My spouse and I visited Washington DC for the Memorial Day weekend in late May 2012. We arrive in town on Friday evening (late), and after checking into the Hampton Inn Franklin Square, we dined at nearby Georgia Brown's for a late dinner. On Saturday morning, we booked a private tour with Segs in the City. We enjoyed lunch afterwards at Wolfgang Puck's The Source restaurant. In the afternoon, we re-visited some of the Smithsonian Museums. We had dinner on Saturday night at Rogue 24. On Sunday, we enjoyed brunch at Jose Andres' Jaleo restaurant, followed by an unsuccessful attempt at dinner at Brasserie Beck. (Restaurant 24K at the Crowne Plaza ended up serving us.)
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14K Restaurant is located at The Hamilton hotel, a Crowne Plaza property. As one of the crown-jewel eateries on the famously fashionable K Street, 14K Restaurant offers classic American cuisine with a contemporary flair. Their dishes are prepared fresh by expert chefs using locally sourced ingredients, and served with pride in our casually chic atmosphere. 14K Restaurant and Lounge draws crowds for its unique menu offerings, imaginative cocktails, and outdoor patio seating, unique on K Street. Operating under award-winning Executive Chef Richard Beckel, 14K offers elegant yet relaxed dining all day.More interested in refreshment than repast?
Visit the 14K Lounge, and unwind with a premium cocktail, ice-cold beer, or a handpicked selection from our carefully curated wine list. 14K’s unique round bar allows everyone to enjoy conversation in a comfortable, casual atmosphere.
We chose Segs in the City for our Private Monumental Tour in May of 2012. A regular tour runs about $70 per person, and a private tour costs $110 per person (plus gratuity in both cases). Space is limited on the public/group tours (it looked like 12 to 15 guests per tour, with 2 guides), so be sure to make a reservation if you must attend a specific date and time. The company was having some issues on the day of our tour – no Internet access created problems in looking up reservations and taking credit card payments. Even though we took a private tour, we were still required to wait until all the people on the group tour were outfitted with segways, helmets, and headsets and trained to use the segways before we could depart, because our private guide was helping to train the members of the group. I’m not sure if it is always this way, or the company was just “in the weeds” because of the internet issues. Also, at our particular tour time, the company had overbooked a large group of approximately 9 people; unfortunately, that group of 9 people was told to return later in the day because there was not enough equipment for them to go at their scheduled time (the 15+ segways that this company owns were already being used by us, the guides, and the group tour). We had some serious issues with the headsets that they provided for us, despite changing headsets, earpieces, and batteries several times. Even upon leaving the “storefront” area, only one of our headsets ever worked – the second person was forced to hear the information second-hand, but I guess our guide felt that enough time had been wasted in readying everyone else to go and she wasn’t making any headway in finding equipment that worked. That was more than a little disappointing for an excursion for which we paid $220+. We were quoted $110 per person for the private tour, but when our credit card statement arrived, we were charged $120 per person (because of their internet issues that day, they couldn’t swipe our card right in front of us to produce a receipt, so we didn’t know until later how much we were charged; we should have called the company about the discrepancy but it seemed that too much time had passed between the tour and our phone call. The private tour was supposed to last 2.5 hours, but we lost close to 45 minutes with all the set-up issues, and this was compounded by the fact that we were told to arrive 15 minutes prior to our scheduled tour time. This was our second segway tour (we took our first tour in Chicago in August of 2011), and it was easier the second time around - the first time, we kept our legs too tense, especially when standing in place and viewing sights; this time, we relaxed our legs and were much more comfortable. Visiting the Mall attractions by segway is the way to go! We could never have covered so much ground on our own walking. We saw the Washington, Jefferson, FDR, MLK, Vietnam, WWII, and Lincoln Monuments. You can’t actually take the segways too close or inside (obviously!) the monuments, so our guide stayed with the equipment while we walked inside. (This makes sense from a theft standpoint, however, we missed the commentary on the monuments because we were guide-less.) We would recommend a segway tour, and especially a private tour over a public tour; however, be sure to get a headset that works, and hope that everyone from the group tour shows up early so that you don’t waste 45 minutes of your valuable tour time getting everyone outfitted!
