Washington, DC haunts

Union Station is lovely, US Capitol has guided and self giuded tours of the building, Supreme Court building is great, National Archives has the Declaration of Independence and other important documents. There is also a huge library to do geneological reserach. The American History Museaum, Corchoran Gallery, White House Tour (I think these are only for school kids post 9/11)

Quick Tips:

Call your member of Congress before your trip. He/she can send you list of the sights and when and how best to see them, what days they are closed, etc. You can also get VIP White House Tour tickets, Gallery passes for the House and Senate and other VIP tours through your Represenative. This is an excellent and little known resource.

Best Way To Get Around:

Use the Metro, walk. Taxis are readily available too and work on a peculiar "zone" system in the District.

This is a very good location for seeing the Capitol, Union Station, etc. The rooms are decent and come with a mini-bar and coffeemaker. The immediate area is not so great. There is a lively lobby bar, a restaurant and a fancier Capital Hill Club restuarant on the 11th floor. I have gotten room service a few times and it was very good -they serve this great pretzel roll with dinner. I had a wonderful Asian chicken salad, but notices they took it off the menu later.

Last time I stayed, I had an upgrade voucher to a Regency Club room. The 11th floor Regency club is closed until roughly the end of January because the hotel has so few guests lately. The hotel is located on the Senate side of the Hill and those offices have been closed for a while due to the anthrax scare. I was sad because I love the Regency Club. It is a room to go get a complementary beverage during the day and they have this great coffee machine that makes mochas, my favorite. They have happy hour for guests on that floor with complementary appetizers and cocktails and continental breakfast in the morning.

Anyway, since the Regency Club floor was closed, the reception desk clerk gave me a fabulous suite, a free breakfast and a 15 minute phone card and free use of the fitness center. It was really nice and he was such a sweety!

The Crystal Gateway Marriott is located just outside DC in "Crystal City." It is the strangest area completely paved over and filled with high rise hotels, office buildings and apartment buildings. Underground throughout the area is a pedestrian pathway/mall filed with shops and food courts. The hotel is so convenient to the Metro via the pedestrian tunnel and just a stop or 2 toward DC from Reagan National Airport. I took a taxi from the airport and was bummed to pay $9 after all the airport fees ect. The Metro would have been $1.10.

I was pleasantly surprised with the hotel. The front desk staff was super friendly and pleasant. My room was great. I think that Marriott has changed their beds to make them more heavenly - like Wyndham. It had a down comforter and down pillows - just like home and I can sleep as great as at home. The bathroom was large with a granite counter top and marble floor. I had a coffee maker and a real hairdryer, too - not one of those wall mounted under-powered deals.

There is a Starbucks in the lobby as well as a sports bar and other restaurants.

This hotel is lovely and does not feel like a big city sterile hotel. It is a couple blocks from the Foggy Bottom Metro Stop and is located in the trendy "West End". There is a gorgeous landscaped courtyard and the hotel lobby is decorated to bring the in the flora and greenery. It would be a great place for Sunday brunch.

The rooms are gorgeous with dark wood furnishings and floral linens that make you feel like you''re at a bed and breakfast. But the rooms are set up for business travelers. The concierge was helpful and made great restaurant recommendations.

This is an old school DC restaurant and pretty pricey. The wine list is extensive, but the menu is not too creative. I had a 12 oz bone-in filet for $27 served with a onion and potato hash brown. The steak was cooked perfectly and they warned me that the medium rare was REALLY rare - so I got medium and it was perfect. There is no vegetarian choices so my one friend got a salad and a baked potato. There is a nice seafood selection. One friend got a pan broiled salmon and another got the special bacon wrapped scalops. My glass of Pinot Noir was $12. The desserts were $8 each and heavenly. We got a coconut cake and a chocolate cake to share. The salad choices looked more creative than the entrees. The service was very professional, but not overly attentive. It is quiet and they have private dining rooms which would make it a good choice for a larger group.

I have been to Old Ebbitt Grill for lunch and had the steak house salad. It is very good with grilled sirloin cooked to taste, and bleu cheese and fried onion strings over Romaine lettuce. I have also been there for happy hour and it is quite the after work meeting place.

The bar is very crowded as is the restaurant. It is in the shadow of the White House and is often a pre-theater dining stop. Old Ebbitt is really is a proverbial DC-establishment place to dine. The dinner menu has moderately priced sandwiches like a buffalo chicken or hamburger both served with fries for $7.95. They also have more traditional entrées like steaks, rack of pork and are known for their oysters served on the 1/2 shell on ice.

