Crystal City - A Destination and a Gateway

I travel to Crystal City frequently for business and have stayed at a variety of the hotels there as well as sampled food options. Crystal City is a glass and concrete monument to urban development with landscaped grounds and attractive fountains. Oddly enough, many people rarely if ever enjoy the greenery as they navigate from place to place via the extensive underground level. These halls provide a full range of shopping, eating and services...so much so that a person residing in a residential tower and working in a Crystal City office building may never need step outside!

While there are good restaurants in the underground, I find the collection of ethnic and offbeat eateries on 23rd Street (across the road from Crystal City proper) especially fun. If you are staying overnight, this is worth the walk if the weather is good.

Quick Tips:

The heart of the underground network is near the Metro station. As you come up the escalator, turn right to go north into a large cluster of shops from garden novelties to clothing to groceries. A fast food court is located just to the right around the first corner. Keep going to find a southwestern restaurant and farther yet to Hamburger Hamlet (see separate journal entry). There are also shops to the South, but the walk is a good bit longer. The path south eventually leads to 23rd Street which, across Jefferson Davis Highway, offers a variety of ethnic foods (see separate journal entry).

Best Way To Get Around:

Crystal City, a narrow corridor of buildings just West of National Airport, stretches runs north and south along Jefferson Davis Highway (Route 1). Getting around inside the city is all about walking...either at ground level or in the underground. With a Metro station almost in the middle, you can avoid a car altogether as I usually try to do. I have also driven and parked there, but for some reason I have always found the streets a little confusing, and at .00 for a full day parking is prohibitive unless you can charge it to an expense account. Taxis are queued at various hotels if you are too much of a hurry to catch the Blue Line on the Metro.

Finding a specific building for business can be a little confusing because many of the names sound alike...Crystal Mall 1-4, Crystal Square 1,2, etc. There are maps in the underground, but I have found errors on them. Be sure to ask your hosts whether they are north or south of the metro as a minimum.

The Holiday Inn at Rosslyn provides a comfortable and reliable haven for my hurried business trips to DC. It is easily accessed from the Rosslyn metro station...just a one to two block walk north. This access to the metro makes the hotel a favored stay even when my business is in Crystal City or any other DC location near a subway.

The hotel is a 17 floor high rise with a great rooftop restaurant. Check-in is a breeze with the professional staff. My rooms have always been clean, comfortable and well appointed. If you are in the Holiday Inn Priority Club, this hotel will really make you feel special. Your (free) membership entitles you to a full breakfast buffet in the rooftop...this is absolutely the best start to a DC travel day that I have found. The morning views across the Potomac River to the National Cathedral, the Mall, and downtown Georgetown complemented with a hot breakfast and especially good coffee cannot be beat. You also will be upgraded (space available) and provided with a complimentary newspaper. Join the club…even if you are just planning to come for this one hotel.

The hotel is also easy to access by car with entries on two streets and free parking. The free parking is another big draw if your business in DC requires a mix of subway and other destinations.

The Rosslyn location, near the Potomac River, provides access to both Rosslyn and Georgetown attractions. A walk across the Key Bridge to M Street leads into a tremendous number and variety of restaurants from Ethiopian to Vietnamese. It is a hike best undertaken in good weather (the Key Bridge is a long way to go in biting cold or rainy weather) and with company. I have never experienced a problem, but I would not vouch for the security of the area immediately around the bridge. Getting to and from the metro, however, has never caused me to pause.

One of several "hole-in-the-wall" restaurants along 23rd Street, the Thai Smile hit the target for my concept of a great Thai dinner...delicious food, attentive service, pleasant surroundings and reasonable prices. Restful and smooth are the watchwords for the décor. The pastel colors in the small dining space blend with the brushed coppery colors in the floral tabletops. A raised platform at the main window elevates diners slightly above sidewalk level, and one table has curved half-walls to lend a bit of intimacy. A rounded bar balances at the back of the room the window platform.

An appetizer of Larb was a new experience for me. Seasoned ground chicken is served over fresh lettuce with Thai herbs and lime juice. The dish excited my tastebuds and truly served as an appetizer. As a standard of comparison, I always order green curry chicken at each new Thai restaurant I try. The Thai smile rose to the challenge with an excellent meal. They added green peas to their recipe, a new ingredient from the staple green curries I enjoy at other places. While a little leery at first, I enjoyed every last bite. The spiciness was just right to add to the dish without overpowering the more subtle tastes.

Service was rapid and attentive without being invasive. The Thai Smile clearly builds its repeat business on the strength of its cooking…and that works for me!