My
spouse and I TRIED to dine here in May 2012. We chose this restaurant
on K Street for several reasons – its chef, Robert Wiedmaier, gets good
press, as does its sister restaurant Marcel’s, it was a few blocks from
our hotel (the Hilton Garden Inn on 14th Street between H and I
Streets), and it offered outdoor seating. We reserved a table using Open
Table, and although the restaurant sat us outside on the sidewalk as we
requested, they gave us the absolute worst table in the house despite
there being better-located tables available. Our server was poised to do
a good job – he seemed experienced and knowledgeable and had
preferences (when asked) about items we were choosing between. We
ordered drinks, appetizers, and entrees (steak tartare, pork belly,
mussels, salad frisee), with plans for dessert to follow. It was a busy
night, with several large tables, but we received our first round of
drinks in a timely manner. And then we waited, and waited, and waited,
with no sign of our appetizers. As our drink glasses emptied and no
servers materialized - not just our own server, but other servers looked
– and overlooked – our table without offering any assistance. Thank
goodness for an industrious busboy who managed to keep our water glasses
full! With one exception, we watched other tables eat their appetizers
and then dig into their entrees, and we still had no appetizers or even
another round of drinks. The exception to other tables receiving their
food was a table of two foreigners who were treated even more poorly
than we were (they had the same waiter that we did). We finally managed
to attract the attention of the manager, who apologized and said that
the goal of the restaurant is to deliver appetizers within about 10
minutes (not the 45+ minutes that we had been waiting). Rather than
continue our terrible dining experience, we requested our check from the
manager, who comped our measly round of drinks and sent us on our way.
He verbally offered us his name and email address (but no business card)
in case we wanted to contact him later, but we did not (what more could
we say? It was terrible!). We had really looked forward to our alfresco
meal at this Belgian café, but because we never received any food, we
can’t comment on the cuisine. The service, however, left a lot to be
desired. Prior to this experience, all we worried about at a casual
restaurant was that our entrees might arrive while we are still eating
our appetizers. Now we know that even worse is receiving no food at all!
We wish other diners better luck than we had!
When
my spouse and I visited DC in May of 2012, we knew for certain that we
wanted to dine at a Jose Andres restaurant (ThinkFoodGroup). Of course,
Minibar was at the top of our list, but we only made it as far as the
wait list for one of the two nights that we had available. (And even
then, we were told that Minibar might be completely closed that weekend
because the chefs might be needed to open Jose Andres’ restaurant in the
SLS Hotel in South Beach instead.) So we looked at Andres’ other
options. Jaleo wasn’t at the top of the list because it was more
“chain-like” than Oyamel, Zaytinya, or America Eats, with additional
locations in Bethesda and Arlington; however, it seemed to have the most
interesting food of those restaurants. You can reserve a table at most
of the Andres restaurants (except Minibar) via Open Table. We arrived
about 30 minutes early for our reservation, and although they agreed to
seat us, we were positioned in the back of the restaurant at a very
small table for 2, and we ordered a lot of courses which didn’t quite
fit on the small table. The decor is interesting. We had a decent
meal here, and we would return to try some of the other dishes. It
seemed like other diners had either eaten here (or at another location)
before and were familiar with the menu, making wiser choices than we
did.
Overall,
we had a good meal here, but not 24 courses good. About 18 of the
courses were excellent, creative, and interesting, but the other 6 were a
bit repetitive, not necessarily in ingredients, but in concept and
presentation. You have tasting two menu options: 16 courses for $110 or
24 courses for $135. At one point, we wondered if someone was listening
in to our conversation with a microphone when we said a particular
course seemed redundant, because two courses later, we received was AN
EXACT DUPLICATE of a previous course (and it was one of our least
favorites, to boot). When we commented to the server that we already had
eaten that item, he just laughed and said that we should enjoy the
bonus course. The space is interesting (open and warehouse-like),
although it is a bit difficult to locate. You must walk (or drive) down
the alleyway to find it; even though the address is N Street, it is
located “in the back” on Bladgdon Alley between 9th and 10th Streets.
