I didn't do that much research before heading out to DC. It seemed like I couldn't go anywhere big anyway because I didn't have enough budget but I also thought I was going to end up Georgetown. So in the end, I only brought jeans anyway and relied mainly on Zagat scores to choose my dinners. I haven't decided yet if it's trustable.
My first night, I walked (the farthest distance) to Hank's Oyster Bar. I sat at the back bar right in front of the shucker. Normally I really enjoy sitting at the bar because I like having something to watch and the ability to chat. That wasn't quite the experience I had since the shucker was silent the whole time and didn't even acknowledge that I was there and my server came by only occasionally but it was a busy night.
I started out with a nice selection of oysters and clams. Kusshi oysters from BC and Tom's Cove oysters from Virginia. And then middle neck clams. So good.
From there, I got the fried clam dinner with fries and coleslaw. I was so excited when I asked "are these belly clams" that the answer was yes. The plate came piled high and they were delicious. This meal probably made me the happiest of all the dinners I had. Granted, it was also the most expensive.
Dinner the next night was at Grillfish, which was just around the corner from my hotel. I had blown $20 at breakfast, stupidly eating at the hotel even though I ordered barely anything. And for lunch, I blew $15 at Meiwah eating beef with black beans.
Grillfish has a happy hour menu so I partook of that the best I could. I did indulge in a beer before getting a dozen of these Chesapeake oysters. In comparison to the night before, they were poorly shucked, with a lot of loose shell, and not nearly as tasty.
I got these mussels with linguine cooked in a white wine, onions, and cream sauce. They were really really tasty.
I was still a little hungry, so I got a fish taco. This thing was not too appetizing. Super cheesy, mahi in a crazy weird spice mixture. Oh well.
Day two I got a cup of normal coffee (cheap!) and a Sbux breakfast sammich. It was quite tasty, and I was in for under $10 at breakfast. For lunch, I walked a block and a half to Bread & Chocolate, a French cafe. I sat at the bar as usual. My server was new -- I learned this later as I watched her serve other customers -- so she screwed up my order and I had to wait for my actual order to be made. Then I was rushed a bit to finish it, but did make it back in time, hooray!
And the sandwich itself? It was this ham and brie on baguette, warmed so that the cheese was melty. The baguette totally cut into the roof of my mouth, but damn this was a really good sandwich. The side salad was nothing to write home about.
That night, I met one of my oldest friends for dinner. We circled around town for a bit before ending up at Azur, which she thought was one of Jose Andres' place, but ended up not.
I started off this with the line caught yellow fin tuna with charred avocado, watermelon, hearts of palm, and pink peppercorn vinaigrette. The tuna was really good. The rest of it was ... interesting.
For my main, I got the handmade 'spaghetti alla chitarra' served with manila clams, pancetta, parsley, and black pepper. The pasta itself was good. The rest, rather lackluster but good-sized clams.
I've lost count of the days now. The next day, I carefully saved up my money and ate breakfast from the conference. A plain bagel, but at least they had a toaster. For lunch, I had the cheapest lunch of the trip, a sandwich at Potbelly's. I thought it was good at the time, but I ended up getting sick from it, so it became less valuable.
For dinner, I chose a sushi place, the one with the best rating in my area -- 26. I arrived rather early, in the middle of their happy hour, and took an open seat at the bar. Service was brief and impersonal.
I started off with this jkasei tofu, fresh house made tofu made to order. It came with a bowl of soy (I think) and a side plate of three accoutrements. I think it included scallions, daikon, ginger, and maybe sugar. When I looked questioningly at the bartender, she dumped all the accoutrements into the soy sauce and dumped that into the tofu. Then she spooned it out into the bowl in a matter of seconds.
Here's the tofu. Soft, meltingly tender. A delicious mix of flavors. Really really good.
I also got the sashimi omakase and was pretty surprised that it showed up at the same time as the tofu. But I guess beggars can't be choosers.
I didn't quite catch everything that was included, but it was pretty good. I don't think it was as good as omakase at Taka, though the toro was good and the ikura were better.
Certainly, the plate wins for presentation.
I got my shrimp head fried. Ummmmmmmm.
I was still hungry, so I also got this udon, homemade udon noodle with poached egg. I had asked if they were serving this, because it was hot out, and that was when the bartender clarified that there was no soup.
The udon looked great when it arrived and showed up with a side of ponzu. Scallions, dried seaweed, beautifully poached egg, and crunchies which tasted a lot like greasy seafood, which I'm torn on if they do on purpose or not. I was guessing not.
Mix and eat. It was really really good. And larger than I expected. I was completely busting to the gill after eating and walked home slowly but happy. Actually, I think this was my most expensive dinner.
Second to last night. I wanted seafood and went to Pesce, which got a 26 on Zagat, which I'm not sure it really warrants. I started off with the soft shell crab which came on an edamame hummus.
For dinner, linguine con vongole, which was not bad, but quite spicy.
My last day of the conference, I ended up at the airport, eating a crab cake which happily did not make me sick.
Overall, pretty good food experiences, but not amazing. I would go back to Sushi Taro or Hank's in a second. There's more to enjoy there.
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