The restaurant is large and cavernous. There is a back bar area for smokers and cigar tokers. It is in an office building, but from the wood paneled walls and heavy wooden booths, you would never know it.

This place is interesting. The menu is a huge map of the US and every region or state and city is represented with a type of food. I had frybread with grilled chicken, carmelized onions and cheese served with fries. I was a bit concerned that with a menu that diverse, could anything be decent? But the food was pretty decent and the portions large. My friend had meatloaf and the other friend has some fish, salmon I think. We had veggie pot stickers as an appetizer. They were yummy. For dessert we got pecan pie. It was heated though and served with ice cream.

We closed the place chit-chatting the night away, but the waiter did not seem to mind. The dinner for three of use was under $60 including tip and tax. The prices were reasonable.

Cheesecake Factory is a chain you can find in most decent-sized metro areas. The menu is huge and is sort of fusion cuisine with LARGE portions using Asian and Tex Mex influences. I like it for lunch even though it is a bit on the pricey side. I had a Chinese chicken salad that was excellent and fresh with marinated chicken, lettuce, bean sprouts, mandarin oranges and fried won ton pieces in a sesame soy dressing. The lunch portion was very big - enough to share with a friend. They have a nice lunch special that includes a small pizza of your choice and garden salad piled high with carrots, beets, lettuce and tomato wedges for $7.95 served until 5 pm. I have had the roasted veggie pizza and found it a bit too garlicky for me. My friend had a pizza with sausage, caramelized onion, brie and mozzarella. I thought it was too rich sounding, but she liked it and ate the entire thing on her own. Their chicken ginger pot stickers are excellent.

This location is very good, right off the Friendship Hts. stop on the Metro's Red line. Follow the signs for Western Ave. then make a right into the Chevy Chase Pavilion Mall. They are open throughout the day, so you won't miss out if you are way late for lunch.

Oh yeah. And don't forget the cheesecake. The pieces are huge and the variety of choices is huge - chocolate cookie dough, lemon raspberry, turtle, etc.... A piece is about $6. They have non-cheesecake desserts too.

The hotel concierge recommended this little Georgetown haunt when Old Ebbit Grill could not accommodate our group of 12. It was a terrific choice. The wait staff handled our group with poise, the table was set and waiting for our arrival. I am not sure if it is know for it, but the Prime Rib was absolutely excellent - probably the best I have had anywhere. The pot roast is not a good choice and was a bit tough, the person who ordered it, sent it back in exchange for another bowl of delicious vegetable soup. For a group of 12 including beverages and wine, it was about $600. The restaurant can get a bit smoky so it you are hyper sensitive, it is probably not a great choice. It is a terrific location in the heart of Georgetown at Wisconsin and M Streets with lots of pubs in the area to visit on the way home. Taxis are readily available in Georgetown.

In the shadow of the White House, this is one of those over rated Washington institution type places. The walls are covered floor to ceiling with the who’s who of black and white photos. I went with a date. We had 2 filets and one glass of wine between us and spent over $50. They were out of the fish he wanted. It's a good place to go – once.

Morton's is a quintessential steakhouse and you can find one in any big city. This is a good place for gluttons. I have never seen a filet, broccoli spear or baked potato so huge. The service is very professional, the filet very rare, but delicious. They also have fish and chicken selections if you dare, but if you go to Morton's, it is for steak or maybe a surf and turf.

Austin Grill has a couple DC locations. The one in the newly thriving area around the MCI Center and one in upper Georgetown at 2404 Wisconsin Ave., NW. Both serve up some tasty fajitas and other tex mex favorites. The frozen margaritas are fabulous. Try a red white and blue - appropriate for Washington DC and is a striped with blue raspberry, lime and strawberry frozen margarita. It is a fun, friendly atmosphere at the bar, a good place to go with friends.

When my friend told me to meet him at Bombay Club, it was not what I expected. From the street, you barely know it is there in the base of an office building just off Farraghut Square. It did not have the flashy elephant decor with the shrill of taped sitar music. I was greeted by a suited host and music flowed from a live grand piano player. Traditional Indian favorites were on the menu like chicken tikka. The specials that night were tandori salmon or venison - very unique. I had curry vegetable and traditional cheese cubes in spicy spinach. The samosa appetizers were great filled with peas and potatoes and a spicy kick. They had a nice wine list too even though only I had a glass of Rioja. My cohorts had mango lassies - a drink made of yogurt and mango juice. The total bill for 4 of including appetizers and desert was $124 plus tip. A little pricier than a typical dumpy Indian restaurant. But worth it. The atmosphere is quite upscale, but the service friendly.