Another issue we had with the restaurant was that even though we arrived
on time, we were made to sit in the lounge area for 15 minutes and
order cocktails that we didn’t want. We had a fairly early reservation
(7:00), which meant that no one was sitting at our table previously. In
reading other reviews after we dined, it seems like this forced drinks
in the lounge concept happens to everyone. It appears that most of the
staff is having a good time together working in the open kitchen in the
center of the dining room, but sometimes it occurs at the diners
expense. For example, be careful when you rise from your table to use
the restroom – if you get up close to when they were planning to deliver
your next course, the entire staff will make loud embarrassing sounds
(boohs or oohs) for the entire dining room to hear. Hey, we get it that
getting up to use the bathroom puts a small crimp in your service, but
then why do you force an extra drink or two on us before we even arrive
at the table? The chef, RJ Cooper, seemed to walk around and talk to all
guests except our table. Even when he delivered one of our courses to
us, he barely acknowledged our existence even though we tried hard to
engage him. It made us feel a bit undervalued, when we could clearly see
that he conversed with other customers. You can reserve using City Eats
(a reservation system which works for Philadelphia also.) They are
making some great food at this restaurant, but it still far from
perfect. Were we sorry that we went? Not really – Komi and Citronelle
were already booked, so this seemed like the next-best option.
My
spouse and I stayed at the Hilton Garden Inn Washington DC Franklin
Square for 3 nights over the Memorial Day weekend in May 2012. We
thought that this hotel was well located for sightseeing in DC,
positioned on 14th Street between H and I Streets. This is a typical
Hilton Garden Inn - the rooms contain a mini-refrigerator and microwave
positioned on/in sort of a bar area (but it has no bar sink nor does it
contain any glasses, plates, or silverware). Our room was a fine size,
containing a king bed and a chair/ottoman; however, I think the same
size rooms could also contain two double beds, which might be a bit
tight (to compensate, perhaps they don’t include the chair/ottoman).
Furnishings were modern and up-to-date (for example, duvets and bed
scarves, flat-screen TVs). An iron/ironing board and hair dryer were
provided, along with basic toiletries. (No robes or slippers though,
which wasn’t surprising because it isn’t a full-service Hilton.) The
hotel was fully booked on the weekend that we visited, so we didn’t
receive an upgrade to a suite as we usually do because we are Platinum
HHonors members. The lobby is very attractive, with a bar, restaurant,
and lounge area. In the morning, coffee was provided in the lounge area,
and in the evening, cookies and fruit were provided (and they did a
great job on replenishing items). Water flavored with citrus was
available during the day. Because it was so hot on the weekend that we
visited, the hotel even set out a large cooler filled with bottled water
so that guests could take a bottle with them before they began their
sightseeing for the day. It rained one evening during our stay, and they
set out small towels in the lobby so that you could dry off a bit if
you were caught in the storm. This hotel provided lots of little touches
that were unexpected yet much appreciated. The hotel has a pantry area
near the main desk where you can buy snacks and drinks (including beer)
to enjoy in your room. The hotel has a pool, gym, and bar/restaurant.
Parking is about $35 per night; however, there are a very limited number
of free spaces on the surrounding streets if you monitor your time
carefully. I think that you could park overnight (and continuously) on
weekends for free, as long as your car was moved by 8:00 or 9:00 am on
the following weekday morning. There is a blue-line Metro stop (Franklin
Square) directly across the street from the hotel, which we used to
travel easily to Arlington National Cemetery. We found that for
accessing the Mall sights, it was easier just to walk the 3+ blocks.
There are lots of shops and restaurants nearby, including a CVS pharmacy
and package stores that sell wine and beer. The staff was really
friendly and helpful, particularly the valets/doormen/bellmen. We would
definitely stay here again!
