't have the actual schedule yet, but it is a real trip. Just go past the hotel and look around inside if you can; there'll be lines of people EVERYWHERE dressed as characters from their favorite anime, video game, comic, movie, etc. It's worth it just to see the sheer artistry of the costumes. In my case, it's not about artistry as much as it is a meta-joke; I'll be dressed as Waldo (as in Where's Waldo?) on Friday and one of Team Rocket from Pokemon on Saturday. If you have anyone under 25 in your family, ask them about it. :-D

Also, people who went last year have advised that the sushi place, Chipotle, and other food establishments ran out of food. Literally ran out. It happens all the time. The biggest convention on the East Coast takes place in Baltimore in late July/early August, and the Burger King and Sbarro across from the Baltimore Convention Center are usually out of food by Saturday afternoon.

"Part of the secret of success in life is to eat what you like and let the food fight it out inside" -Mark Twain

"Video games are bad for you? That's what they said about rock 'n roll." -Shigeru Miyamoto, creator of The Legend of Zelda, circa 1990

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Miami Danny: Katsucon starts on Friday at around 10 AM and lasts until Sunday afternoon.  I don't have the actual schedule yet, but it is a real trip.  Just go past the hotel and look around inside if you can; there'll be lines of people EVERYWHERE dressed as characters from their favorite anime, video game, comic, movie, etc.  It's worth it just to see the sheer artistry of the costumes.  In my case, it's not about artistry as much as it is a meta-joke; I'll be dressed as Waldo (as in Where's Waldo?) on Friday and one of Team Rocket from Pokemon on Saturday.  If you have anyone under 25 in your family, ask them about it.  :-D 

Also, people who went last year have advised that the sushi place, Chipotle, and other food establishments ran out of food.  Literally ran out.  It happens all the time.  The biggest convention on the East Coast takes place in Baltimore in late July/early August, and the Burger King and Sbarro across from the Baltimore Convention Center are usually out of food by Saturday afternoon.

Damn-I'm working all weekend! You people must be a hungry lot!
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For some reason there seem to be a lot of not-that-great food places in that particular area. Definitely avoid the Uptown Grill. Jandara has good drunken noodles. I heard there is a new cheesesteak place on that corner but can't vouch for it personally.

If the local places run out of food and/or you need to stretch your legs, walk on Calvert over the Duke Ellington bridge into Adams Morgan. There's a great little deli, So's Your Mom, about a 10-minute walk away. Cash only.

Cooking and writing and writing about cooking at the SIMMER blog

Pop culture commentary at Intrepid Media

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I used to live just a few blocks away from the Omni... its true that the area doesn't have a wealth of good eatin, but there's always Petits Plats, right up Connecticut (towards the northern end of the strip). Its a pleasant little French restaurant, but more relevantly, it also has a takeout area below. Great rotisserie chicken, duck confit, soups, etc.

Here's the website, click on the side that says "Petits Plats To Go" and that will give you more info & the menu.

And if you cross over the bridge to Adams Morgan, I second So's Your Mom (its the only local deli with Boar's Head meats, and they make the best sandwiches). Tryst is on 18th St about half a block past Columbia and also has delicious sandwiches, albeit yuppified. But they serve alcohol too, so....

Another option would be La Granja de Oro (just about across the street from So's Your Mom) for that DC staple, Peruvian chicken. This place has been around for a while and is good, if you're in the mood for chicken.

Edited by LittleWing (log)

Eat.Drink.DC.

...dining in the district...

Ask not what you can do for your country. Ask what's for lunch.

- Orson Welles

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  • 7 months later...

I just wanted to bump this up in order to ask if there was anything new or changed (for the better) in the area, esp for quick lunches (between meetings) on the Hilton-Shoreham axis (I've noted the New Heights news which is most welcome.)

Thanks.

John Talbott

blog John Talbott's Paris

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Warning, though on topic solely in that lacking a good night's sleep affects the pleasure of one's meals and while dining in the evening, the roar of construction is not welcome. Find out from the hotel if the major repaving project on Connecticut Avenue & nearby Calvert Bridge will be completed by the time of reservations. (Work begins at around 8 PM and lasts until around 4 AM, though sometimes two hours earlier; the project is an off & on again thing for two weeks and is drawing to a close--perhaps. Lunch should not be a problem.)

Edited by Pontormo (log)

"Viciousness in the kitchen.

The potatoes hiss." --Sylvia Plath

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  • 1 month later...

