STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

Hey Pepper,

How long are you gonig to be here and what sorts of things do you want to know about - touristy or night things?

I am a big booster for my general neighborhood in terms of nightlife and so on. Up the street from me, the 14th and U st area is very interesting in terms of history - it used to be called "the black broadway" and lots of big names in jazz lived and performed in the area (you can see signs up detailnig the history). There are now like 10 spots for fantastic live jazz - I like HR-57 on 14th Street, which is a non-profit jazz club and you can BYO (cork fee $3), which I love. They also sell beer, wine, and simple soul food. Another good jazz spot is Twins Lounge, and Cafe Nema, Jojo, The Islander, and a few other spots along U St (those are all on U) feature live jazz on certain nights.

Great spots for eating in the area as well - down my way (Logan Circle), there is a new place I love called Viridian, which features a wonderful menu focusing on fresh seasonal cuisine. http://www.opentable.com/rest_profile.aspx?rid=5279
It's directly next door to the Studio Theatre, which is a wonderful palce to catch a play if you get the chance. Lately they've had the Neil Labute festival, and I saw Fat Pig and it was awesome. It is extended through 3/12:
http://www.studiotheatre.org/

Oh - if you like live music, check the schedules for the 9:30 club and Black Cat and Velvet Lounge (which is tiny) for when you'll be in town. All generally in this area, 9:30 and Velvet in somewhat sketchier fringes, so be careful. The Black Cat is co-owned by Dave Grohl and prices are so cheap it can be fun just to drop in even if you've never heard of the band (and the Red Room bar is free).
http://www.blackcatdc.com/
http://www.930.com
http://www.velvetloungedc.com/

Other good bars in the area are Bar Pilar, which is a neighborhood spot, St-Ex (though can be too "bridge and tunnel on weekends) - both of those on 14th St - Chi-Cha lounge, a chill latin spot with occasional live music live bossa nova, etc (on U St), and if you just want a good ol' bar, try The Saloon on U. Cue Bar is new and features ping-pong tables, darts, etc.

Ok, another interesting spot in my neighborhood is Busboys and Poets, which is a progressive bookstore/cafe/bar/restaurant. The place is huge (and a bit self-conscious), but it's fun and can be educational if you're open to it. Waits for a table for dinner can be long, the food is fine, the scene is very interesting and the crowd diverse in age, gender, and ethnicity. During the dinner I ate there they started showing a documentary about the WTO protests in Seattle while we were eating. They had sat us in the back room, where they often have guests speakers, etc, usually focused on civil rights or history. http://www.busboysandpoets.com/

A couple of other good restaurant scenes on U St - Creme Cafe and Tabaq Bistro. Creme cafe features neo-soul food (awesome shrimp and grits!) and Tabaq Bistro features midddle eastern fare and also a groovy lounge scene. But the main draw with Tabaq is the view - it has a retracting glass roof, but even in the winter the view is still there of downtown and the monuments, etc. Beware the psycho dress code there (mainly if you are a guy - sometiems jeans seem ok, sometimes not... I think they're just looking for general stylishness, not sneakers and tee shirts)
Tabaq: http://www.tabaqdc.com/
Creme: http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?node=cityguide/profile&id=1114347

Another place I adore that is not so "new and hip" are Coppi's Organic (also on U St, near 14th) for awesome pizza and yummy nutella calzone for dessert (and a generally cozy atmosphere)
http://www.coppisorganic.com/pages/1/index.htm
And down next to HR-57, the jazz place I mentiioned earlier, is Rice, a thai place with a much more "green" flavor than most sicky-sweet thai chains around. I love it, and it's a good vibe, too. http://www.simplyhomedc.com/welcome.html Rice is owned by the same people who own the home decor store Simply Home up on U Street, which also has just expanded into a small restaurant as well (they used to only do takeout, which is odd enough for a furnishings store!) It's now "Simply Home Eat Drink" or something:
http://www.simplyhomedc.com/shcuisine/reopen_shc.html

And of course there are good place in other parts of town. There are bunches of new restaurants (mainly chains) scattered around the MCI/Verizon Center (aka "Chinatown") but it is a total cluster down there, IMO (super-duper touristy... the Spy Museum is down there, etc...). If you must eat in that area, Jaleo (a local mini-chain) is yummy for tapas, and its sister restaurant, Zaytinya, features mezze, the mediterranean equivalent.
http://www.jaleo.com
http://www.zaytinya.com/
Slightly more upscale is their other sister eatery, Cafe Atlantico, which is Nuevo Latino. V. good mojitos, IMO. http://www.cafeatlantico.com/
And also down in this area are IndeBleu: http://www.bleu.com/indebleu/
and another new and hot place, Acadiana, which has Louisiana-Inspired food and which is mercifully not quite in the thick of chinatown madness. http://www.acadianarestaurant.com/ You'll note from the site that Acadiana has sister restuarants as well - all excellent, and more in the "downtown" area off or near K St, the WH, etc. My favorite of these is Ceiba (sort of nuevo latino), but Tenh Pen (asian fusion) and DC Coast (neo-southern, seafood focus) are also terrific.

Man, so much food! There are numerous yummy places around dupont circle, and a stroll around can acquaint you with those. I like Heritage India, Bistrot du Coin (beware, terrible service), and Sette Osteria. Johnny's Half shell of P St west of the circle is also good, and there are two new palces - Mark and Orlando's and 21P (I think) near there that are supposed to be fairly good aas well.

I have no use for any restaurants or bars in Georgetown (except Citronelle, which is massively $$$). I hate GTown and rarely go.

And I guess as far as daytime stuff to do in DC, there are, errr, some museums and monuments and stuff.

You mgiht check out a chat with the "Going Out Gurus" on the Post web site - Thursdays at 2:00. You mgiht need to register. Also, the City Guide is pretty good. Registration is free and worth the hassle for the wealth of resources.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/artsandliving/cityguide/
Also check out the GOG blog for highlights coming up:
http://blogs.washingtonpost.com/going_out_gurus/

And the spring arts guide has tons of info:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/artsandliving/features/2006/springarts/index.html

You might check the Kennedy Center web site to see if there's anything good happening - I think Bela Fleck is coming up there if you like banjo virtuousity (love him). Also the Millenium Stage at the KC has free shows and there are usually little bar carts set up on the evenings in that main hall and you can buy a drink and watch the show. It's just cool to go there - gorgeous building, great views, and the cafeteria isn't bad. The main restaurant is a bit overpriced.
http://www.kennedy-center.org

-- Edited by dc at 19:10, 2006-02-21

Halleybird - I was looking to maybe go there.  It did look interesting.

DC - Wow - thanks for spending so much time giving me so much info.  I haven't read it all yet, but I'm going to print it out and definitely use some of this.  That is totally great. Thanks!!!  

Hey Pepper!

Not sure when you are visiting, but check out http://www.nps.gov/nacc/cherry/index.htm to see if your trip coincides with the cherry blossoms.  It's so beautiful, and totally worth seeing!

Also, the holocaust museum is on 14th Street, right before you cross the 14th Street bridge into Virginia.   I think you need tickets in advance, so it may require some preplanning.

And sadly, the Newseum that Drew mentioned is closed - they are building a new home for it near the Smithsonian, and I'm not sure when it's scheduled to open.