My
spouse and I dined at Wolfgang Puck’s The Source at the Newseum Museum
in May of 2012. We dined on a Saturday at lunch time, which meant that
their Saturday-only dim sum brunch was available. The brunch takes place
in the attractive ground-floor bar/lounge area, not upstairs in the
dining room nor on the outdoor second-floor patio that overlooks 6th
Street and C Street. The dress code reads “casual”, but most people were
very nicely dressed. We give them enormous credit for not turning us
away; we had just come from a segway tour and were continuing to tour
the city afterwards, so we were definitely under-dressed and a bit
disheveled, yet they assigned us what we felt was a great table. You
have a choice of either 5 items (for $32) or 8 items (for $42). Because
we dine out a lot, and often in large expensive cities, we thought the
low price of $42 for the 8 items meant that EACH PERSON was supposed to
order 8 items. But when we saw the quantity of food provided, and
noticed what other tables were ordering, we realized that EACH TABLE
generally splits either the 5 items or the 8 items! So we tried a total
of 16 different items (there were probably more than 30 items from which
to choose), each portion of which was suitable for sharing. (For
example, if you ordered the duck buns, you received two, not one.)
Although we left quite full, we aren’t sorry for the way that we
approached this meal. Every dish sounded fantastic, and we would have
loved to try them all! We can’t say enough good things about this meal!
Was it authentic Chinese dim sum served by little old ladies pushing
steam carts? No, but that wasn’t what we were expecting from Mr. Puck.
Was it innovative California-style dim sum presented by professional
wait staff? Absolutely!
My
spouse and I dined at this Southern comfort food restaurant in May of
2012. (We stayed at the nearby Hilton Garden Inn on 14th Street between H
and I Streets, and it was a quick 2 block walk [one block north and one
block west] to the restaurant.) The restaurant was very busy, lively,
and loud on the Friday night that we visited; we chose to sit outside in
the sidewalk seating area facing the McPherson Square park, which was
more peaceful.
Service was good but a bit too quickly paced for our
taste; we barely finished our appetizers before our entrees were in
front of us.
We enjoyed low-country menu items like fried-green
tomatoes, deviled eggs, perlau (a sort of paella-like dish with meat,
seafood, rice, and vegetables), and shrimp and grits (the grits were
fabulous!), followed by banana cream pie. Dishes served with shrimp can
be ordered “heads-on” or “heads-off”. The biscuits and cornbread
provided to every table were delicious!
The restaurant participates in
the Open Table reservation system, which makes booking a table simple.
This restaurant caught our attention because of the cuisine, the
location in proximity to our hotel, and the fact that they served late
on a Friday evening. This wasn’t the greatest meal we ate during our
weekend in DC, but it was interesting and tasty, and reasonably priced
for a city restaurant.
My spouse and I dined at Locanda Cavallo in May of 2012. The owner and
her son run this restaurant, which also has a few rooms that function as
a B&B. The location is along the river (Route 611) close to Easton.
The restaurant is very well maintained, with newish-looking windows and
up-to-date security and lighting systems. The air-conditioning works
fabulously. The restaurant is BYOB, and charges a fixed price of $150
per person (that includes gratuity). When you reserve a table, you must
give your credit card, which is charged in advance of dining. When you
leave, you don’t even receive a bill, which we found just a bit odd. We
dined on five courses – a delicious onion soup, cold lobster salad,
ravioli, veal shank with polenta, and grilled shortbread with lemon curd
and berries. The owner/chef said that she discovered the onion soup
while on her honeymoon in France – it wasn’t our traditional French
onion soup, though, because it contained meat but no cheese nor
croutons. The food was rustic in style, and the portions were enormous –
too much to eat at one sitting (and we are big eaters who partake in
lots of multi-course tasting menus when we dine out). We ended up taking
most of our entrée (the veal and polenta) home, along with an entire
24”+ loaf of crusty semolina bread. We were encouraged to walk around
the property (inside and outside) between courses. There is a nice
outdoor flagstone patio, and we could imagine ourselves stopping there
for a drink and/or a snack some day when we were out driving, but alas,
the restaurant is BYOB and only serves the tasting meal, plus
reservations are mandatory. We were the only couple dining on the
evening that we there, which may appeal to some diners seeking a
romantic meal and be off-putting to others. The restaurant is much
larger than we expected, with many small tables as well as banquet space
in two private rooms.