Was walking around that area last week. The stretch of restaurants on Conn. between Calvert & the Metro stop, with spacious outdoor seating, certainly looked enticing, as did the Afghan Grill right around the corner on Calvert. Wondering if anyone's tried them. We had a great Afghan place here in Jersey for a couple of years but it didn't last.

Thank God for tea! What would the world do without tea? How did it exist? I am glad I was not born before tea!

- Sydney Smith, English clergyman & essayist, 1771-1845

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Was walking around that area last week.  The stretch of restaurants on Conn. between Calvert & the Metro stop, with spacious outdoor seating, certainly looked enticing, as did the Afghan Grill right around the corner on Calvert.  Wondering if anyone's tried them.  We had a great Afghan place here in Jersey for a couple of years but it didn't last.

The only spot worth eating at in that stretch is New Heights on Calvert. The rest of those places are thoroughly mediocre, but are always packed due to convention traffic.

If someone writes a book about restaurants and nobody reads it, will it produce a 10 page thread?

Joe W

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  • 2 weeks later...

Stuck at a meeting at the Omni/Shoreham/Marriott Wardman?

Some tips.

I know the syndrome. One is at a meeting where one has 55 minutes for lunch between sessions and one wants to have something other than hotel food, sandwiches or McDo’s. Plus, one (me) has a wife (Colette) who is grateful for my return from Paris but is ever so slightly jealous of how I’ve been eating in the hexagon.

OK. So first, two lunches, we can finesse the Congres and eat astonishingly (for me) at the same place twice in a row – at the Café Atlantico, for which, please see that topic.

But now we’re stuck in Calvert/Woodley.

First night; to the New Heights, an old fave, where the bread was great, my carpaccio of lamb (yes - lamb) was most unusual and my duck breast under-cooked and cut a la filet mignon with ginger and baby bok choy, was perfect. Other members of the family, less enlightened, had the blackbean rilettes (ever heard of that? It was fab!); lettuce salad and three cheeses, both over standard. They then had scallops (not bad, pas mal!); and mahi mahi, also quite nice. Desserts were a spice cake with ricotta and guava jelly and a terrific tarte tatin. The bill for 6 with wine, no bottled water or coffee = $220.

Second night; (we walked to Adams Morgan - .62 miles = 1 km) to Cashion’s - another repeat. But on entering I immediately realized why we hadn’t gone back in a while; it’s loud – in both voices and music, very loud, and Colette and I like to talk to one another (after 46 years, you’ll ceed us that, non?) We only had two dishes (lunch at the Café Atlantico, drinks and appetizers at the Congres’ cocktails precluded more); a fabulous morsel of sweetbreads under Catalan (whatever that means) spinach and a wonderful but huuuge entire branzino (striped sea bass) topped with onion, tomatoes and a tasty sauce. With wine, no water or coffee the bill was $80.85.

Third night; to Petits Plats - I know, I know, don’t eat French food in America, but I was hankering. So I enter alone, Colette having bailed out earlier that day, and the place is a mad-house, looooong wait for the responsible to arrive, longer still to be seated, even longer to order, bread horrible, dishes and wine way overpriced – Disasterville waiting to happen, n’est pas? Well, no actually. I don’t think I got special treatment, although after being regularly “outed” in Paris, I cannot be sure. But I asked, up-front, were they having a problem with the staff/customer ratio and was told “not at all.” And indeed, I was served my wine, mussels (traditional style with white wine & shallots, etc) and frites promptly. The wine (a Picpoul, which I’ve just recently glommed onto) and frites were wonderful; indeed better than at home (e.g., 75000) but the mussels were blah. Now in Paris I would say that the horrible wait, bread and mussels over-ruled the great service and fries, but here, I’m more generous. So, for one dish, one wine and neither bottled water nor coffee, I’ll say that $30 ain’t bad.

Then lunches: ah there’s the rub. After the Café Atlantico, I was spoiled. The Lebanese Taverna which crafty Colette refused to revisit had a passable Lebanese salad but an insupportable schwarma; dreadful product. So, $32 lighter (no bottled water - are you kidding, coffee or dessert) I departed. The last lunch I went to Tono Sushi, where for $20 one can have miso soup, 4 seaweed salad clumps (rather than the one traditional one), a sushi lunch plate and a beer. I was quite contented with what they served, quite.

Thanks all for your help.

John Talbott

blog John Talbott's Paris

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