Heaven and hell is a blast. It is 2 clubs in one. You guessed it, heaven is upstairs and hell down. The crowd is lively and DJs spin tunes including some 80s an a regular basis. It is a good choice for a lively night out with friends. The crowd tends to be a mid to late 20s bunch.

Union Station besides being a Metro Stop and Amtrack stop, is indeed a mall. There are brand name retailers like The Limited, Sam Goody, B.Dalton Books, Bath & Body Works etc.

One of my favorite stores in Political Americana. Depending on the day, they sometimes have some great collectable political memorabilia at decent prices. I got a press pass from the 1972 GOP National Convention for $6. They have buttons, bumper stickers, photos - both new and old, genuine and reproductions. Across the hall is AMERICA!, a store filled with faux White House accessories like coffee mugs and towels as well as other patriotic and whimsical, and decidedly American items. Also there is a Discovery Channel Store - one of my favorites - especially around Christmas time, they have excellent ornaments.

Downstairs is a food court that is great for lunch, but I also found that you can get a hot breakfat there - somehting other than a bagel and cream cheese. There is an Italian bakery, too.

OK. I know it's an airport, but the shopping is actually pretty good. DCA has a Disney Store, Discovery Channel Store, Smithsonian Museum shop, National Geographic shop, AMERICA (with faux knicknacks from the White House, Congress, etc.), National Zoo store and more. Some of my favorites. The shopping is pretty darn good and the prices are fine. I got inauguration t-shirts for $5 at the golf store and they were 100% cotton - not that 50/50 crap. There is even a jewelry kiosk that looked nice with reasonable prices, but I have not indulged yet. I spend a lot of time in airports and like to get gift shopping done wherever and whenever possible. DCA is probably the best airport shopping around in the USA.

They tell you to allow about 2 hours to get throught the museum. I think I spent more like 4 hours. I read every word I could in order to learn and help explain the Holocaust. There were a couple different movies to sit through as well. Eash visitor gets a "passport" when s/he walks in and is supposed to think about the person in the passport as s/he walks throught the exhibits and the timelines from the war. The exhibits go into detail about the atrocities and there are tons of artifacts on display found in the concentration camps. One case has only shoes.

The items in the museum as well as the form or archetecture of the museum make it great. The design and layout of the building are supposed to create a form and function.

There is a Hall of Remembrance that is a hexagonal room making solemn, simple space lit with sunlight unlike the rest of the museum. It is used for public ceremonies and private thoughts.

When the court is not in session, the public can sit in the courtroom and see where the Justices sit and the attorneys sit. Lectures from interns are given every hour on the half-hour. They explain the functions and operation of the court as well as facts about the building and the history of the court. They also offer Q and A.

In the lower level there are exhibits that change periodically. When I was there, the topic on display was about building a home for the court. It did not have its own building until 1935. There is a theater, where a film on the Supreme Court is shown as well as a gift shop - good for lawyer gifts.

The building is open from 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. It is closed Saturdays, Sundays, and federal holidays.

I have not been to see oral arguments, but do know that from October to May, the court hears cases that it has accepted for review. The public may sit in on the oral arguments. 2 lines form outside on the plaza. One for those people wanting to sit and listen to the entire oral argument and those just wanting to get a 3 minute glimpse of the action.

After May, the court takes the bench at 10 am on Mondays to release orders and opinions as they are completed. The public can view this as well.

The MCI Center is a great place to see a game. It is a newer arena and reminds me of a smaller United Center for watching basketball games. Maybe that is because #23 Michael Jordan now plays for the Washington Wizards. Anyway, I have sat on the 200 Club Level and, it is lovely.

The concourses are carpeted and there is a great variety of foods - not just hot dogs and pretzels. I had a prosciutto panini with roasted peppers. Then I had a tiramisu for dessert. The 200 level also has waiters, if you prefer that bring food and drinks to your seat for a 15% automatic gratuity.

The MCI Center located is right above the Gallery Place/Chinatown Metro stop.