AUTHOR: ARTSY CHOW ROAMER

Tips for Visiting Washington, D.C.

OUR NATION’S CAPITAL

Recently my husband’s EU passport needed to be reissued which required an in-person visit to an embassy in Washington, DC. I love our nation’s capital. The architecture, restaurants and beautiful walking neighborhoods make spending even a single night there a wonderful experience. After spending a few nights with family members along the way, we headed out early in the morning to get to town just in time to miss the traffic which can make driving there a bit of a challenge.

WHERE TO STAY

Washington is known to be very expensive from $20 signature cocktails to $500 a night hotel rooms it becomes the very reason people visit and work but live and play elsewhere. If staying longer than a night I usually look for a decently located Airbnb with parking. Pay attention here. Parking is not even a guaranteed thing in some hotels and if they have it-they are charging $60 a night and up for it.

I searched for a hotel that was around Embassy Row and not too far from some of the sights. I chose The Churchill Hotel located on Connecticut Avenue just a couple miles away from our destination and a short hop to the many touristy spots you might want to visit.

I like quirky and this property fits the bill. I think the designers thought they were doing a nod to English interiors with the floral carpets and traditional window treatments then someone turned left and pulled in Art Deco with a little glitz and glam. 🤔 Yep…bit quirky. It is an older property which can present issues with bathrooms and amenities sometimes but I like the feel of a traditional building when staying in such a historic city.

We arrived around 1:00 PM to discover there are no early check-ins allowed and there was no space available for us in the parking facility either (for which they charge $52.00 a night BTW). This was the one criticism I would have for the process and say you should plan accordingly. There is a public facility around the corner for $20 a day and since the weather was so beautiful it wasn’t a problem.

Once in the room we were pretty pleased with a super deal at $168 a night for a spacious standard room with king bed, sofa, large windows, big screen TV and mini-bar in dresser with lots of drawers. The bathroom had a large shower with window, good lighting at the vanity and decent closet space. Breakfast the next morning had service by waiters with a lot of good choices on the menu and was included with our room rate. We opted for a tasty continental with croissant, granola, fruit and yogurt.

A TASTY QUICK LUNCH SPOT

Another nice thing about the property were the places around it. A drug store with small grocery downstairs came in handy when we needed to replace forgotten eye drops and pick up a Tide stick for spills on one of my husband’s shirts. A hip little restaurant called Banana Leaves was around the corner from that where we dashed in for a quick Asian lunch.

The interior was cozy with only about 22 seats. The menu was fairly extensive however with a number of lunch specials and it stayed pretty busy with people coming by to pick up take out. I ordered Dancing Eel Roll with BBQ eel, masago, avocado and cucumber that was deliciously fresh while my husband ordered the fried pancakes with curry sauce. The curry was spicy and the pancakes were done to crispy perfection. Topped off with hot sake, this was a wonderful meal on a cool day.

MUST SEE SIGHTS

After changing and a quick drink, we hailed an Uber ride to get to the Reflecting Pool by sunset. In my mind there is no better place to be at that time of day. The beauty of the surrounding architecture and trees feels so peaceful. It fills me with a sense of awe and wonder that the founding fathers had such an incredible vision for our nation’s seat of government.

In this one area you can see the Lincoln and Jefferson Memorials, the Reflecting Pool and the Washington Monument. It is a good walking work out so you need to take your comfy shoes as they have not restarted the tourist buses that used to make the circle around all the most visited sights. Once the sun sets you can strike out to any one of many fabulous restaurants in the area for dinner.

NEW AMERICAN FLAVORS FOR DINNER

Our choice for dinner was Annabelle located on Florida Avenue not too far from the hotel which was a breeze again with Uber. Situated in the historic Kalorama neighborhood, owner Ashok Bajaj has created an intimate fine dining experience with the modern menus of former White House chef Frank Ruta who served under three different presidents.

First you can enjoy craft cocktails in the Bar Barlow, named after American poet Joel Barlow, with some beautiful views of the historic area he named. With a nod to Art Deco in it’s design, you can taste a Shenandoah or “Tart” Tatin signature drink before dining in one of the beautifully decorated rooms upstairs like the Garden Room. There are also some lovely private function rooms like The Annabelle and Gallery which highlight the fabulous curated art collection of the restaurant.

FIRST COURSE

Once seated we looked over an extensive wine list that included a bright German Riesling for my husband and a tasty French Syrah for me. Both went extremely well with the kuri squash, mushroom and barley soup that was delicate and light in broth flavor with a spritz of micro greens and grilled shrimp on top. The bowl was lovely and I could see the chef’s deft hand for presentation.

SECOND & THIRD COURSES

Next up we decided to try the roasted Badger Flame Beet Salad with a variety of fresh chicories, poached cranberries and a Blue Cheese spuma. Think earthy goodness meets bitter sweet with a little rich creaminess on the side. What’s not to love right? Roasted beets make all the difference as to whether people will eat this veggie in my opinion and the dressing added just the right vinegar pop.

The server had several suggestions for us to think about on the next course. She said the chef considered the locally forged hen to be one of his best dishes with the preparation making it moist and tasty with crisp skin finish. Add to that a rutabaga puree with celery leaf condiment and sauce and you have a little bit of heaven. It came out just as promised and I can honestly say it was the best dish of the evening for us.

Should you want another course you could move to the entree section of the menu and if I had, I probably would have tried the Grilled Honey Nut Squash with a hen egg, spigarello, koginut puree, truffle and goat cheese. If you are hearing some names you aren’t familiar with here-you are not alone. I had to look up a few things myself to understand the true complexities of these dishes which are dependent on local fresh vegetable heavy ingredients.

As an aside, the chef considers his steak fries with zippy mayonnaise to be a specialty so we tried them along with the chicken dish. They were tender fluffy inside and the best kind of crispy on the outside with a mayo that did indeed have a good amount of spice to it. Overall, this is one of the best restaurants in DC with a modern twist on some standard classics. Try it-you won’t be disappointed.

CONCLUSION

If you enjoy the discoveries to be made in a neighborhood walk about, head over to the intersection of Wisconsin and M Street where you will find the high-end shops, restaurants and bars of Georgetown. Mixed in amongst the commercial real estate are the beautiful townhomes the area is known for along with the campus of the famous university and posh embassies of Thailand, Iceland, France and Venezuela.

I think you can see why even a two day visit to this international city can be a fabulous experience with lots of opportunities to see incredible sights, enjoy signature cocktails, do a little shopping, eat some of the best food around and get your artsy on in a variety of ways. Plan a visit soon and enjoy the video above for more ideas and tips.

If you enjoyed what you read, you might also enjoy other posts under Edible Fare. There you will find restaurant reviews, recipes, foodie tips and best spots to eat in a variety of cities. I also put emphasis on food and art experiences in my travel posts under Explore the World. Look for posts from my new adventure guide pal and destinations for your bucket list under Guest Bloggers. Until next time…

Cheers!

ArtsyChowRoamer

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